The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-01-17

ths school Of mines, and the agricultural
college. trust shat Won will not think me
meddlinR or intrusive II, In view Of the
great Importance Of tho subject to your
noble state and shs country 1T large. I ad-
ar arss; ySI ON s a,,, sa1i'ss; 90 70 simply ~
follow c~itizsns. TO have the splendid endow.
ments given by the nation, by the states.
and by public spirited individuals used 80
the best advantage. and + trust that this
fact will BE- my exeaae for writing You. Al
know. ! iaborsd long aud suoosssfuIly 10
prevent such = mistake in the state Of New
York. was 1t the tims opposed strongly
by many Of ths best men Of the state, but
there 10 not n Of thsm who will not az
knowledge now, that thsy we're wrong in
attempting 70 scatter the resources for I'D
vanesd education. and That II was most
fortunate that better counssis Prevailed,
and that one adequate institution was pro-
viasd for the state. instead Of several
wfstchsdly imperfect ones. II. Instead Of
concentrating your rssou oes, yon slow
them 70 Dc FILTERED away OF two or three
men will simply 20 TO institutions outside
the state. there 10 yet another considers
ton IN favor OF concentrating your re-
sourcss. which ought TO be Thought OF. =
single. large. wsll-foundsd institution Ia q
good locality will attract generous gifts
~ " " AASA ~ v 0Ao RuOll0 UVlIb
a. the case Of Cornell shows; while little.
fsebls institutions will BE- looked upon with
contempt and will not be helped In this
way. Cornell started with endownsnts
hardly larger than what l suppose year
1--WE would b. II concentrated, but thanks
above all 10 gifts from pu~blic-spiritsd in
dividuals amounting now to several mil
lions Of dollars. Its income to-day IL
larger than it's original %peouniary endow-
mont; the very fact that IL was large and
strong, has drawn moro gifts to IL which
it otherwise could not have secured. II has
received from individuals more than all the
twenty-five small colleges of the state"
Ffom President D.. G. Gilman. of Johns
Hopkins university: II am firmly of the
opinion that it 10 desirable to combine in
one strong institution the state university
and ths colleges Of agriculture and mines.
provided TO- in the congressional grant.
All the funds united will not be for many
years to come adequate TO your wants. Sop
afnted with those distinct foundations it is
doubtful whether either one of them would
ba worthy of your state"
From President Chas. w. Elliott. Of Har-
ward university: Il bsa to say that a state
university IN Montana should undoubtedly
include the sgricultu al college Of the state,
the state school of mines and the state nor
NAL school. Il ID the interest Of the state
to concentrate these institutions at one
spot and under one direction. Each of the
departments which I ave named would be
much more effective as part OF the univera-
Ivy than as a distinct institution.
II You want an example OF the
effects Of the opposite policy you may
find it in the state Of Colorado, where tho
state university ia in one town, the normal
school In another, and the sohool OF mines
In a third. This disposition has been and
Is very unfortunate. Tbs state university
should be placed near a prosperous and
growing town or city containing an intslli-
gent and pu~bIic-spirited population. n il
should not be robbed ct any of the compo-
nent parts of a comprehensive university
From President David y. Jordan, of LIE
land Stanford Junior universitg: Il an
fully In sympathy with your desire to hold
tho natural parts OF the state university OF
Montana together. There 10 no doubt
whatever from the experience of other states
that the three departments kept together in
one will be Of vastly more value and infu-
encs in Montana than the three institu-
tions could possibly be if located in sspa-
rats towns"