"We Want Tugwell"

In the Governor's retreat in Puerto Rico's mountains, Dr. Rexford Guy Tugwell last week pondered whether to be or not to be Chancellor of the University of Puerto Rico. On the university's palmy campus, its hot-tempered students got into a stew over the same question.

When the university's trustees, prompted by Puerto Rico's political leader, Senate President Luis Munoz Marin, invited Tugwell to be their chancellor (TIME, Aug. 4), hoisting the salary to $15,000 to make the job attractive, everybody seemed happy. Trouble started when President Roosevelt also appointed Tugwell the island's Governor. Tugwell indicated he would take a leave from the chancellorship and let a subordinate run the university until another Governor was found to relieve him. But the students wanted no pinch hitter as chancellor.

Last week Munoz Marin hurried back from the U.S. to face the 2,000 angry students. For 45 minutes he sweated, pleaded, cajoled, appealing to them in his own name and President Roosevelt's. The students cheered, hissed, chanted, stamped, booed. Munoz Marin finally gave up and let the students fight it out themselves. Those who wanted Tugwell whole or not at all took command. Four hours later a verdict was reached: let Tugwell resign either the Governorship or the chancellorship.

In his mountain retreat, Tugwell said he was surprised and shocked. But he got a reprieve on carrying out his promise to resign. Tugwell supporters, claiming fraud in the vote, got the student body to agree to another meeting, another vote.

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