ABSTRACT
Wilson was at the height of his popularity at Princeton when he made his “Quad” proposal; and the mere circumstance that it was his proposal was sufficient to obtain for it considerable support in the university. Yet West was not alone in his opposition. The Board of Trustees did not, therefore, immediately adopt Wilson’s proposal but appointed a committee of which Wilson was chairman to consider it; Wilson realized that he would have to fight; but he felt absolutely confident of his ability to win. His symptoms, however, began to return and he went to Bermuda to rest. On two Sundays there he rested by preaching from the pulpits of local churches, thus as usual draining libido from his conflicting activity and passivity by his old outlet of oratory. He returned to Princeton “infinitely refreshed.” On June 10, 1907, he presented the report of his committee recommending that he should “be authorized to take such steps as may seem wisest for maturing this general plan.” He had originally written “maturing and executing” and had struck out the latter words because a Trustee insisted that the Board should be given the “privilege of further consideration.”
