Omaha daily bee., 1885-02-10

that whole.souled -and genial patriot-the
Honorable Charles II, Gere-who for fifteen
years has existed upon state pap, cannot find
words to express his admiration for this
matchless legislative assembly,
There is q great deal Of art an design dis
played by Gere and his partners in the bill
printing business. To stretch q four line bill
over two pages and have both pages measured
as solid reading matter, requires greater tai.
ent than is displayed by the pi)us pickpocket
who forgetfully pulls the watch
from the pocket of the prayerful and sleepy
deacon while the solemn minister is sermoniz-
izing on the text, Thou shalt not steal?'
And this awakens a new train of thoughts in
my mind, If | mistake not there are bills
pending for establishing
ELEVEN NORMAL SCHOOLS
in addition to the existing normal school at
Peru. Why so many normal schools have
been projected at a time when retrenchment
and economy are everywhere demanded by
the taN-ridden people is beyond my compre.
hension, l question whether there is a mem.
Der in the present legislature famil-
normal school and l don't believe half dozen
members have the remotest idea what it costs
to maintain 1t.
will endeavor to enlightep them,
The present State Normal school was
| founded in Is Z, soon after the admission Of
the state into the Union. By the act of June
Goth, 1867, the normal school was located at
Peru, upon condition that sixty acres of land,
with the buildings then occupied as the Peru
seminary, would be donated to the state.
Twenty sections 12,S 500 acresl of land were
set apart as an endowment, with authority to
appropriate saline lands il needed. Three
Thousand dollars were also appropriated to
complete the bull inge. On February LIST,
1869, an additional appropriation Of $1,000
was made by the legislature for repairing,
completing and furnishing the building.
On March LIST, 1879, the | gislature authorized
The erection OF additional buildings, and
levied Il state tax Of half "a mill to meet the
outlay.
BY the act of March 2S, 1871, authority was
granted to dlspo 9 of the lands donated to the
normal school for u permanent endowment
fund. 1t was represented from the outset by
the managers of tho normal school that the
institution would be- self-sustalning and no
appropriation or additional taxes would be
asked. But what do the records show?
On March "a, II, appropriation for school
teachers, 80, 600.
February 26, '73, deficiency, $4,000; heating
furnaces and repairs, 81, 500. February 20, 70,
teachers in full, Sli,OO
On February %, rs, appropriation for
teachers. light, stationery and library, S26, $50.
Febru lry 10, ", tea cheers salary and JAM
tor, $4,000; fuel and light, So, $50; building
repairs, SS52; printing and stationery, $40.
Feb ;uary ", 1879, salaries of teachers, 500,
0 O,fuol aud light, 81 800, repairs of building,
81, 600, cistern and force pump, S4OO, chemical
apparatus, $500, printing, postage and station.
cry, $500.
March ], 1881, teachers and ~jauitors $751;
60 fuel aud lights, $4,000, repairs of build
ing, $500, postage, printing and stationery,
500, well and %clstern, $40, incidental, $500.
February 2S, 1883. salaries of teachers,
S22, OCO, fuel and light 50 900, repairs and
bun ding fence, 500, cistern and wells, $500,
improvements on outhouseE, ETC., 5000, fur
niture, $3.50. postage and printing, S400,
incidensals, $40O
The estimates for 1886 are considerably
higher, almost $4,000 a year. 1t it costs
from S3O,C00 to $25, COO a year to maintain a
normal school endowed with twenty sections
OF Land after the state has
paid for the necessary buildings, how much
would it cost the taxpayers to maintain one,
two or half u dozen normal schools that de,
pend entirely upon at .ts appropriations, and
why should thes people be taxed for any ad,
ditlonal normal schools anyhow? 1t was o
great blunder To locate the school at Peru,
even with the sixty acres bonus and the dilap'
idated old seminary building thrown in. The
proper location for such a school was Lincoln,
1t ought to be there to-day. Connected with the
university it would not require half the out
| lay and the school would be more efficient
There would have been no need of investing
in a special apparatus and library for the nor
NAL school. Some of the professors coulc
have lectuced for both university and norma
school, and last but not least there woulC
have been a great saving in expend lures TO
wells and %cisJerns, which are getting 80 deel
and numerous at Peru, judging from the APP
preparation bills.
CLAIMS AND CLAIMANTS.
Here we are again, as the clown says whel
he leaps into the saw-dust ring. The claim
4 ants are on hand like so many warts.
| notice among the bills the claim of Prof
Bacon for over 5 1880, which he pretends j
, due him for money expended while in charg
l of the blind institute at Nebraska City. Mr.
. Bacon is q very peculiar laimant Abou
9 eight years ago he lobbied aud lobbied arounC
the legislature until he pulled through a bill
tn establish an institute for the blind. BacOl
foisted himself upon the state as superinten
dent, and if memory serves me right
employed his wife rs matrou
g When the institute opened h
had nine men and women to instruct and tax
care Of. Establit hing a state institute TO
y nine inmates was n costly luxury. In du'
e time the state board dismissed Mr.. Bacon. III
= refused to go and compelled them to ejeC
s hun by due process of law and thu constable
On February "a h, 1879 the legislature apprc
Q priated So, l5l.S 81 for the reliet of Samuel Ba
con IoT SefNlCes Teuuereu anu money tNp5ule
as principal of the blind institute. Now MI
8 bacon trumps up another clsim. He evi
d den.ly Imagines the present legislature i
very credulous Send the hoggish MI
G Bacon to the courts with his bogus claim
y Hardly less important is the so-called CLAIM
of the city of Lincoln for some IS, 600 pre-
fessed to have been advanced to the state il
d the year 1879, to pay for the foundation unde
It the university building. Who asked thes
e people to advance this money? Why didn'
they present their claim to the two legisla
It lures that have held sessions since that none
t was advanced? Is it not a notorious and his
toric fact that the state had to pa
for a foundation under the university buildin
within less than three years afte
that seructure had been completed under tn
Butler. Kennard Gillespie contract. Ho'
many foundations is the state to pay fol
d Hasn't the city of Lincoln received more tina
a return in the shape of donations in lots an
y blocks for any such pretended outlay?
Mr. Cleveland Returns TO Albany.
II SDecial telepram To tho PVP