East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1909-02-11

The following interesting account
of the closing fight on the normal
school question is taken from the
Portland Journal:
There will be three normal schools
The house has said so by a vote OF
IS to q and the ways and means
committees recommendation of one
normal at Monmouth has been killed
Ashland Weston and Monmouth are
TO live, and be given decent appro-
priations by the state. Three bill:
will be reported, one for each school
providing for maintenance.
There are two horns to the dilem-
ma. The house wants three schools.
The one-school followers forced the
three bills, and if that plan is adopt.
ed finally it will throw each school
individually open to the referendum
Each school, in other words, will &c
out at the end of the session before
the people for favorable action
should its enemies call the referen-
dunn upon the appropriation
What the senate will do is un-
known, but the friends of the normals
have rallied and are shoulder to
shoulder for the three schools.
Let's settle the question now, once
for all; let's have good schools and
support them decently," is the slo-
gan.
Jones Wants Three Schools.
Jones of Lincoln and Polk opened
the fight. He said he had always
been in favor of three normal schools.
He lived under the shadow of Mon
mouth and it would be to his benefit
to have the one school there. Yet he
could not stand for change in his old
attitude and he wanted the bill sent
back and appropriations made for
three schools, one at Weston, one at
Ashland and one at Monmouth. as
the board of regents had recommend
ed.
Hawley seconded the motion. He
said the geographical and other pc
culiar conditions demanded that the
report of the board of regents asking
for three schools should be upheld.
Calkins argued that it would be a
step backward to follow the recon-
mendations of the ways and means
committee.
No institution should be established
except on careful consideration. Once
established they should be maintain
ed. He was very much opposed to
the removal of the Weston and Ash
land schools.
Barrett Pledges Umatilla.
Barrett of Umatilla did not want
to see the state take a step backward.
He wanted to call the attention Of
the legislature to the fact that the
eastern Oregon delegations had stood
behind all the educational institu-
tions and the eastern Oregon counties
paid their share of the taxes and
more. Umat!lla county paid more
taxes than either of the other normal
school counties. The county was will
ing to pay its share and to be taxed
for it's schools and for all schools. He
did not see how the ways and means
committee could dieregard the report
of the board of regents, which had
studied the question.
Altman was in favor Of the three
schools. The three schools should be
maintained and we'll supported.
"One School. and u Good One"
Dimick thought the committee had
studied the question and 1t was not
right to instruct it. He was in favor
Of the one school plan. He wanted
one school and a good one. The pres
ent schools were not so good as they
should be. Too many schools had
been maintained in the past. He would
have one school and make it one that
the state should be proud Of.
Brandon was with Dimick. He said
not 10 per cent of the graduates
taught school. He thought the stu
dents should be compelled to teach
three years after graduation.
Reynolds did not want to refer
the bill. There was no sense in
spending 5000, 900 to educate 365
students. The state might be able
to support three schools in time, but
there was no reason for supporting
three schools when one could do the
work.
Buchanan said the purpose of the
n in
to teach. He asked how much train
ing the students would get if there
was only one school, and that at Mon
mouth. It was not theory, but prac-
tice that was needed in the normal
work. He was opposed to the ways
and means committees bill.
Teacher Member Wants Three.
Carter was also in favor Of re-re-
ferring the bill His experience as a
teacher made him in favor Of three
schools Other states found it neces-
sary TO have several schools. Geo
graphical conditions made necessary
an eastern Oregon, a southern ore
gon and a centrally located school. He
disputed Brandon and said IS per
cent Of the teachers Of the state were
normal graduates. II one school was
maintained there would be few nor
NAL graduates engeged in teaching, in
comparison with the present number.
Malone contended that the expert
ence Of other states had shown 1t
was the small school and the small
college that did the effective work
The only trouble with Oregon nor
mails was that they did not have suf-
nclent appropriations for their prop