, 1890-10-09
WANTS IT AT SPOKANE
Agricultural School Should
Be Here. .. .
THE VIEWS OF A COMMISSIONER
Many and Good Reasons Why II
Should Be Located Near
This City.

Mr.. E. &. Ferguson, of Snohom-
ish, one of the three commissions
ers appointed to select site for the
agricultural college and technical
school, on II visit to seattle, gave the
Post lntelligencer the following rea-
sons why the commission did not
come to an agreement In the matter:
'The trouble is" said he, r"that
Ed Whitson, of Yakima, believes
the college should beput there. Tom
Smith Is from Whitman county,
and he holds that Colfnx, his home,
is the best place for the school, and
If 1t can't go to Colfax, why, then
Pullman, i'm the same county, is the
next best place. /, myself, don't
agree with either one, and there we
are.
Being from the Sound country,
and believing most thoroughly in
its resources, present and future, l
should have chosen to have the
school located somewhere on the
Sound-preferably at Seattle in con-
nection with the State university.
But 1t seems there was AN under
standing in the legislature when
the bill was passed for the cleo
ton of the commission that
the west of the state had had
enough, and was not to ask for the
school. Accordingly, we put in no
strong claim for it, but accepted the
idea that the institution was to go
east of the mountains. .
"Of allIthe sites over there Spokane
Falls seemed to me the best. In the
first place I believe in locating such
n school near Il center of population
rs possible, That will give the
school all the advantages in the
way OF securing supplies of all sorts
from teachers to-food-afforded by
city. In any emergency the
school can procure what II wants
more quickly. But beside that, II
school near large city can accom-
modate many pupils. Where one
might go at Yakima there are, say +,
| five who would go ut Spokane. Lots
of young fellows would be glad
enough to attend good technical
school, providing they would not
have to bear the expense of going
too far from home.
"VVhat Is more, the people of Spo-
kane would give the school good
start by putting up n building for 1t,
and it could be more easily equipped,
and ready to begin work earlier.
You see the support the atate-legis-
lature would give the school Is not
quite certain, and the income from
| its government land cannot be avail
able in the near future. Indeed, II
is hard to see how the school Is
going to succeed in locating any
land, at the rate things ARE going.
AS soon as tract IL surveyed 1t Is
taken up by actual settlers.
"rhese are the reasons, In brief
that led me to favor Spokane: The
basis of supplies would be near; the
convenience of access would attract
and accommodate many pupils and
! Spokane would give the school a
good start. All Of the arguments
would apply with equal force "a
Seattle, but, as I hive said, the west
of the mountains has not been In
| the race. ''''-' 'T q
"Therc are some arguments for
Yakima. The place is centrally To-
Gated, and no doubt in time Very
good city will grow up there. But
at present the city is not important;
and In my mind there is no doubt
that Spokane in the future win be
the great interior city of the state.
Another plea for. Yakima is tina,
there IL good agricultural land there
for the experiments in farming. But
1t seems to me that putting the
school at Spokane would be good
thing for the school, while putting
1t In any other town would be gooo
thing for the place."