The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1900-01-25
AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.
An Answer Judge Doster's Politics.
Opinion and a Comparison Be-
tween Pop and Republican
Arrangement

management
The other day in giving his dissent
ing opinion in the cases of Voc VS.
Hoffman and Mcdowell VS.. Lubbock
er. Chief Justice Doster took occasion
to make what might be called a strong
partisan stump speech from the
bench The gist of the judges speech
from the bench was to the effect that
me investig CATION and custer Of Hoff-
man and LimboclSer was contrary to
law, wholly without Justification and
part Of a scheme to get control of the
agricultural college in order to use it
for political and partisan purposes.
In view of the fact that for the first
time in the history of the institution
when the Populists obtained control
Of the state govern ment, they de1ib-
erately undertook to turn IL into an
institution for the dissemination of
the theories of the controlling spirits
of POpulism, this charge from Doster
comes with poor grace Judge Dos
ter is the most prominent and extreme
socialist in the state OF Kansas Next
to him most prominent in socialism
are John w Breidenthal and Chris
Hoffman of Enter prise Hoffman was
the controlling spirit the board of
regents appointed by Leedy- As soon
as the PopulistS got full control of
the board they proceed ed to reorgan-
ize the faculty The president and
mem bers of the faculty who were let
out had to go, not because they were
incompetent. but as Hoffman boldly
declared, because they were not in
line with the social and economic
theories of the board; in other words
the board had determi ned, under the
influence of Hoffman, to turn
the institution from the original
purpose of instruction in the
science of agriculture, into an insti-
tuition for propagation of sociaIistic
propaganda If the Repu blicans
when they again gained control of
the state government, had made the
college a Republican political insti-
tuition they would have only followed
a precedent set by the other side, but
the facts are that they have done
nothing of the kind, as we will show
from the record.
But first, let us review the history
of this griculturaI college case
briefly:
On the goth of March, 1899. com
plant was fled with the governor by
II. A Perkins of Manhattan making
certain charges against the regents of
the college, Limboclker and Hoffman.
On the strength of these charges a
committee was appointed, provided
by law. by the governor, lieutenant
governor and speaker of the house, to
Investigate the affairs of the institu-
ton. After investigation occupy
found that Regent LimboclSer had
been regularly drawing salary
of SIS per month in addition to his
salary as regent, for acting as pur-
chasing agent for the college dining
hall, something entirely unauthorized
by law; that meetings were repeatedly
held, teachers hired and salaries fixed
when quorum of the board of
gents We're present, and that minutes
of these meetings were kept in some
cases falsely stating that the board of
regents had done these things, when
a matter of fact only Hoffman,
Limboclzer and one other regent were
present; that $3.50 was set apart to be
used in part in the maintenance of a
dining hall, and that the records had
been kept that it was impossi BILE to
tell whether not the dining hall
had been source of profit or losing
venture; that the board had author
lied the expenditure of ST., 900 to es-
tab1ish a book store. although there
was authority law for
either the dining hall the
book store; that Hoffman, who
runs a flour mill at Enterprise,
had taken advantage of his position
as regent to sell flour to the college
that the board in violation of the la W
of the state, had expended S739 81 in
excess of the receipts of the institu-
ton; that in some cases double sa1ar-
les had been paid to teachers; that the
salary of one Instructor had b cen
placed 5000 in excess of the salary
fixed by law. that in direct viola ton
of section chapter II, laws of 1897,
law passed. as it will be seen, by a
Pop legislature, these regents, in Jan
uary, 1899, authorized and directed
the president of the college to enter
into a written contract with faculty
for two years ending June so, 1901
The whole object of this, of course.
was to tie the institution up for two
years that it would be under Pop
H1ist control during that time.
When the committee of investiga
ton filed its report the governor re-
| moved the regents Hoffman and
mboclzer, and appointed Yoe and
Mcdowell in their stead
Hoffman and Linn blocker asked
Judge Glass for order enjoining
Yoe and Mcdowell from acting as
regents. Glass, though a Democrat
refused to grant the injunction. hold
ing that the governor had the right
| to remove Hoffman and Linn booker
and that they had been legally re-
| moved The case was carried through
| the court of appeals and finally to the