The Portland daily press., 1893-02-23
Especial to the Press.l

the House IN mee1ng an hOur Garner
than usual and on holiday at that, dis
turbed the last sleep of those unfortun-
ate and somewhat famous animals. Per-
haps they were attempting to warn the
members of the House that if the 5000
embankment for target practice was not
built the State College marksmen might
prove more deadly to the cattle of the
present than the dread tuberculosis to
the cattle of the past.
Mr.. Sprague of Monson first saw these
bovine spooks. He called up the re-
solve making special appropriation for
the State College of $4,000. The items
are:
Furnishing Wingate Hall l................$2 800
Embankment for target practice. ......... 600
improvement of Campus -. ............ $500
Plotting and storage room Tor forcing
house. .........-..... oOU
Agricultural department. .................. 900
Dairy apparatus. loo
Department of civil engineering. ....... 1900
Department of natural history. 80. ], 500
Department of chemistry 600
The last four items are for appar-
atus for the departments
named. Mr.. Sprague said he
he didn't propose to weary the House
long, but he did want to know how long
this state was to be called upon to APP
propriate money for this State college
with the amount it received from the
United States government and the Co
burn fund. If this legislature was to be
economical, if it was to keep the ship
of state from running on the schools of
extravaganza, it might just as well begin
L l.. M,,
Sprague noticed in the resolve an item
Of $500 for building an embankment for
target practice. just think of it, taxing
the poor people of Maine SO that the
State college boys might have a pile of
earth to shoot against Then the friends
of this institution told him that the boys
at the school needed development and he
saw an item of $500 for furnishing Win
gate, hall. He supposed that this was SO
the Youngsters might exercise there.
The state owned large farm at the col
lege and the legislature had been called
upon several times to replace the cattle
which died there. When he was young
the bows got all the exercise they needed
on the farm Why could not these boys
get their exercise in the same way? He
did not question but that this was a
good school but it was an agricultural
college only in name, and he saw no rea-
son why the state should annually be
called upon for these large snms.
Mr.. Durgin of Orono said that Wingate
hall was not intended as place for ex-
ercise AS to the embankment for target
practice, Mr.. Durgin said that it was one
of the chief ideas of education that the
youthful mind should be taught to shoot.
Without the embankment, however,
there was danger that the State College
Young men might shoot people who
were passing. Mr.. Durgin favored the
resolve.
Mr.. Morrill, of Gray could not see how
the farmers of Cumberland county got
much benefit from the State college. 1t
was an institution where they lost cattle
on a scientific plan for which the farmers
were taxed.
Mr.. Harris of East Machias told of the
states contract with the United States
government by which it received annual
ly SIS. 900 and had agreed to do the very
things provided for by this resolve. 1t
was true that the college was not entire
ly an agricultural institution. The title
Estate College of Agriculture and
Mechanic Arts properly expressed it's
purpose Mr.. Harris called attention to
the fact that resolve had just passed
without question approprlatlng liberal
sum for such luxuries as electric lights
and bath tubs at the state prison.
Mr.. Littlefield OF Poland said as
member of the committee he had care
fully examined the resolve and while he
was at first disposed to object to some of
the items he had been satisfied that they
were necessary.
MI. Lltteneld calleo attentlon 10 the
civil engineering was taught in Maine.
He said boys could not be made to stay
upon the farm by keeping them in a
state of ignorance. The boys were too
smart and the opportunities for educa-
tion were too many.
the only place in the state giving a mil
itary training. He thought that would