The Building of a State: VII. The College of California [pp. 26-39]

The College of California.
respects, except that there was not water
enough.
In the early autumn he went to Martinez,
Benicia, and through Napa, Sonoma, and
Petaluma Valleys, spending week after week
in his tours. In these journeys he met a
great many people, and interested them in
our college plans. At the same time he enjoyed the best possible advantages for his
own recovery. And these proved to be so
effectual, that he thought himself able to return home and resume his pastoral work.
Before doing so, however, in the late autumn
of I856, he made a written report in detail
to the Trustees, concerning several sites,
specifying their peculiarities and excellences.
He also delivered some addresses setting
forth the claims of the College, and wrote
an appeal to the public in its behalf. To
our great regret, he thought best to leave us,
but he promised to do his best to interest
people in the Eastern States in our undertaking, and try to get them to help us, as
people in the older States have always been
in the habit of helping colleges in new States.
Possessed now of the information gathered
during the summer with Dr. Bushnell, the
Trustees prosecuted further inquiries at their
leisure, inasmuch as there was no haste as to
the final conclusion.
Meantime the College School grew, filling
new buildings and employing a large corps
of select teachers. The boys in the classical department made good progress, and the
more advanced were approaching near to
readiness to enter college.
As to the permanent college site, the opinion carne to be unanimous in favor of the
Berkeley location, if an adequate water supply could be provided there. Thorough
examinations were made to determine this
point. An engineer was employed. The
what it should be, Mr. Billings remembered the familiar
stanza:
"Westward the course of Empire," etc.
"Berkeley!" said he, "Berkeley-why wouldn't
Berkeley be a good name for a college town in the farthest west?"
On the whole, it was so agreed, and by vote of the
Trustees on the 24th of May, x866, the name " Berkeley" was given to this locality, which had been before
known as "The College Site."
flow of the springs was measured. The facilities for impounding water were ascertained. The extent of the water-shed was
estimated; and, what was more, the possibility of bringing in Wild Cat Creek was determined. It was never contemplated, when
the whole country was before us, to put a
college where there was not an abundance
of flowing water. We conceived that it would
be an unpardonable blunder to plant such
an institution-in a country of long dry seasons like this-where there could not be an
unfailing and copious water-supply for all
purposes of use and ornamentation. When
it was found that this could be provided on
the site in question, the only objection to
choosing it seemed to be removed.
And so, at a meeting of the Board of
Trustees, held March ISt, i858, the Berkeley
site was, by formal vote, adopted as the location of the College of California.
THE ORGANIC BASIS OF THE COLLEGE.
As the work toward the full organization
of the college went on, the question was
raised in a certain quarter, What were its
principles? To make plain in words what
had, from the beginning, been well understood in fact by all concerned, the Trustees
adopted and published their "Organic Basis," declaring that "The College of California is an institution designed by its founders to furnish the means of a thorough and
comprehensive education, under the pervading influence and spirit of the Christian religion. That Trustees shall be elected from
time to time, such as shall fairly and equally
represent the patrons and contributors to
the funds of the institution, provided that a
majority be always members of evangelical
Christian churches, but that not more than
one-fourth of the actual members be of one
and the same Christian denomination." In
the election of professors, men of Christian
character were to be preferred, and "the
President and a majority of the Faculty must
be members of evangelical Christian churches." The idea was this: It seemed possible to have a college grow up in California
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[July,