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2
MEDICAL DEPARTM EN T ,
came to Mr. Smith, before mentioned, who
received ns, his wife and some other mem
bers of the family being present, in his
sitting room. The old gentleman an
swered ns as others had done. We tried
to get the lower part of his ground where
the first building, the dance house, stood,
but he shook his head and said it would
not do. We then tried for the upper
portion, nearer the Soldier’s Home, but
that proposition was very repugnant to
his feeling and judgment. We had a
similar experience regarding a central
part.
Then, after a little meditation I
said, " What, Mr. Smith, will you take
for the whole of your estate ? How much
is there of it?” He answered that there
were one hundred and fifty acres, and that
he would take one thousand dollars an
acre, making an aggregate of one hun
dred and fifty thousand dollars. Though
we had not one dollar in the treasury, I
said to Mr. Smith, “ We will take it, the
whole of your farm here, at your price, if
you will secure to us a perfect title.” The
proposition somewhat startled my com
panions, but affected Mr. and Mrs. Smith
much more deeply. It almost took their
breath away, the suddenness of it and the
largeness of the offer. That was the bar
gain, however, that was entered into and fi
nally consummated. We were not obliged
to give quite as much, because Mr. Smith
could not perfect the title precisely as he
stipulated. All the land was very soon
platted and put on sale at a price averag
ing some four times the cost of purchase.
The most was sold at about ten cents per
square foot, varying the price, however,
according to locality. The park was re
served and the grounds, as they now exist,
for the buildings. There was, however,
considerable more extension where the
reservoir now is. The sand pit was used
for manufacturing the brick, out of which
several of the buildings, Balloch’s house
and mine, were constructed.
The above transaction, which I will
not explain more in detail in this paper,
soon put into the University treasury all
the money that was required. In addi
tion to that money I was able soon to
secure as much more for Howard Uni
versity in connection with several other
institutions that had been established
under the same laws and with like or
ganization. At any rate, what came from
the land, from these funds and from dona
tions straight from the people, enabled
our Treasurer, Gen. George W. Balloch,
to meet the first payment when it became
due. The time given by Mr. Smith was,
if I remember rightly, one and two years
for the other payments, all in equal
amounts. In fact, these payments were
anticipated and so paid that all interest
on deferred amounts was saved to the
institution.
One thing more I may say, that nobody
ever saw a more earnest and faithful
Board of Trustees than that of our Uni
versity. For a while they labored night
and day as a Board or in committees, in
deed for all the years that I was with
them in Washington,
i. e.,
between six
and seven, without compensation. They
did not always see a like ; there were
contests and sometimes exciting and vex
atious debates, but there was honest deal
ing and hard and unselfish work. The
principle that those employed in any
capacity and paid by the University
should not have a seat in the Board of
Managers, caused a hard contest, but it
was settled at last for the benefit of the
University itself, rather than for the bene
fit of the good workers who had originally
been both in the Board of Management
and in the Board of Instruction. I found
it wise for myself, who frequently became
a bone of contention in many matters, to
sever my connection as President of the
Institution at an early period. I am glad
I did so. Having watched its operation
for many years and participated now and
then as a trustee in its work, I rejoice
greatly at the wonderful success of every
department, especially that of medicine.
A few days afterward the following
additional letter was received from Gen
eral Howard :
Having already written you, I will sub
mit in addition a brief sketch of the early
days of Howard University. It is my
impression that I was present at the
second meeting of those who were medi
tating a theological school— the second
meeting at Mr. Brewster’s house.