PRES. ELIOT'S RESIGNATION

At a special meeting of the Board of Overseers held in Boston yesterday, the resignation of President Eliot was presented and accepted to take effect May 19, 1909. The letter of resignation, which is printed below, was presented to the Corporation at its regular meeting on October 26, at which time it was voted to communicate the resignation to the Overseers at a special meeting.

The letter is as follows:

To the President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Gentlemen:--I hereby resign the office of President of Harvard University, the resignation to take effect at your convenience, but not later than May 19th, 1909.

The President's intimate association with the other members of the Corporation in common service to the University is one of the most precious privileges of his highly privileged office. For this association with the fifteen friends who are dead, and the seven who are living, I shall always be profoundly grateful.

Congratulating you on your labors and satisfactions in the past, and on the sure prospect of greater labors and satisfactions to come, I am, with high respect, Your friend and servant,   CHARLES W. ELIOT.

10 October, 1908.

The resignation came to the corporation without previous notice on the President's part and to the unanimous regret of the members of the Board. After two weeks of conference the resignation was accepted, the Board having, with the utmost difficulty, arrived at the conclusion that a proper regard for the President's wishes required them to relieve him of the arduous duties of his office. In so doing the members of the Board expressed their confidence in the President's unimpaired ability to administer the affairs of the University to the satisfaction of the Governing Boards and Faculties.

The election of a successor to President Eliot will engage the attention of the Governing Boards during the time that remains before the expiration of President Eliot's term of service. In accordance with the established procedure the election will be made by the Corporation, and their choice will be communicated to the Board of Overseers for their consent. In view of the heavy responsibility attached to the choice of a successor to President Eliot, the action of the Governing Boards will be deliberate, and the time of its occurrence cannot now be predicted.