Letter from the Trustees of the L.D.S. College, 30 March 1892
Salt Lake City, .
PRESIDENT WILFORD WOODRUFF,
and members of the General Board of Education.
Dear Brethren:
We were notified that you wished us to release Dr. James E.
Talmage from the position of Principal of the Latter-day Saints' College.
As soon as practicable after receiving the notification, a meeting of the
board of trustees of the College was called. It was held on the 9th, day
of January, and Dr. Talmage was present.
A formidable obstacle in the way of the release was, that we were
under contract with the students to conduct scientific classes, to teach
which had been one of the duties of Dr. Talmage. The latter thereupon
stated that he had anticipated this objection, and that he would continue
to teach the scientific classes to the end of the present school year, on
condition that he be relieved from all other work. On this understand-
ing the College board at once unanimously released him from the Principal-
ship, and all work connected with the institution, except the instruction of
the scientific classes, according to his own proposal.
This was a clear and distinct arrangement, suggested by Dr. Talmage
himself, and we had not the remotest idea that he would fail to live up to
it. Notwithstanding the facts herein presented, he has absented himself
from the College since the 11th, day of March, and the work he agreed to do
has not been performed by him from that date. We learn he is now on an
excursion to California. He has absented himself without giving any in-
timation to the Board of his intention to do so.
This is but one of a series of circumstances which have had a demor-
alizing effect upon the institution, and placed us in a position the re-
verse of enviable.
