Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-03-01


has lost its hold on the farmer, and few
days ago a farmer and a Republican told
me to do all l could to prevent this lob
byist president from getting his out
rageous request by adding these adyanc-
ed courses that can be taught better and
cheaper by the older colleges. What they
call a higher class has been established
to look down on the agricultural stu
dents, and it naturally making the agri-
cultural students feel that they are con-
sidered by the others as interiors and
prostitutes. In bringing about this
change they had to add many more pro-
fessors, and the president himself told
us that some of those professors appoint
ed to fill these positions had but $50
year salary and he was holding them
there by promising them that this Legts-
lature would provide the means to pay
them higher salaries, relying @ nhis abil-
ity to again lobby his schemes through
this House. / ask the members of this
House if It is not time to stop and think
soberly of this matter.
AS / understand the situation down
at Orono as revealed by the president
at the hearing in this House, that the
agricultural scholars are now driven
into the attic and a $3.50 dollars profess
s0r sent up there to teach them, While
the $500 professors occupy the ground
floor training up higher grade OF
students that will not come out far
mers but q class OF State paupers to
feed on the innocent farmers. (Laugh-
teri IF the farmers of Maine are not
aware of the danger that threatens
their institution, they soon will awake
to that fact, and the University of
Maine will have to take its home
among the other colleges of the State,
and no longer come here as an aristo-
cratic pauper demanding aid from the
hard working people of Maine. ! be-
lieve in an agricultural college where
young men can learn chemistry and
know how to analyZe the soil and all
the necessary knowledge to make them
scientific farmers and useful citizens,
and all the people in the State would
be willing and eager to vote money for
it's support, but | am unwilling to vote
one dollars for the purpose of crafty
ing the ignoble ambition of any one
man.
Discharge this man who in his own
opinion has become too great TO be the
honorable president of a farmer col
lege, and get man big enough but
not too big for his place. NaughterD
If this House wants to find wrong
doing of State officials why not inves-
tigate this institution and officials
where the evidence of wrong doing is
apparent and unmistakable. In my
opinion there is no institution over
which the State has supervision that
needs investigation more than that I'M
blushing State pauper. the University
of Maine. daughter and applause)
Mr.. HILL of Machias: Mr.. Speaker,
it seems to me that it is hardly pos
sible for us in this discussion to get so
clear an idea of the merits and demer-
its of this case as could be obtained by
the ten men on the committee on edu-
cation, committee whose reports are
now befor US. That committee went
into this matter thoroughly They have
travelled all over this State to get the
facts, they have gone into the different
schools and into the university and
gone through it, they have investigated
every department, they have not spared
their time or their labor to make can1
did, fair investigation of the merits of
this case, and when those ten men
have looked the case over and come to
us with their verdict 1 feel that il
should have weight with us. Two men
signed the minority report. Eight men
declined to sign that report. For my
part l am willing to give some weight
and some credence to the opinion of
those men after their thorough and
careful investigation.
There is only one piece of evidence
that has been presented to me in re-
gard to this matter outside of these
reports of the committee, and that is
that the biggest. most persistent, most
unreasonable lobby that has beseiged
this House since the opening of this
session has been hanging about us,
without argument, without anything
except I'VE want it and we must have
it," and l am tired of it, Mr.. Speaker.
Mr.. MCKINNEY of Bridgton-I
would like to ask for information If
this motion is carried and we reject
the majority report, then the bill rec
commended by the majority report
would not be before the House and it
would kill that bill, would it not?
There are many members here who are
in favor of the B. A. degree and they
are not in favor of the appropriation
which is recommended by the minority.
Mr.. GLEASON of Mexico-I wish to
explain that the object of the motion
to reject the majority report was mere
ly to confine the discussion at this
time to the b. A degree; that if this
majority report is rejected the effect
of 1t would be merely to throw out of
the question the discussion of that
matter and leave the matter Of the
appropriations right where it is for
future discussion.
Mr.. HALL of Dover-I would life to
ask, if this report is rejected, if we can
still act upon the resolve part?
The SPEAKER-Act upon the hill
part. The minority present a bill. If
the House accepts the minority report
it can amend the bill which the minori-
ty have presented.
Mr. HALL-There are a great many
members who would object to the
minority report and 1 think it ought to
be made clear to nS ttiS ra,o,. q,