Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-03-03
A HOUSE DIVIDED
AGAINST ITSELF
States Policy In Regard to Its
Educational Institutions Is
Severely Scored
DUPLICATING DEPARTMENTS
Iowa Wasting Its Strength by Failure
to Define and Limit the Field Which
Shall be Occupied by the University,
Agricultural and Normal! Schools
Strong Rivalry.
special to Times-Republican.

Special to Times-Republican.
Des Moines, March 3.-The next is
sue of Midland Schools of this city
will appear Monday and in it will be
1900 word editorial which in a
most scathing manner handles and
analyses the fight between the three
educational institutions Of the state for
supremacy and denounces the condit-
ions that exist as "disgraceful con-
dition OF affairs and tending to make
three mediocre institutions of learning
that will command respect neither at
home nor abroad.
The editorial is as follows:
Where Will It End?
The unfortunate controversy over
high school inspection In Iowa, as set
forth in our February issue, has result
ted in double system of inspection,
one by the state university and the
other by the Iowa Anti University
Trust" including the state college at
Ames and a dozen or more of the de-
nominational colleges. Serious as this
condition of affairs is it is by no
means the paramount question in Iowa
educational circles today 1t is bad
enough to have the denominational
colleges fighting the state institutions,
but it is infinitely worse to have the
state schools fighting each other. No
one well informed on Iowa school
problems will deny that at present the
three state schools are working at
cross purposes, at great loss of mon
ey and prestige to the state; that the
three institutions overlap and that the
state is dissipating its strength thru
division of support; that each insti-N
trSion contends for its own needs ~ :;
gardless of the needs and sphere OF
the others; that in the administration
of the schools the undercurrent of pol
itics is stronger than the upper cur
rent of education; and that the pres
ent tendencies are towards three medi-
ocre universities which will not COM
mand respect either at home or abroad.
No state in the union has succeeded
in establishing more than one univer-
sity, and it is evident that Iowa will
never have a university worthy of the
name as long as the boards in charge
of it's educational Institutions are at
tempting to establish three universe
ties.
The same act of the legislature that
moved the capitol to Des Moines es-
tablished state university at Iowa
City, the location being chosen to re-
imburse Iowa City for the loss of the
capitol. Now, a university is supposed
to be college of liberal arts, sur
rounded by a group of professional
colleges, such as law, medicine, engin-
eering, etc. Later sessions Of the gen.
eral assembly made the mistake of To-
eating the Normal College and the
College of Agriculture and Mechanic
Arts in other parts of the state under
the control Of separate boards of trus-
tees. These boards, ambitious to de-
velop great institutions, under the
direction Of over-enthusiastic educa-
tors and designing politicians, have
turned what might have been whole
some emulation into a bitter and des-
tructive controversy by stepping over
the boundaries contemplated by the
to maintain all the departments they
had and to get all the departments
they could. The conflicting demands
of these institutions are brought be-
fore each session of the legislature.
Strong lobbies are maintained. On
this point the Brooklyn Chronicle
says:
The members of the general assem-
bly, are buttonholed and importuned.
and political pressure is brought to
bear upon them until the result is mem
tai confusion and deep seated resent
ment on the part of many against the
officials of the institutions. AS to po-
litical pull, long experience has denl-
onstrated that the Ames college is pre-
eminent. No other state institution asks
SO much or comes as near getting what
it asks; and no other institution main :
tains such a large and active force of
lobbyists. The inevitable result will be,
if present conditions continue, an over
fed and pampered school OF agriculture
and the mechanic arts, a dwarfed and
belittled normal school and a university
scarcely able to- hold its own against
private institutions. Iowa cannot af-
lOlu " He5ICIl dIIy w ilo S'tatatiOiidi
neither can it afford to
keep them forever at the mercy of leg
islative committees composed for the
most part of men who cannot possibly
be we'll informed in regard to the needs
of the institutions
The state university, contending that
a school of engineering properly be-
longs to a university. secured, by much
effort, an appropriation for a school
of this character, and the trustees of
this institution have secured the serv-
ices of celebrated eastern landscape
artist to determine the matter of lbca-
tion, and architects have already pre-,
pared plans for the greatest engineer
ing school in the world. Additional
blocks Of Iowa City property will be
and great quadrangle of
buildings will be erected.
This much was decided at the last
meeting of the board And thus the state