The herald., 1897-01-05
TAXES FOR BERKELEY

| TAXES FOR BERKELEY
| There has been and continues a strong
campaign for very large addition to the
tax levy and to the public state debt for
! the university at Berkeley. No taxes are
asked for the university of Stanford at
| Palo Alto.
| is asked by the Berkeley university for
| buildings alone about San Francisco
! bay The Berkeley university appears
to be thriving. The Herald is glad Of
this and hopes that Berkeley will con
tinue to grow and improve ard finally
rid itself of all its narrowness, provin-
cialism and personal spites, When it
comes, however, to new taxes and in
creased public debt for it, there are two
points for our legislative representa-
tives to consider:
First-What management is there of
the great public fund now in the uni
versity's hands for its benefit? Pres-
dent Kellogg, in the New Years Exam
iner, admits that the university i'll
vestments are earning less percentage
rather than a greater" This statement
of the university president follows an
other, about l per cent tax being mad
equate. With the obscurity that so often
enguifs the profound scholar, it is not
clear whether the great public fund and
the large private bequests are decreasing
in returns, or are strangely earning less
than l per cent. Some investigation
should be made to learn whether the dis
tress of the university finances is in any
way due to the Management of its large
fund. If this fund is intact and well
managed, the new bequests promised
by Mrs. Hearst. together with the in
creasing returns of the lawful levy,
should obviate the need of great sacri-
fees by the taxpayers at this time.
Our state taxes are already too high
and too hard to raise, without increas-
ing them for the luxury of fancy build
ings at Berkeley for a bay college or
two Buildings, in any event do not
make a university. If they did, We
should be inclined to think badly of
Berkeley While the buildings there are
numerous, there is probably nowhere
else in the state better exposition of
architectural horror than at Berkeley.
1t demonstrates in architecture just
what one of the colleges does in aeri-
culture-v hat not to do.
Let their friends about the bay do for
them what Stanford did for Palo Alto.
The making of the University of Cali
fornia at Berkeley was the stirring up it
was given by Stanford. Much Of its
rut-bounG pettiness and faction have
happily been reduced, but by no means
exterminated. Even the regents still
adhere to the Old lines and exait per-
sonal following and faction over the true
interests of the university. Nowhere is
this more conspicuous than in the agri-
cultural field. Instead Of examining
questions on their merits, the regents
are blindfolded and led about by the
nose in a morass Of greed and stupidity
If any friend Of the university truly
desires it to improve altogether out Of
its old inertia and utilities, he should
financially aid Stanford. not Berkeley
Stanford has remade Berkeley. OF
the 1886 students at Berkeley propar
in 1926, 1920 were from California. o.
these 902 We're from san Francisco and
Alameda. The III other students in the
affiliated colleges We're all bay men. lt
is. consequently. no eXaggcraton to call
Berkeley a bay university. At the same
time unaided Stanford had 1869 students
Honest, fair competition between these
institutions will improve both. Further
taxing Of the people for ore of them
alone is not in this line. Besides, an in
Vestigation should be had of the Berka-
ley finances in the handling of the pub
lie funds. The loans made by the uni
Versity are not taxed like other mort
cages. so that some advantage can be
got from these public funds by borrow
cYs. Southern California does not get
any of these benefits. We are strictly
out OF this line. The question who get,
these loans. whether they are well
made. whether they are paid at all.
and other matters germane to financial
stress, ought TO be carefully looked into
before we add new taxes on an over
burdened people. No one part of the
Berkeley institution needs more thor
ough overh hauling than its most exper-
s!ve college. This is the college of ag-
Ticulture. with its forty professors. as
sociate professors. assistant professors.