The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-03-06
SELL LANDS
To AID SCHOOLS
GroSVenoT Bill Allows Money For
Mining Departments.
BENEFIT OF UNIVERSITIES
WITH SPECIAL INSTRUCTION IN
METALLURGY.
BENEFIT OF UNIVERSITIES

] ,
w sentative Scott on Wednesday
last from the house committee
on mines and mining, submitted a IA
vcrable report on Representative GrOs-
venor's bill 10 apply portion of the
proceeds of the sale of the public lands
to the endowment, support and main
tenance Of schools or departments of
mining and metallurgy il the several
states and territories in connection
with the colleges, for the benefit of
/ agriculture and the mechanic arts.
Following is an abstract of the report:
The purpose Of this bill is to pro-
vide means for instruction, research
and experiment in mining. mining ma
chtnery with The applications Of cleo
tricity thereto mining engineering,
mine exploitation, metallUrgy, chemis-
/ try, geology, forestry, agricultural en-
cheering and road making, irrigation
ana Irrigation engineering and the
branches Of learning pertaining TO such
subjects
To accomplish this purpose the bill
carries an appropriation providing for
~ Resy AAiCAAL ~ GuEAA cAuLt anu LtAilluIg
in which colleges for the benefit of
agriculture and the mechanic arts are
now established, or may be hereafter
established in accordance with the pro-
vision of an act of congress approved
July ?, 1862, of the sum Of $4,000 for
the current year, and for an annual in
/ crease of the amount of said apprO-
prlatlOn for ten years by an additional
sum of $1,000 over the preceding year,
I the annual amount to be paid there
after to each state and territory being
$4,000.
Universities -Jenefited, Too.
AS originally drawn the bill con-
templated the payment of this appro-
priatiCn only to colleges for the benefit
Of agriculture and the mechanic arts,
with the proviso that in states where
a separate school of mines has hereto
fore been established by specific act
of the legislature any part or all of the
appropriation might be paid to such
separate school of mines if the legis-
latUre of said state should so direct.
In the course of its investigation of
this subject. however, the committee
! found that in many states, responding
to local deman1, the state universe
/ ties, in nearly every instance endowed
originally by federal land grant, and
IN every instance wholly supported by
| the state, had already established and
were maintaining departments of mines
and mining of the kind contemplated
IN the pending bill, though with in
adequate equipment and support.
Keeping in mind the purpose of the
/ bill which is to develop the resources
and promote the industries of the cOun-
try, and not to build UP any particular
/ class of schools, the committee deemed
( it the wiser policy to strengthen the
schools already established than to at
tempt to build up entirely new schools
With that end in view the committee
has amended the bill to provide that in
/ states where a mining department is
already in operation at the state uni
versity, or where a school Of mines is
maintained by the state as d separate
I and distinct institution. one-half Of the
/ appropriation carried by this bill shall
I be paid to such mining department OF
school of mines and the other half tC
| the college for the benefit of agriculture
and mechanic arts.
''The9cOmmittee believes il is unnec-
essaTy to. present any extended argu-
ment in favor of the adoption of this
measure.
Grants For Educational Purposes.
The principle upon which the bill
! proceeds Is one which has been Ions
| established in our legislation, the con-
gress having in 1852 committed itself tC
the policy of extending federal aid il
/ the way of grants Of the public land tc
| the seyei al states for educational pur-
I poses.
THE splendid success which has in
( every case attended the esta blishment
Of the agricultural and mechanical col
leges, and the invaluable work they
have done in developing and increasing
the agricultural wealth Of the nation
have abundantly justified the wisdom
! of the act which founded them. The
committee believes that the passage OF
! this bill will do for the mining inter
/ ests OF the country what has been sc
we'll done under the original act for
our agricultural interests. 1t is a mat
! ter of common knowledge that not
withstanding the great value of our
mineral product, amounting in the year
1900 to the stUpendous aggregate Of 81
/ 070, 10S.S8S there is yet an enormous
waste insthe present process of extract
ing Goth precious and common miner
/ ais. There can be no doubt but what
I
/ experiment will eventually develop
ms thods and processes. by which d
! large part Of this waste can be avoided
and the aggregate wealth of the ma
ton thereby vastly increased.
1T is a weIl-recognized fact that the
science and art of agriculture in the
United States have been revolutionized
through the agency of the agricultural
experiment stations established under
the act Of congress of 1887. 1t Is be-
lieved that the same methods which
have produced such fruitful results in
the field of that great industry will be
equally productive when applied 10 the
development Of our untold mineral
wealth, and il seems iucOntestable that
{ it Is as much the right and the duty
of the federal government TO extend
aid in the latter case as in the former
Appropriation to Increase.
THE amount appropriated by the bill
to fOIty-eight states and territories is
for the first year S4SG,000, and viii
amount at the end OF ten years 70
S560-000 per annum.
Some doubt having been suggested
as TO whether the proceeds from the
sale of public lands would be sufficient
to meet the appropriation carried by
this bill in addition to other appropri-
atoms already charged against the
public land fund, the committee has
been furnished by the secretary of the
treasury and the commissioner Of the
general land Office with the following
information.
There has been received since the
foundation of the government from the
sac of public lands the sum of $500.
320075. This amount has been covered
into the general treasury. and no
charge has been made against it. The
total receipts from the disposal of pub
lie lands for the fiscal year ending June
80. 1901. amounted TO s4,307 ,437, showing
an Increase over the previous year OF
1892. 402. Deducting from the receipts
of the fiscal year the amount expended
and contracted for in the maintenance
Of the entire land and forest admin
Iteration there remained net SIR