The leader., 1898-05-11
A Comprehensive Review of the
I. I. & G., MuddIe.

| OiHlCj Inc lOllOWluS tuiIOTldi lsOnl
the Carthagenian reviewing the
whole subject, cannot fail to inter
est every Mississipplan:
"Our readers will pardon us for
again referring to that alleged
appropriation for the Girls College
at Columbus. While every one
must he desirous of seeing this in
stitutiOn prosper and flourish, and
be credit to our State, the prin
ciples involved in the Governors
veto of the bill to appropriate
money for its support are too Sc.
riouS and far reaching a nature to
be passed lightly by. Let's recall
the history of this College for a
year or two past:
"There appeared to be something
radically wrong at the Industrial
Institute. No president of that
concern seemed willing to retain
the position, because of the inter
meddling of the teachers under
him and the obstacles thrown in
the way by them. These teachers
were in all instances appointed
by the trustees of the College, and
feeling themselves wholly inde-
pendent of the nominal head of the
institute, and protected by the in
fluence of relatives on the Board
of Trustees, they were not ready
to yield that hearty cooperation
without which the president was
practically powerless to make the
school the success it out to be. So
notorious had these dissensiOns be-
come that when the Legislature
met last January committee was
appointed to investigate the affairs
of the College. That committee
went to Columbus and made care
full and thorough examination into
those things which seemed to be
at the root of the trouble there.
"The committee made report
wherein the existing abuses were
pointed out, and certain reforms
suggested. One of the evils point
ed out by the committee was the
appointment of the relatives of
trustees to positions in the College.
Governor McLaurin, who is presi,
dent of the board of trustees, has
at least one relative among the
teachers of the College. Whether
the fact that the report of the com.
mittee appeared to him to be an
attack upon his kin, or whether he
was animated by some other equal
ly laudable motive, is matter for
each reader to determine for him
self; all that is known is, that the
Governor took no action in support
of the committees recommendation
that the abuses at the Girls College
should be corrected. 1t is plain
now that his Excellency believed
that unless he sent to the Legisla,
ture special message relating to
the College, that body would have
no right to take any steps looking
to the correction of the mischiets
existing in that school as discOv'
cred and reported by the legisla-
tive committee. He thought he
could block the way to the correc-
ton of the abuses by Withholding
any message thereon. This must
have been his Excellency's idea,
for there is no other reasonable in
terpretatiOn to be placed on the
course he saw tit to pursue
"But the Legislature thought
that the College was not worthy OF
aid from the State while the abuses
reported by the committee continue
to exist. The lawmakers were not
willing to grant the College a sin,
Gle nickel until it's management
was put upon a more satisfactory
basis. If they had no power to
correct those evils by direct legls'
lation-if they could not by law
compel the trustees to institute re-
forms they could withhold appro.
priations until the trustees should
see fit to act. 1t was moreover
plainly within their power to in,
struct the Auditor when, and un'
der what conditions, he might is
sue his warrant for money for the
maintenance of that or any other
institution for which the le2isla-
ture might wish to appropriate
money. Accordingly they passed
a bill making conditional appro
priation for the school. That is,
| the College might have the money
if the trustees would correct the
abuses existing in that institution
but unless the trustees should in
stitute those reforms the school
should have no money from the
State. This left it optional with
the trustees to make the reforms
and get the money, or to leave the
evils uncorrected and do without
the money. But the bill granted
to the Auditor no authority to Is
sue warrant against the treasury
| in favor of the College until he
should have satisfactory proof that
the reforms in the school had been
carefully carried out.
"When the bill went TO the Gov
ernor he tried to pervert the inten
ton of the Legislature and by Exec
utive act to make that law which
the Legislators had emphatically
and specifically declared should not
be law. He tried to make an
appropriation for the Girls College
without reforming the abuses ex
listing there-the very thing
which the legislators had refused
to do. He vetoed the conditions
which gave life to the appropria
ton and the only authority by