The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1902-01-10
THE BOARD OF CONTROL.
Judge O. B. Gould Speaks on the Re-
cent Decision.

wiz SSStS%Sh
Wino1a Republican and Herald:
judge o. B. Gould of the state
boardeaf control spent Sunday and to-
day in Winona and will return to st.
Paul this evening. When seen this
morning and asked for statement re-
garding shhe recent decision of the state
sapreme court sustaining the board of
control in its contention with the nor
NAL board the judge was loath to say
much before some policy of procedure
had been outlined by the board of con-
troll. He thought, however, that it
would be perfectly proper to state that
the policy of the board might be to
encourage the normal schools in every
proper way, but it would be necessary
that the system Of doing business be
uniform over all the institutions sHb-
ject to the board of control.
Judge Gould recalled a statement
made by him here in an interview
some--weeks before the supreme court
rendered its decision. in which he
said that the term "eharity" in it's
legal sense was good deal broader in
meaning than the mere giving of aims.
which point was brought out in the
briefs submitted by the attorneys for
the board of control, and which posi-
ton the supreme court had now sus-
tanned. Such an Interpretation of the
board significance of the term charity
in its legal sense, the Judge said, had
found fresh .exemplifcation in a de-
cision in the New Jersey case of Jones
VS.. Watford, in which the court held
that bequest for the purchase OF
books on spiritualism, which should be
of free access to the general public,
constitute charity.
On being asked whether the board of
control would, under the decision, seek
to assume control of the state uni
versity, which up to the present time
has BEEN managed entirely outside
that body, Judge Gould turned TO the
board of contol act passed by the leg
islature and read section Is as fol-
lows:
"The board of control shall have and
exercise full authority in all financial
matters of the state university, normal
schools, !. state public schools and
schools for the deaf and blind. Said
board of control shall disburse all pub
lie moneys Of Ene several institutions
and shall have the same auth
GRITTY. in the expenditure of public
m oneys". appropriated therefore as id
other institutions named in this.sbill. "
= Commenting oh this section Judge
Gould said that if it was competent
for the legislature to pass this act re-
gulating the financial management OF
the university this law would seem to
apply, but by reason of the fact that
the regents of the university were
constituted body polite with the
rights and powers of a corporation the
legislature might have no control OF
their financial affairs; that is, they
might have vested rights which could
not, e.interfered with by the legisla-
ture. If this were 30. the board of
control would have no effect as to the
university. The judge said that the
board of control had not had the mat
ter under consideration since the su-
preme court decision was rendered.
He had been informed that the attor-
ney general had declared informally
that this decision of the law in ques.
tion would be applicable to the uni
versity. ... ....... -....