Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-03-10


e. s sss ss.ss a AM xa s ass ss s Dss.
come from all parts OF the State. they
said we will discriminate and the sone
q wealthy parent. viii w! pay tuition and ana
nit that the State Of Maine has not yet
reached the point where II proposes to
discriminate between the sons Of poor
and rich in educational institutions or
anything else. The State OF Maine are
all one people and always will remain one
people, and so long az they remain ar
| sires. in an institution belonging to the
State and controlled by the State to dis
criminate between one class OF students
| and another. Either charge tuition to
every boy who enters that college. or
/ charge tuition to none; but when you
charge tuition to all you owe iiv.., lna.
the most MY friend from Wilton lMr.
| Blanchard) has told you OF the sumptu-
Gus rooms and accommodations there.
have known the State college since 1880.
have visited every room and every DOR
| mitory In that institution. and | remem-
| Der well some of the sumptuOus rooms
used to visit when J was a student there.
| where the entire furniture was a chair,
| IA stand. IA bedstead and IA cooking stove.
and the sons Of wealthy men We're cook
ing, their meals In their own bedroom
so. today. do not mean that every stu
dent Is doing IL. but the students are do
ing 1t who need your help and need it
| enough. II should not. by the votes Of
| this House. be made one dollar more ex-
pensive TO the students than it is. today.
| This talk Of economy at this point
| arouses my indignation Appropriation
after appropriation has passed this
house carrying thousands and thousands
| of dollars and not yet has the gentleman
| from Wilton tMr Blanchard) or the gen.
| tleman from Chelsea tMr. Searls) been
| found raising his voice TO protest against
| the appropriation OF one dollar for any
| purpose whatever. On the contrary the
| gentleman from Wilton ,Mr. Blanchardb
comes to this Legislature asking for 5000
| for Wilton academy. where other acad-
| emies are receiving 500.
| There has been something said about
| the farmers. ] have friends who are
| farmers. and If there is anything that is
| AN insult 10 "a man 1t is to ask his vote
| IN TINS fouse because OF mis- occupation.
| | submit that no man has right TO ask
a member on the floor of this House.
Because you are farmer vote for or
| farmers vote differently from anybody
else? Are they less intelligent? l have
| gested that the college has departed from
| its original design. IL has not been sug-
| gested by the opponents of this college
| that we are asking for too much money.
| 1t is question of taking the money from
| the State treasury or taking part Of II
| from the State and providing for a part
! Of IL by tuition. IL has not been suggest
| ed that We are asking for too long time.
| But the argument is made that the col
| lege has departed from its original de-
| sign. The clause In the charter of these
| colleges. introduced into the National
| House by Mr. Morrill, is broad enough
| TO form design for Harvard university.
| II forbids the Legislature which accepts
| that land grant from excluding from the
| course of study other scientific and clas-
| steal studies. No power rests in this Leg
| isiature to limit the charter of that col
| lege. IL stands on broad founda-
ton as any university in the land can
1 SfA far I-.--f s,tr a. -f.1
| from its original design. the college has
not yet reached its original design. The
| college has only added such courses of
study the change in science and the
| conditions made absolutely necessary.
They say that only small percentage
of the boys go to farming. Would II
| not surprise YOU If "A boy should go there
and take a four years course in civil en-
cheering and go to farming? You have
not heard about the small percentage
that take TO engineering. because it is
not a small percentage: 1t is large per-
| centage. One hundred and seventy
| eight out of 3is or more than 30 per cent.
of the graduates from that college in
| 1892 We're engaged in agriculture. civil
| or mechanical engineering, and 40 more
engaged in teaching. making about Is
per cent. who were following out the
very courses prescribed when the col
lege began. III II is true. and the COM
missioners say so. that that college
draws from the laboring people of Maine
large percentage of its students, and if
professions of life and do not go back
to the laboring class. then in Heavens
name is not the college doing for your
sons and mine and every man of moder-
ate means Just what we desire to have
done for them-taking them from the
ranks of laborers and putting them into
the ranks of civil engineers and mechan-
ical engineers and professional teachers.
the various ranks in which young men
attain greatness? | have too much con-
iidence in the sense of fairness and the
your desire to do right by the State OF
Maine to believe that by any vote of this
House the useful work of that institution
will be crippled in any degree: and
ask, as friend of this institution that
when this vote is called. you vote not |
with any bias or prejudice and that you
will throw aside any mis-conceived no.
ton as to the needs of this institution, |
any bias in favor of any other institu-
ton. and that you will. vote on the ques-
ton as you would vote on an appropria- i
ton for any other State institution Civ
ing ii what II fairly needs from the
treasury of the State of Maine.
Mr.. Walton of Skowhegan:. The propo-
sition here is to depart from our usual |
custom of making appropriations fer two |
years and make an appropriation that |
binds future Legislatures. | do not be- |
lieNe in this principle. I admit there is |
force in the argument but l claim that |
the same force applies to every other /
appropriation for academies benevolent |
institutions. hospitals and the like.
lege. | believe that all the gentlemen |
who have spoken have been candid and |
honest in what they have said. | believe |
there Is a certain principle We should |
adopt in regard to this State college. |
believe We should appropriate certain |
sum of money upon condition that the |
friends OF the college obtain from some |
other source a certain sum of money.
Colby and Bowdoin and Bates ARE being
assisted year after year by the benev- |
client people of this and other states. |
Our State college comes here year after
year as a State pauper. Is it always to
be "a State pauper? | say some course |
should he adopted by which the attention
OF the benevolent people of this State |
VIII be attracted to the fact that this col |
iege needs money. and that all of 1t |
should not come from the State. claim
have a right to urge this point because
the only man who ever did contribute
TO this college came from the town of |
Skowhegan. One hundred thousand dol
lars was given to this college by Abner
Coburn; and l say we ought adopt a |
course that will provide that this college
shall be made self-supporting i'm the
same way that other colleges are made +
self-supporting, by requests and gifts.
Will read from the original act when
this college was instituted: and | want
TO suggest that my friend from Machias
tMr. PattangalD was not properly In
Stfuctad in this TO topa ha