The Green caldron - University Library

30 The Green Caldron
amendment which would strike out section eleven and insert a passage locating
the university at Jacksonville, in Morgan County. The amendment was defeated
by a vote of 61 to 20. Mr. Green of Dewitt tried an amendment inserting
McLean County's bid in place of Champaign's. This was defeated by a vote
of 58 to 26. Mr. McGailliard moved that the university be located at Lincoln
in Logan County, and was overruled 60 to 2L The bill with section eleven
intact—locating the university in Urbana of Champaign County—was then
passed by a vote of 67 to 10.
The bill was introduced to the Senate three days later. The ensuing course
of events roughly paralleled those that had occurred in the House. Mr. Metcalf
moved to locate the university in McLean County. The motion was defeated
13 to 12. A motion by Mr. McConnell to locate in Morgan County was defeated
17 to 8. Mr. McConnell then tried Lincoln, in Logan County, but this was also
defeated. Mr. Fort proposed a bill naming an alternate location in case Cham-
paign defaulted. This bill was defeated 13 to 12. Mr. Strain became rather
sarcastic and suggested that the act should not be declared invalid merely
because it ignored the superior bids of other counties. His suggestion was
promptly tabled. The bill was read for a third time and passed 18 to 7.^^ It was
sent to the governor, who signed the bill on February 28. Champaign County
thus became the site of the Illinois Industrial University, the name of which
was changed to the University of Illinois in 1885.^^
After any struggle there are bound to be verbal repercussions, and this
contest was no exception. An article which appeared in the Jacksonville Journal
claimed that the Champaign "ring" used a "slush" fund of at least $12,000
(actually it was nearly $17,000, but the Jacksonville group did not know this)
to influence the legislature, press correspondents, editors, and others. Referring
to Champaign's dilemma when it became apparent the other counties had pre-
sented better offers, the Journal said : "Their advocate and champion in the
House, S. A. Hurlburt, a South Carolinian by birth, and social sympathy
and philosophy (to say nothing worse of him) . . . [came to the rescue and
told] his friends that the bid of Champaign would be written above all others,
let the joint committee appraise them as they would."^^ On another occasion
Mr. Hurlburt said "that this whole scheme of educating the farmer was a
d d humbug, and that he wanted to get it off down to Champaign where
it would die as quickly as possible."-^ A few days later the Chicago Times
'^Journal of the Senate of the Tzventy-fifth General Assembly of the State of Illinois,
1867 (Springfield, 1867), p. 1052.
^ mini Years, p. 25.
^Jacksonville Journal, March 16 and 18, 1867, as quoted by Powell, pp. 496-8.
"-^
Ibid., p. 49S.