The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-03-28
STATE SCHOOL QUESTION
A DIsPAssIONATE DISCUSSION BY
HON. ISAAC JENKINsON.
Legal Phase of the Issue and Spirit
of the Convention That Framed
the Present Constitution.
Q the Editor of the Indiananolis IonrnaI:


ticle misrepresenting the attitude of the
constitutional convention of 1851 toward
higher education in Indiana, permit me to
submit the following: The discussion of the
constitutionality of state support for higher
education naturally follows along two lines.
The first is the strictly legal phase. and the
second is the spirit of the convention that
framed our present Constitution. As to the
first, there is no attorney of recognized
standing in his profession who claims that
support to higher education is unconstitu-
tional for the reason that the Constitution
provides not only that the Assembly shall
provide by law for general and uniform
system of common schools, wherein tuition
shall be without charge, and equally open
to all, but in the same article it makes it
the duty of the General Assembly ito en-
courage. by all suitable means, moral in
telectual, scientific and agricultural i'm
provement." Even did the Constitution con-
tain no such reference, state support to
higher education would still be constitu-
tionaI
AS to the second, an investigation of the
actual proceedings of the convention makes
plain the fact that the majority of the men,
bers of the constitutional convention We're
not only not unfriendly to the State Uni
versity, but by a decisive vote they de-
clared their support of it, The report of the
debates and proceedings of the constitu-
tional convention of 1851 was published in
two volumes, and in Vol. !, Page $685. ap-
pears a report of a discussion in reference
to the Indiana University. On Nov 80, 1885,
Mr.. Borden from Allen, Adams and Wells,
offered the following resolutions:
Resolved, That the committee on educa-
bo fpS tod no infr
diency of annually dividing the interest on
the university fund among the several in
corporated colleges of this State, in proper
ton to the number of students in each of
said colleges during the year.
1t appears from the remarks of Mr. Wolfe
OF Sullivan Up. S5S), that the committee had
already decided that the funds could not be
transferred, but the subject was discussed
by Messrs. Foster, Borden, Wolfe, Read
/ ytNelso, Watts, Holman and Kilgore pages
ooe-Sol.) Mr.. Borden stated that this course
mad been pursued in several of the States,
and he was answered by Mr. Read, as fol-
lows Up. $500:
The gentleman from Allen (Mr. Borden)
says IL mas been the practice in other States
| to divide the university fund among differ
ent institutions. Now sir, / undertake. TO
say that such thing as seizing upon the
iund once given for the founding of a coll
mas never yet occurred in a single American
state. 1t was 1 hold, a wise policy
on the part of the general government to
make provision which would secure higher
| institutions of education in all the new
states with their origin. Shall Indiana be
| Congress. It's diversion to any other object
| than that for which it was given by Con-
unworthy the State...'
Mr.. Kelso page $500 held that the "reso-
luton proposed nothing more than to in
quire into the propriety of doing or not do
ing certain thing" and that I'VE should
gain something by allowing the the resolu-
ton to go to the committee and letting the
subject be investigated
Delegates Wolfe, Kelso and Foster were
of the opinion that if the funds were divert
ed at all it would be better to give them
to the common schools than to the colleges,
but, as will be seen later on, the convention
decided by an overwhelming majority not
to divert them to any purpose whatever
The question was taken on the resolution,
and it was adopted. and thus the duty of
the committee was tc inquire into the expe-
dieney of dividing the interest on the uni
versity fund among the Incorporated col
leges of the State.
UNIVERSITY FUNDS.
On Monday, jan q, 1851, the section in
relation to the funds of the State Univer-
sity was read second time, and the section
passed by a vote of So to Ga victory for
the State University. Immediately after the
vote was. taken page 1859 Delegate Petit
of Tippecanoe county. offered the following
additional section:
'fAll trust funds held by the State shall
be faithfully applied to the purposes for
which the trust was created"
BY reference to the discussion that fol-
lowed pages 1s63-1S66) it will be seen that
this section was discussed solely in the rela-
ton of the State University. and the uni
versity won gloriously. Delegate Robert
Dale, owen opened the discussion, and
among other things said:
81 hope, sir, that the section introduced
by the gentleman from Tippecanoe will
pass. The amount of our university fund
is not large, but 1 doubt much whether,
by the diversion from it's original purpose
any fund Of a similar amount we can bring.
greater discredt upon our State than we
shall If we take this grant from Congress,
expressly given for a seminary of learning,
and apply it in any other way whatever.
Such action will rebound little, we may be
assured to the credit of our State through
out the United States and the world. There
is another thing which it behooves us to
bear in mind. You cannot obtain for your
university such talent as you ought to have
II there be any uncertainty connected with
the period of it's existence. To the success
of a state university 1t is essential that it's
existence shall be placed, by constitutional
provision. beyond the changing influences
of annual legislation"
Another one of the influential members of
the convention was Judge Horace p. Bid
die. of Cass, Howard and Pulaski counties
Among other excellent things he said page
1850
I'm the first place. how any gentleman
can vote against proposition which mere
~ declares that we shall. as State be
bound to execute a trust confided to us
is surprising to me. Common honesty and
tate the passage of the section. Shall we
do that as Il State which shall bring the
Indignation of the Christian world upon
us2 Ii gentlemen would secure the common
school lands, they must secure the uni
Versity fund. Common schools are the more
important, but ] would never make pro-
vision for them by robbing the University
Let us sustain them both-they are mutual
aids. A state cannot be prosperous in
either her university or her schools when
she will. before the Christian world vio-
late a trust confided to her. Bring the
peat If we do not regard the trust for the
support of our university, the fund con-
fided TO us for common schools is not safe
Give repoSe to your institutions of learn
ing without this they cannot be prosperous
and useful"
ernoon Delegate Walpole moved TO amend
the section so as to provide that nothing
i'm the trust-fund section should be so con-
strued as TO prevent the Legislature from
diverting the university fund. with the con-
sent of the general government, to the use