The Portland daily press., 1897-02-17

pressed views regarding the college then
which are no more applicable to the 1nsti-
tuition nov, than the course of instruction
marked out for its first class in 1868
would meet the requirements and peeds
of its pupils t0day. a nd this is what the
PRESS calls All answer to column Of
opinions from the hest business men of
the State reiterated for years in succession
and confirmed by the action OF successive
legislatures that the interests of the State
ana the college were one.
The PRESS says 10 one can find in Mr..
Goodale's views "a trace of the idea that
the college was intended to ahe great
State university" Nor can anyone find
in the early opinions of its trustees and
friends any trace of the idea that the col
legs WIS Ja give instruction in electrical
engineering or the uss Of the Babcock
test to determine the per centage of but
ter fat in milk. The people of Maine
thsn hadn't the rsmotest idea that cleo
| trlcitY wRs ever to become mechanical
force it is today; and nobody then had
ever heard that milk contained any but
ter fat whatever. Bangor Commercial.
The Bangor Commercial set up the
claim that the State was bound by a con-
tract entered into with the United States
to support the State College. The PRESS
denied that there existed any such con.
tract, either expressed OF implied and it
cited the expressions of public men close
ly connected with whatever transaction
there was between the State and the I'm
tied States to show that they never
dreamed that any contract was to be Gre
ated, or was created, that bound the State
to- the support Of this college. The under
standing of persons who were parties to
IA Transaction at the time it occurred is
the very les. evidence of VIII at the tran
saction really was Secretary Gooiale
was the chief officer of the State Board of
Agriculture which represented the farmers
of this State, who were specially interested
in the cullege proposed. and his report as
approved and adopted by them is the best
possible evidence of what the college was
to be and how it was to be supported in the
opinion of the Eenetciaries. AS regards
the benefac5or, that is the United States.
its opinion was clearly expressed III the
| national act which prov Id ed that the
Estate legislature must formally accept
the grant within three years, establish at
least one school IF the character set forth
above within five years, must replace
all losses to the fund, must invest the en-
tire gross proceeds, after permitted ex
penditure of not more than ten per cent.
thereof for sites or experimental farms,
in safe stocks yielding not less than five
per cent. on.their par value. and must
use the interest Notwithstanding the
pure haso, erection, preservation, or re-
pair of any building or buildings-in sup
port of the school or schools established
by this act" Here is not the remotest
suggestion of State support. On the con.
trary the object of the act was tn estab.
lish school and mako provision for Its
support Neither party tn the transaction
at the time ever dreamed of a contract
binding upon the Stats to support this
college.
| The Commercial has had much to say
about the opinions of the early trustees.
Luckily it is possible to give in their own
language their views. In April, 1865,
just after the grant of Congress had been
accepted by the State, the board of trus-
tees issued an address to the people in
which they said this:
"The trustees propose to follow this adj
| dress by appeals to theif fellow-citiZens,
| for such contributions as will enable
them to provideSthe requisite buildings
and apparatus for setting the college in
operation. They rely both upon small
| contributions from large mum bers, and
upon the liberality of those who can be-
stow greater bsnefactions npon RnEobject
SO worthy of the greatest. 1t ought not
at this day, to be vain expectation that
| patriotic and high-minded men OF wealth
will found for themselves enduring mon
uments by-their contributions to this en-
! terprise. 1t they make 1t successful, it
will carry their names to the hearts of all
the people of the State, in many genera
| lions"
| Is there any suggestion of a contract
between the State and the United States
in this appealf Is it customary to per-
form State contracts by passing around
the contribution box?
Now word as to the purpose of this
college. We affirm that its original pur-
pose, as understood by the ben
efactor ana the benefciaries, was
radically different from that indicated in
| President Harris's recent speech. A
great State university was never contem-
plated by the founders as will be readily
seen from the following extract from the
address above alluded to:
! One of the distinctive features of tbs
foregoing plan u.s. that this students will
not only be taught the sciences which
| have bearing upon their vocation in
! life, but they will come forth skilled in
and accustomed to productive labor.
| This is something very different from
simply becoming possessed of knowl-
enge which may be rendered productive
hereafter The latter might be accom-
plished ct some of the scientific schools
attached to several of the colleges in
other states-provided OF course that the
parents of pupils possessed the pecuniary
ability to avail themselves of the advent-
ages of these institutions. We thankfully
acknowledge the fact that the scientific
schools do supply a great need in this
age of material progress. They 40 gradu-
ate accomplished mechanics, miners,
metallurgists, engineers, and some who
have given special attention to scientific
agriculture. But it is also a fact that
those who attend those schools ale very
few compared with tho numbers who are
| ir,I, o1