The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-01-31
THE STATE UNIVERSITY.
It Should Be Generously Treated and
Kept in High Rank.

The following kindly notice from a
Missouri paper should receive the care
full attention of the legislature and the
endorsement Of the newspapers of our
state:
''The regents of the Kansas State uni
versity are asking for about $130,OOO per
annum for maintenance, and for two ad-
ditional buildings. In their report they
show clearly that their requests are
reasonable. The legislature ought to
understand the position of this board.
The board is appointed by the governor.
Its business is to study and direct the
affairs of the institution, and to advise
the legislature as to its needs. The
members of the board have no possible
interest in the matter. Their small per
diem will be paid them whether the in
stitution grows and prospers and keeps
abreast with other institutions of a sim
liar character or whether it drops into
the second or third class of educational
institutions. Under these circumstances
the recomm endationS of the board ought
not to be ignored.
Under the administration of Chan
cellor Snow the university has made
great progress. The chancellor under
stands what a state university should
be. He has the true ideal. But that
ideal can not. of course, be worked out
without the hearty support of the leg
iSlature. The ideal state university will
not only furnish liberal education to all
these young men and women, whether
rich or poor, who have ambition and
capacity to take advantage of their OPP
portunities; it will not only be the life
and inspiration of the whole public
school system, but it will all the while
be adding something to the universal
store of knowledge by original work
and investigation.
1T has been clearly shown that the
state of Kansas has not for some years
kept abreast with other states in its
support of it's university. Possibly some
excuse can be found for what has hith-
erto been left undone, but now the state
is once more prosperous, and all that
the regents ask should be granted. AS
the legislature is now constituted, lib
eral appropriations can not be criticised
either by the party in power or the par
ty out of power, because they can not
be granted without the concurrence of
the Populist senate and the Republican
house. Liberal appropriations will not
increase the burden of taxation in any
perceptible degree. The fact is, the tax
for state purposes in the state of Kan
sas is almost nothing. The tax in kan
for all state purposes is only Az
mills. This pays the salaries and ex-
penses of all state offices, of all the
appointeeS of the governor, of all the
insane asylums, blind aSylums, reform
atories and other state charities, the
agricultural college, the normal school,
and the state university, and of all in
terest on state debt. The man who has
property of the real value of $4,000 pays
annually only about Sc for all state pur-
poses, because his property is valued
by the assessors at only about one
fourth it's real value. In other words,
while citizens of Kansas pay about 4
mills on the assessed value for state
purposes, they pay only about 1 mill on
the real value of their property. The
proposed increase in the appropriation
for the state university, which consists
mainly of the fund necessary to build
the two buildings, will not add to ex-
coed rs cents to the annual tax of
man whose property is worth $4,000.
Citizens who are worth less than $4,000
A-T--
this minute increase is only for two
years.