Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1907-04-22
Madison, April 10.

of an independent state mining school
at Plattevile was shown to be utterly
inadequate at the hearing on bill 245
s. before the legislative committees
on education yesterday afternoon.
I he cost of the Michigan school of
mines at Houghton was shown to be
1898, 561 and the annual cost of main
tainance $93,918 The cost of the
the plant of the Colorado school of
mines is S499, S35, and the annual ap-
preparation for maintenance $113,-
7l3. The Missouri school of mines
cost 100000 and necessiCates an an
nual appropriation of S85, 1925 to
maintain it. If Wisconsin is to estab-
lish and maintain a mining school
that will rank with the Michigan
school OF mines, it will be necessary
to appropriate $632,47S, or over 20
bill. If the state of Wisconsin main
tains an independent mining school,
it should not be inferior, it was
urged, to the independent mining
schools of other states. Over $780,
600 would therefore be necessary 10
establish an adequate plant, and
about 100000 annually would be nee
essary to maintain it. To apprOpri-
ate $4,000 a year as is proposed
would be to handicap seriously the
new undertaking from the start.
Needless Duplication of Plants.
The establishm mt of an independ-
ent mining and mining engineering
school at Platteville or any other
Place in the state would make neces-
sary the establishment and equipment
of departments and laboratories in
geology, chemistry, physics and the
other basic sciences, as we'll as ex-
pensive laboratories, testing plants,
and machine shops in engineering.
All this equipment, itw as pointed
out, would be a duplication of what
the state already has at the Univer-
sity of Wisconsin. Since Platteyille
is but some go miles from the state
university, it was urPed that it would
be a waste of state money to appro-
pirate 100000 and then 100000 an
nually to duplicate a plant already
provided with strong departments and
we'll equipped in geology, chemistry,
and the other sciences, as we'll as the
large and well established plant of
the college of engineering.
Cheaper Plan at Hand.
Attention was called to the fact
tnat So per cent. of the work required
i'll mining courses at independent
schools is already offered at the Uni.
yersity of Wisconsin The remain
ing fifteen per cent. necessary to give
a complete course in mining and
mining engineering can be provided
by the expenditure of an amount not
exceeding $4,000 per annum for two
or three years. The university bud
get for next year, it was pointed out
already provides for a professor of
mining engineering out of the pres
ent university funds. When the
course in mining engineering, which
has been in existence in the univer
sity for number of years and has
already proved successful, is COM
pleted at very small additional cost,
il Will be equal and indeed superior
to those of any independent mining
schools because of the fundamental
sciences allied to mining. The course
in mining engineering in the state
university is being steadily developed,
and the number of students is in
creasing each year.
Marks Change in Policy.
The most fundamental point urged
against the proposed establishment OF
a mining school at Platteville is the
radical change in the policy hitherto
maintained in Wisconsin of keeping
all of the higher education together
1t has been possible for Wisconsin
to maintain higher education of the
best grade at a smaller cost than that
OF many other states because all of
the state colleges have been CON-
bined in one place. Instead of dupli-
eating faculties. libraries, and labor
atories by maintaining a college of
letters and science in one place, an
agricultural college in another, a col
lege of engineering in another, and
a college of law in another place as
some states have done, Wisconsin
prudently united all colleges and pro-
fessional work in one place.
Present Plan Economical.
AS showing the remarkable econ.
omy of concentration in university
education, attention was called to the
fact that the complete budget for
al courses in the college of engin.
eering this year is s101,73O which
is $4,000 less than it costs Colorado
annually ito maintain its school of
mines alone. This 100000 for the
university college OF engineering pro-
vides complete courses in civil engin-
CARING