East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1909-03-29

Monmouth Ore, Mar. 25, 1909.
Editor East Oregonian,
Pendleton, oregon.
Dear Sir:-The student body of the
oregon state normal school at Mon
mouth requests the courtesy of a
hearing, through your columns, in re-
gard to the normal school contro-
versy. We feel that our school and
its faculty and students have been
grossly wronged not only in the fail
ure of the legislature to provide sup
port but in the unjust and untrue
statements published in many pa
pers.
The Monmouth school has been
operated since January /. 1907 with
out state funds. In addition. great
publicity was given the fact that the
board of regents had closed the in
st.tution in July 1907 for lack of
funds and little notice taken of the
fact that the same board accepted
large donations from friends of the
normal and re-opened it in August,
1907. These facts, coupled with the
natural fear of students and their
parents that the school might be un-
able to complete the year, combined
t, shake confidence and made a hand
leap almost insuperable.
In spite of all these adverses, the
old Monmouth spirit" rose to the
occasion and alumni and friends
raised and paid into the state treas
ury six thousand dollars TO enable the
regents to carry on the school dur
ing the year 1907-S. The local school
district doubled its special tax and
added five thousand dollars. Tuition
receipts amounted to more than three
thousand dollars. The faculty do
mated in salary reductions five thous-
and dollars, making a total provision
OF nineteen thousand dollars for the
years budget, not one cent of which
was supplied by the state.
A similar plan was followed for the
present year, 19OS-9, only of necessity
the resources were. more limited. The
local school district paid the salaries
of the principal of the training de-
partment and of the four critics, and
other expenses to the amount of five
thousand dollars. Seven additional
instructors were employed. five ac-
cepting the mere pittance of fifty dol
lars a month and two, President Res
sler and Mr.. Butler, donating their
services. The teachers salary sacri-
flee this year amounts to nearly six
thousand dollars. Tuition receipts
will be above twenty-five hundred
dollars. The cash donations will am
cunt to over three thousand dollars,
making a total for the year of about
seventeen thousand dollars, with not
a penny from the state.
Last year, Monmouth students paid
twenty-five dollars tuition, double the
charges made at the other state nor
mails and at the state university and
agricultural college. This year, the
students have cheerfully paid the
same fee and when the regular ses-
sion of the legislature adjourned with
out making an Appropriation, stu
dent mass meeting was called. where
one hundred ten students subscribed
over fourteen hundred dollars in or
der that the school should not be
closed. Practically all of us are self
supporting and gladly put up our
money both because we
wanted normal training and because
we mean to stand by our dear old
school to the very last.
We are also self-respecting and re-
sent bitterly the unfair and untrue
charges against our school. We know !
and every fair-minded person may
know by the least investigation that
is and has been a bona |
fide normal school. Under the adj
verse conditions forty-eight graduates |
were sent out last year and there win |
be over forty the coming June. OF !
last years senior class, forty-five are