Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1904-06-23
OFFICIAL PAPER OF AUDUBON COUNTY
AND OF THE TOWN OF AUDUBON.

The Advocates manner of attack
in recent articles on the editor of this
paper does not entitle it to the dignity
of serious or thoughtful reply. Fur
Their, if the editor of that paper was
posted on what he is writing about he
would not say we had attacked the
University. In confirmation we give
below an article from the Iowa City
Republican, published at the home of
the University, and edited by a man
thoroughly posted in the workings of
the institution, and great friend of
it. This article is much more of an
admission that something is wrong in
the University than is anything that
ever appeared in these columns. We
quote below from the Iowa City Re-
publican:
Sentiment in favor of board of
control is crystalizing rapidly among
the alumni of the state University.
They feel that the regents largely are
responsible for the falling off in at
tendance. They have little confidence
in the management of the institution,
and they seem to think that a board
would get in closer touch with the
| institution and would do better work
1t is recognized that the members of
the board of regents are good bust
ness men, that they are successful
generally in their own affairs, but it
also is recognized that no man can
become familiar with great insti-
tuition by visiting it two or three times
a year for two or three days at a time.
When an institution like the univer-
sity has had its support nearly dOub-
led in five years; has had a large
building fund and has erected build
ings costing about half a million I'M
der the present administrations; has
added departments and nearly doubled
the teaching force within the same
period, there should be results.
But what has happened?
Instead of an increased attendance,
as there has been at all the state
universities about us, there has been
falling off, not counting the summer
school, which, in fact, is no real part
of university work, of about 400, and
about 200 if the summer school is TAX
en- into account.
The explanation that standards
have been raised is no explanation at
all, for the very good reason that
standards of admission have not
been raised. There are no additional
| requirments of entrance other than
what were in force four years ago. In
some departments year has been
| added to the last end of the course,
but that cannot account for the loss,
for it is not all in such departments.
But even if the standards have been
raised, that is no explanation. The
standards here are no higher than in
Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota or
Nebraska, where the attendance of
the universities has been steadily in
creasing.
In short there is too much pretense
and not enough actual doing.
The Republican would not go far
from the board of regents to place the
blame. If the president and members
of the faculty are not doing right, the
fault lies with the regents, for it is the
business of the board to see that the
president and the faculty are doing
the right kind of work. But when men,
bers of the board do not attend the
sessions of that body; when they are
unable to give members of the legis-
lature any intelligent account of what
the university is doing, it is no Won
der that lack of confidence in the
board is so generally expressed"