The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1909-03-30
MONMOUTH MAKES FINE.
PLEA FOR JUSTICE
OPEN LETTER FROM STUDENT
BODY TELLING OF SCHOOLS
HARD STRUGGLE

Editor AStorian,
Dear Sir;-The Student Body ot the
Oregon State Normal School al
Monmouth requests the courtesy OF
hearing through your columns, in
regard to the Normal School con,
} troversy. We feel that our school
and its faculty and students have been
grossly wrongcd not only in the fall
ure OF the Legislature to provide sup
port but in the unjust and untrue
statements published in many papers,
/ The Monmouth school has been
operated since January |, 1907 with.
out state funds, In addition great
publicity was given the fact thar the
Board OF Regents had closed the in
stitution 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 il 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
to shake confidence and make 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 during
the year 1923 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. ioOS.o. 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.
lcepting the mere pittance OF fifty
dollars month and two, President
Ressler and Mr.. Butler, donating
! their services. The teachers salary
sacrifice this year amounts to nearly
six thousand dollars. Tuition re-
ceipts viii be above twenty-five
hundred dollars. The cash donations
will amount to over three thousand
dollars. making a total for the year
of about seventeen thousand dollars,
with not 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
without making an appropriation, a
udent mass meeting was called, wher
where one hundred and ten students
subscribed over fourteen hundred dol.
lars in order that the school should
be closed. Practically ali of us are
self-supporting and yet we gladly
put up our hard-earned money both
because we want 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
Monmouth is and has been a bona
iide Normal School Under the ad-
verse conditions, forty-cight gradu-
ates were sent out last year and there
will be over forty the coming June.
Of last years Senior class, forty-6ve /
are now teaching, two are students in
college and one is married. Ninety,
three of last years one hundred sev-
cnty-four students are known to be
teaching. Most Of the remaining
have returned to school this year. h
Nlnety-one and eight tenths per cent
of the graduates during the past five
years are still teaching and the per.
centage for the whole twenty-seven
years is over sixty.
These and other reliable and au-
thentic statistics have been published
from year to year and are available
to all. Our school and its good name
and reputation are the capital Of grad t
lates and students, and the loss of T
hat capital through abuse and mis-.
representation means bankruptcy. r
Monmouth cannot be crushed. Like G
Truth, Though crushed to earth, she Il
will rise again; the eternal years Of
1od are hers" Gentlemen Of the i
'ress, give us Square deal" t.
Iery truly yours The Student Body, v
By P. NJ. Stroud, Pres. t.
Mary Whitney Sec. II
How can any person risk taking tc
ONE unknown cough rerned,L ruhnn 81;