TOLD by the PIONEERS - Washington Secretary of State

Told
by the Pioneers
when at its close the bonus would lapse, Bro. D. W. Tyler, who had
carried on the correspondence with the bishops, came by the parsonage
and with an indifferent air said to me, 'Here is a communication
from the bishops in which they vote to locate the university here, provided
the doners do certain things, so as to secure the bonus unconditionally
to the church. It's too late to do anything now, for the
bonus ,\ill lapse tonight and what the bishops demand would require
all the doners to get together and take the desired action.' I thought
a minute and said, 'Well, it is not too late to try it.' To which he replied,
'You can try it if you think it worth while.' I took the communication
and started to see Brother DeVore, but failing to find
him, I went straight to Mr. Caughran, one of my board of trustees,
who, of all men I knew in Tacoma, I could trust to put this business
over and thus secure both the bonus and the universitv. He read the
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contents of the communication, talked the matter over with me, how
every subscriber would have to be seen and handled with silk gloves,
then fairly rolling up his sleeves, he started out in a way that meant
business, and before night the whole town was astir. By 8 :30 in the
evening everything was in readiness for the meeting. The subscribers
were coming' out in force, and after a few words by men outside of
our church explaining what action was needed, it was moved and carried
unanimously that the officials who had been elected by the doners
be instructed to take the legal steps necessary to comply with the request
of the bishops.
"Thus on February 29, 1888, within less than two hours of the time
when the bonus would have ceased to be available, the matter was
settled and the Puget Sound University was permanently and unconditionally
located in Tacoma, Wash. This was a great relief to my
strained nerves, yet imposed on me additional responsibilities, as
various matters relating to the bonus and the organization of the new
school demanded immediate attention."
In a few days a charter for the new institution was drawn up and
was filed at Olympia on March 17, 1888. This date marks its legal
beginning. In the charter the school was named "The Puget Sound
University." The Rev. T. J. Massey, as financial agent, carried on
the work for additional funds. In 1889 the contract for the first university
building was let and in the autumn of 1890 was ready for the
reception of students. The campm: selected was the site now occupied
by the McCarver Intermediate School. The doors of the institution
were opened to students on September 15, 1890. The first term
there was a registration of 88 students and 124 for the three terms.
The first president of the Puget Sound University was the Rev. B. F.
eher-ington, who had been vice-president of the University of South-
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