The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1906-08-29
CLEMSON run WRONG.
Mr.. McAIahan is Anxious That College
Be Reformed.

speech here today Mr.. John J. Nc
Mahan. one OF the candidates for gov
governor, spoke in part as follows:
But the entire organization Of
Clemson is wrong. 1t is supported
by astax upon the farmers, which
some years far exceeds the usual in
come. To avoid the criticism that
they have more money than they need
they are under the necessity ef find
ing some way to spend the surplus be-
fore the time to report to the legisla-.
| ture each year. This encourages ex-
travagance and places this one State
institution in class all by itself, in
| dependent Of the government of the
State. This permanent appropriation
| Of an indefinite and ever-increasing
sum of money is in violation of the
fundamental safeguard Of govern
ment which everywhere else requires
that the representatives Of the
people, in annual or biennial session.
shall pass upon the work and the
needs Of the institutions of the State
and shall say how much of the peo-
pies money is to be spent. Except at
Clemson it has been unheard Of in
our State for board of trustees.
without specific authority from the
Legislature to erect new and expensive
buildings, add new departments, in
crease the plant so as to necessitate
permanently increased annual sup
port, committing the State to new
departures without asking the consent
Of the legislature. The fertilizer tax
should go inCo the State treasury and
Clemson should be supported as the
other institutions Of the State by an
nual appropriations from the treas
ury.
But the trouble is more fundamen-
tai. The State of South Carolina has
no authority in the government Of
Clemson College. She has planted
her hundreds of thousands or mil
lions of dollars there, but forea mere
pittance of poor land and a little cash
she accepted from Mr.. Clemson the
perpetual condition that majority of
the board Of trustees should be
named by him and should have the
power to perpetuate themselves, and
thus rule forever the institution upon
which the State of South Carolina,
should lavish her wealth. No State
institution should be beyond State
control. Trustees become cid, be-
come antiquated in their ideas, or for
other reasons may be out of joint
| with the progress and dema rGS OF the
times. Their Czarlike power. per
petual oIigarchy amenable 70 no au-
thority, may breed in them arro-
gance, bigoty and selfshness.
1t has long been felt that Clemson
College is a close corporation, largely
oficered by the kiasmen ana othe-
fayorites of these life trustees, who
will control even beyond the period of
their natural lives, because they
choose their successors Nepotism,
the bane of efficiency and fairness,
honeycombs the institution. 1T is OPP
Grated in large measure by the trus-
tees for the trustees Until the legls-
lature some seven or eight years ago
saw the necessity of directing that
the trustees should not draw per diem
but should draw actual expenses,
there We're a few old broken down
| trustees who We're on committees to
supervise all sorts Of work, which
should have been left to the presi-
| dent. The mileage and four dollars
a day was an inducement to hang
around the. college nearly all the time
Such is the tyranny Of the trustees,
perpetuated in the Un-American way
like European dynasty, that profess
sors have been taught to keep their
mouths shur, to be in constant terror
and sometimes to cringe.
What is the remedy? The State
should go to the heirs or resduary
legatees and purchase, as could be
done for small amount, the rever-
sionary interest, so that the State
could repudiate the will and take
charge of the management Of its in
stitution.
Not the least of the benefits to
come from this action would be the
right then to name the College, as it
should have been named in the be-
ginning, after the great statesman
whose name the world over is linked
with that OF South Carolina. Cal
houn'S estate was willed by an un-