The Princeton union., 1897-02-18

yulture Thinks the Committee Will
Have Plenty to Do to Stop
75s Extravaganza.
TaIhs Bixby as Land Commissioner
Could Do Much for Minneso-
ta's Interests.
Special Correspondence
The general appropria bill is due
to be presented to the Legislature with
in q short time, and the public may as
well begin getting ready to kick, for
as usual the State institutions will be
onshand asking for fortune each.
The committee on appropriations in
this case has a delicate but "a plain duty
before it, and fortunately for the pub
lhc 1t is one of the strongest commit
tees that ever had charge of this duty
lbefore any Legislature. A. n. Dare,
of Sherburne county, is chairman of
1.-The committee, and the other members
are Anderson, Barta, Basford, Cray,
lD0nglas, Goar, Grondahl, Henderson,
jacobson, Laing, aybourn, Lovejoy,
MeGill, Scott, Snyder and Staples.
Many Of them are old members, famil-
iarSWith the tactics of the appropria
tipn- hunters, and most of, them are
men who will be inclined to consult the
i general good rather than the personal
demands OF politicians with a pull or
/ contractors with a job in sight. The
public institutions, of course, will
make the heaviest drafts on the treas
ury, and while these institutions must
beSuppOrted in such a way as to main
tain the honor and credit of the State
the promoters of their several appro-
& priations may as well understand that
extravaganza will not be encouraged
Ibythis committee. The great trouble
in dealing with these demands for APP
preparations has been this: Each in
1stitution has it's friend or friends in
the legisla ture- usually the local mem
bers OF the legislature. Each repre-
sentative knows that he must accord
Ito the other institutions liberal APP
Ipropriation in order to get support for
I his own, and so a little lobby is formed
Iof the personal friends of the various
institutions. They get together and
Iagree in a general way to demand a
80 pper-eent-i t-iaaexeess of swhat
is actually needed, and then they ac-
1cept with alacrity, but with apparent
reluctance, the amount that is finally
Voted them.
The State university, of course, is
the heaviest single burden on the
State, and though there is a liberal
fund for the support of this venerable
and revered seat of learning there has
always been a marked disposition or
the part of its managers to secure the
: last possible dollar for its use. It is q
creditable institution and ranks high
among the universities of the country
: No well disposed man would entertain
the thought of crippling or hampering
it in it's field of usefulness, but for al
! that the committee on appropriation
might proftably employ itself fo1
several days in analysis of the claim!
submitted by its friends. Every
facility should be afforded for educat
ing the youth of the land, but the gen
eral public is not in the humor OF
financial condition just now to feel like
pounding Greek or Latin into thu
heads of youth at the rate of a dollar {
! word.
The same cautious care might wei
be taken in fixing the appropriation!
for other State institutions. No mar
: who has been sentenced to stated
residence in the State capitol would
. feel like denying that the old bug
{ roost and pneumonia box which an
swers the purpose Of a State capitol il
a disgrace to the State and utterly in
adequate for the purpose, but the pub
s lie is not ready to assume any new ex
. |pense even in this particular, and the
4 legislature will go slow or take the
consequences Other State institu
tions, including all the insane hospit
ais, normal schools, prisons, ETC., vii
Ibe on hand and find the same rule il
force. Economy will be the rule Of the
day unless am much mistaken, and .
reduced tax levy may be one of the
{ happy results. There are at least foul
men on the committee who would sigr
a minority report rather than see ar
/ Iextravagant appropria bill recon-
mended to pass, and they are four q
6 the ablest men in the house Dare
J. jacobson, Staples and Douglas.
There is a great deal of misappre
y go 49,