The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-08-14
DAVIS ANIMUS.
Student of Agricultural Col
Iege Gives Some History.
Explains Why Ex-COngressman
Attacked President Will.
THE "OTHER" SIDE.
What Deposed President Did
For the Institution.
Other College Men Who Have
Held Views OF Their Own.

ten by John Davis Of Junction City to
the board Of regents of the state agri-
cultural college, appeared in Topeka
paper, and from it was quite widely
copied by the administration papers
throughout the state The letter pur-
ported to be a friendly protest against
the retention of Prof. Thomas E viii
as president Of the college and as such,
no doubt had considerable effect, owing
to the high standing and political faith
of it's author.
But to those even slightly acquainted
with the facts in the case 1t is plainly
apparent that Mr.. Davis is not inspir-
ed so much by a generous and absorb
ing interest in the welfare of the insti-
tuition as by another, q deeper and
more selfish motive.
This motive is to be found in the in
harmonious relations that are known
to have existed between President Will
and Charles S. Davis, who has been
superintendent of the printing depart
ment at the college, and who is a son
Of John Davis, the author Of that let
ter.
Immediately after assuming charge of
the printing department the son dis
played such a lamentable lack Of deciS-
ion and of executive and administrative
ability that in order to raise the de-
partment to the standard that Presi-
dent Will desired it to occupy, the pres
ident was often compelled to leave his
executive Office and take personal
charge of the printing department, that
its work might be expedited and that
out of chaos Owing to this inefhciency
on the part of John Davis son, and his
inability to rise to the occasion" and
get firm grasp on the work of his
department he was often subjected to
severe personal censure by President
Will and by the heads Of other depart
ments-
the real inspiration of John Davis let
ter; a personal grievance, selfish hate,
and family enmity. How much consid-
Grafton an attack inspired by such self
ish motives is worthy of, each reader
may Judge for himself, but in my opin-
ion it is scarcely worth the mental eff
fort given to its perusal.
Turning to the consideration Of John
Davis charges against President Will,
we find that they may be properly
summarized into two specific state
ments, viz: Inexactness in teaching and
extreme partisanship. He is too
Jealous a Pop"
The first charge, that of ''inexaetness
in teaching" IS really of minor import
ance in view of the fact that the only
citations Of inexactness were in a. his
toricaI article written by President
Will and corrected by John Davis be-
fore the subject matter was presented
to the classes.
The facts are that President Will
prepared a series of articles on the fin
anciaI history of the United States that
were published in the Industrialist. In
these articles John Davis claims to have
and also in deductions drawn and con-
illusions reached by the presidents line
of argument. Suppose all of this were
true, what of it? Where does this over
jealous teaching come in?
Even admitting for argument that
President Will is guilty Of possessing a
hObby-a Pop hobby, which consists
in that he believes in the need of a re-
form in the monetary system similar
to that advocated by the Populist par
ty; and suppose further, that he airs
his views and promulgates his doctrines
in print, where does his crime come in
so long as these views are not given
pOtminence or particular norice in class
work, either by himself or by the pro-
fessOr in charge?
I have been in these classes myself
and have been intimately acquainted
with students in economics belonging to
all political parties. and 1 have yet to
know myself, or hear of a student who
could cite single instance since the
reorganization in which any instruction
of a political bias has been given in any
of these classes.
need and need badly are professors
with opiniOns-are professors with views
on living issues and blest with the
courage to express them and advocate
them anywhere outside Of their classes.
Why should we deny to our best men
to our men of brilliant intellect and
trained reasoning powers-the privilege
and the right of bringing these powers
to bear on vital, living questions, and
of promulgating the opinions and the
views which their unbiased reasoning
deduces2
President David Starr Jordan of Lee
land Stanford university is at present
an active and a. bitter anti-expansion-
list. Prof E Benjamin Andrews, late
president of Brown university, but now
Of the Chicago public schools. is Just
as enthusiastic an advocate of expan-
sion. Prof. Laughlin of Chicago uni
Versity took an active part in the last
-1r,~-4 srnT
Republican party with some of it's
heavy weight gold standard arguments
and is now using his voice and pen in
denuneiatiOn of the Administrations
man of Cornell is at the head of the
Philippine commission endeaVoring to
promote peaceful expansion, but no one
fears that his positive attitude will I'M
duly influence the students of Cornell
or contaminate that institution with
heretical political doctrines. Neither
did anyone that I ever heard of object
to President Angel of Michigan uni
versity being rewarded for his political
faith and activity by the appointment
of minister to Turkey. President VIII
has been no more zealOusly. partisan
than these men just referred TON fact,
he has been less offensiveIy partisan
than some of them, having refrained
from mounting the rostrum to proclaim
his ideas
These men referred to are among the
leading educators of the country today
and they rightfully assume a positive
attitude on living political issues. 1t
is an evidence of true Americanisn and
manhood. The charge that by speak
ing their sentiments they give a 20
litical complexion, a partisan tone to
their institution is an absurdity. 1t is
a. charge that the American youth who
are being trained to reason logically
and to think for themselves are aetu-
ally unable to think differently than
someone who has brief authority over
them.
Summing up the crimes Of President
WILL we find them to be: authorship Of