The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1905-02-11

time republicans at the Capitol tell
over again the story of the old re-
solutions as they laugh about the
new, which new pronunciamento
went through under stress of being
rider to motion for final ad-
journment.
The bill granting authority to
Corvallis to issue bonds for con-.
struction of water works. and ap-
pointing a water commission to
build and conduct the plant has
passed both houses, and has proba-
bly, been signed by the Governor.
It passed the Senate a couple of
weeks ago, and passed the House
without change Wednesday at an
evening session. The amendments
to the city charter. which passed
the Senate some time ago, alsp pass
ed the House Wednesday evening.
Bills to eliminate Normal schools
have rocky road to travel. Dan
gers environ and assail such bills
at every turn. So far an untimely
fate has awaited every measure
aimed at destruction of a Normal.
Senator Miller's bill in the Senate
proposed to abandon all but one of
them, and it died a violent death.
It was debated v it'll great vigor
and much ability at a special order
Wednesday forenoon. The fight
lasted two hours, with Senators
Miller, Hodson and others for the
bill, and Senators Pierce, Kuyken-
dali, Coshow, Whealdon, and 9TH
ers against. Seventeen nays and
twelvea yaes was the final vote,
taken mid a breathless silence, for
there was extreme interest in the
outcome of the struggle.
The scene called to mind anoth-
er legislative occurrence of score
of years ago, more or less. That
other incident happened at a time
when there was no Oregon State
Normal school. A pending measure
the House proposed the establish
ment of one. Friends of the meas
ure were converting Christian Col
lege at Monmouth into a State
Normal school. A plea was that
little or no state support would be
required. The figure then asked
was perhaps $8, 900 in all. Eight
thousand dollars for the entire nor
NAL school work of Oregon for two
years. That was not very many
years ago. Several people in Ore
gon that sat Wednesday in the Sen
ate lobby and listened to the debate
on Miller's bill, sat also il the
House lobby on that other occas.
ion and heard the public promises
that little or no state aid would Be
required for the normal work if the
state would only accept the tender
ed college, and make of it the Ore
gon State Normal, The norma
work for the next two years, if the
legislature allows the amounts ask
ed by the four Normal schools vii
be $2I7,ooo or $2I1, 900 more thar
in those ha1cyon days when tht
state first launched out in the Nor
NAL school business. What if tht
good work should go on at the
same rate of increase, and if 81
what would be the Normal schoo
item in the appropriation bulge
a dozen years hence?
They say Miller 81 bill woule
| have passed the Senate if it had
| provided for abandonment of al
but two of the Normals. Tha
may be true. Talk in the lobby
afterward was that Normal a
Ashland and another at Westor
would be all right. Possibly such
a measure might have passed the
! Senate. It would doubtless, have
failed however in the House, where
a Yamhill members bill, providing
for that very thing, never got past
the committee. A great many
people would have liked to sex
Miller S bill pass, and they say so.
There is talk that such bill may
be taken upsfor passage by the in
itiative and referendum. That is
one way in which the log rolling
that perpetuates the Normals,
would be impossible, and the aband-
onment of some of the Normal in.
stitutions be sure to be provided
for. /,