The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-01-02
CHANCELLOR SHOWS REPORT

e The tenth biennial report of the board
of regents of the state university of
Kansas ernbodies an interesting report
from the chancellor, Mr.. f. H. Snow
After reviewing the growth of that in
stitution, which at the end of the first
80 years of its existence has 1000 stu
dents, 81 instructors and property val
ued at 100000 the chancellor devDteS
some space to pointing out the superb
GRITTY of state universities over similar
institutions established and supported
by individual contribution and effort
1.-The state university, supported
chiefly by direct tax on all the property
of the state" says he. constitutes in
my opinion the true ideal of an Amer
lean university" Comparing Kansas
with other states, Chancellor Snow
says:
Whatever Improvement has been
made in the educational situation must
be considered as largely due to the
growth of the state university system
of our western states. Each state in
the Union is amply able to equip and
maintain a university of first rank, The
states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Mime
sofa and California have already eS-
tablished such universities. VIII Kan
sas be content to lag behind in its foS-
tering care of its own university? Min
nesota, with a population no larger
than Kansas, has already made her
state university three times as strong
as the Kansas state university. The
state of Nebraska, with one half the as
sessed valuation OF the state of KAN
sas assesses a fixed tax of three eighths
of a mill upon eyehy dollar Of her re-
sources. Thus, with one-hatf the val
uation CT Kansas, Nebraska provides
an annual revenue for the current ex-
penses of her university per cent
greater than that of the state of Kan
SaS.''
A large section of the report is de-
voted to plea for additional buildings.
The new buildings which the chancellor
considers as being necessary to the pro-
gress and standing of the university are
a chemistry building, a natural history
building and shops for the department
of electrical engineering. Regarding a
new chemistry building the report says.
1T should be stated that the pres
ent small building erected twelve years
ago at a cost of $12, 600, of which only
81 900 was appropriated by the state, Is
entirely Inadequate to accommodate the
students in chemistry. The lecture
room of this building provides proper
accommodations for only rs persons The
freshman class in chemistry at this
time numbers nearly 200, and there is
hardly standing room for this large
class, and no suitable space for the
proper using of writing materials in
taking notes of the lectures. The lab
oratories in the present building are
wretchedIy small and are capable of &C
commodating only 45 students, or less
than one-fourth of the membership of
the present freshman class But there
are in all classes 400 students in chem
istry during the present academic year,
and in some classes 1t has become ne
cessary to entirely deprive the student
of laboratory facilities. Chemistry can
not be taught without laboratory facil-
tiles, just as botany cannot be taught
without plants for dissection, or anat-
omy without animals for similar pur-
pose"
The fact is cited that Nebraska, Mis-
souri,, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois
and Iowa all have such buildings erect
ed at cost varying from $50, 900 to $780,
oO0
Unless detNTred by economical con-
siderations it seems unlikely that the
legislature can wholly resist these ur-
gent requests of the chancellor.