Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1893-03-19
THE NORMAL SCHOOL VETO

OONtTUOT ACGTdW mas AT ldSU COIL
pleted his labors on the general appro
priation bill passed by the Legislature
and in the exercise of the veto power
has cut down the aggregate amount OF
the bill to $l7S,64O The two principal
items cut out are $4,000 appropriated
for the normal school at Cheney and
S35, 900 for normal school in this
county, making an aggregate of $780,
OO0 The balance is made up of sundry
small items which the governor re-
garded as being not absolutely neces-
sary, in view of the large deficit which
will exist at the expiration of two years.
We dislike to disagree with the gov
ernor, or to criticise his acts, but we
think he was mistaken in his views in
relation to the normal school appro-
priations, and that they should have
been allowed to remain in the law, as
they doubtless would have been if they
had pertained to any of the institutions
in or about Seattle. The state univer-
sity got $4,000, and no part of that
great sum was vetoed, although it
stands in all respects precisely as the
normal school appropriations. The
P.-l., anticipating that this favor to-
ward Seattle would attract attention
and provoke criticism, undertakes to
anticipate the attack by showing that
the university item will be repaid to
the state out of the money arising from
the old university site, and that, there
fore, that appropriation is in the nature
OF loan. The argument contains
much more ingenuity than truth. The
university site belongs To the state and
so will the money when it shall be sold
Its sale, either with or without the
present appropriation, will simply in
crease the revenues of the state by the
amount of the purchase price, and by
just so much furnishes a fund
with which to meet any de-
hcits which may exist, no mat
ter whether that deficit arises
from the university, the normal school
or the salary appropriations. Being
state property, the people of the whole
state are interested in it, and the gov
ernor had not the right on the grounds J
alleged to sacrifice all the interests of |
this county iand of Cheney in order
that Seattle might get the full benefit |
OF her large appropriations. If the
state funds are TO be thus loaned to any /
institution and repaid by sale of the
state property, why not in justice and
fairness make some sort OF distribution
among educational institutions which
in all respects should stand ON an
equality? 1t Is quite clear that the
$780, 900 granted to the university will
no more be repaid than would have
been the normal school appropriations
The old university site was directed to
De sold by an act of the legislature APP
proved March Z, 1891, but it has not
been attended to and probably will not
be for some time to come. There is an
other thing which has been overlooked
In this matter, and that is that both
the appropriations to the university I
and to the normal schools could have 1
been met withoutieither of them add {
ing anything to the deficiency out of (
sale of university lands and of nor I
NAL school landse The organic act c
granted to this state seventy-two sec q
tons of land, or 46,0s0 acres for state &
lniyQraifu aud 100 nan e. q
schools, and $4,000 acres for state cap
Itol buildings. The appropriation of a
million dollars for the capitol will be '
repaid, it is said, out of these lands, 1
and therefore 1t will not increase the S
deficit. The one hundred and fifty v
thousand dollars 10 Seattle's univer- il
'ity viii be repaid, therefore it will not e
Increase the deficit. But the normal b
schools with their large grant of lands f
that Is another thing. il
The Cascade wagon road north of o
Mount Baker is allowed to stand as an t.
Eastern Washington measure. In all Of
he large territory lying between the al
ummit of the mountains and the ocean pi
md north of King county, no dollar of bC
public funds has yet been expended by OF
he state, so far as we are aware. The fis
legislature, seeing the injustice of the eli
natter, noting in other parts Of The We
tate normal schools the agricultural dc
ollege, the penitentiary buildings, the
tate university, and the capitol, giving
very section Of the state share of the IN
enefits which arise from monies and ia
abor necessary to erect and maintain VI
hese institutions, justly concluded that se
he great country situated in the north. va
rest corner Of the state ought also to "
anticipate in the benefits Of the appro- n'