The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-01-05


The suggestion of a central uni
yersity which would be a credit to
the state instead of several strug-
Cling institutions each of which Is
compelled to maintain a lobby at
Helena in order that they can get
0 h Legislature what they
need, is moi a novel one, in fact
n OF the strongest advocates of
n uniflcation of the state institu-
lions was President c. A. Duni-
way, for some time at the head OF
the school at Missoula, whom
from the very start preached a
greater university and pleaded
with legislators and the people to
stop n waste Of money and the
inefficiency due to a lack Of
funds or the division of funds not
warranted by any sort of need.
Internationally much Of the OPP
position to Or, Duniway resulted
from his advocacy of a unified
university, for it was natural that
the towns in which the severa
institutions were located, should
bitterly oppose the possible loss of
their institutions which were to a
considerable extent sources of
revenue. and that the head of the
university should advocate the
formation Of a real university in
stead of a collection of colleges
and academies, was enough to
start a war upon him which FIN
ally resulted in his being driven
from the state.
The Gazette does not care to
speculate upon what has caused
the change in front and it is not
at all confident that the proposed
plan for the consolidation of the
several institutions will receive
serious attention, but it knows
that this ought to have been done
long ago, in fact it in common
with every person who has given
the matter any thought will rec
ogniZe that a grave mistake was
made in the first place in listen
ing to the demands of the several
towns that they should receive an
institution and incidentally an ap-
preparation.
Now there should be no question as
o the correctness of the motive of the
or h men who started this
hing moving. But there should have
,een no question as to the motive pi
Dr.. DuniWay. If the present move
is all right, then Duniwav was
Ill, right. If Dmniwav was all wrong
he present proposition is all wrong
The mere Endorsement by a politicn'
BOARD doesn't make wrong right. Ere
Iuently it does make right wrong. Anf
his very position of the state boarC
II education has done more to create
1istrust in the minds of the thinking
people OF the state than anythinl
Else. What was the cause of the sud.
chang of base on the part of TIL,
members of the state board?
There are a good many people, too
Who are asking themselves the ques
ion: Where is the money coming
that will build the equipment 70
greater university if we canno
'aise enough even to keep the school
now?' And thai Is a reason
question. 1t is a question which
occurred to a good many people
t has found expression in some O
he newspapers which have discussed
he question. Here is what the Town.
send Star says in it's editorial:
Whenever the state legislature
is about to meet there Is a coinci-
dent movement on the part Of
numerous citizens to devise meth
DDS and plans for looting the pub
lie treasury. For instance, two
years ago some oily promoters
made it clear that the legislature
should legally pave the way for
the sale of the Warm Springs
asylum to the state, the sale nav
ing been ratified at the late cleo
ton, thus adding to the public
debt more than $5O0,O00 From a
glance at the several appropria-
ton schemes already in evidence
it will require the soldiers of Fort
Harrison to adequately protect our
public funds, especially the 'reve-
nues of the future, even admit
ting the power of the constitu-
tional debt limit to stay the hand
Of greed and manipulating cum
ming. At this time the PROPOSE
tioll 10 make a greater UNIVERSE
ty' by merging the agricultural
school at Bozeman, the school of
mines at Butte, and the normal
college at Dillon with the present
university at Missoula, Is not al
culated to either reduce the public
Debt or meet the approval of a
majority of thinking citizens. The
proposed consolidation would en-
tail an enormous expense, and
while not ~Warranting savage crit
icisn, should be postponed, as
Stunning that the change would be
for the best. Had the state been
properly managed from the be-
ginning the greater university
would have been in existence all
these years in lieu of the pre-
dicament of four separate insti-
tutions.
The statement made by the advo-
ates deals with the question of ex-
'ense only in a very general way. II
5 a question which must be consld-
red in detail and with e%xactness. II
annot be dismissed with an auto
ratio assertion that at will be al
1t would cost two millions tc
urnish building equipment which
'ould even start such a university
s is planned. The statement of the
xtent and condition of the lane
rants is altogether general: it should
e made clear and accurate; nothing