Bryan daily eagle and pilot. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1909-1918, 1913-07-04
GOVERNOR coLoUITT NOT A
FRIEND TO A. AND M. COLLEGE

The letter of Governor Colquitt APP
pearing in the Dallas News, of July /,
addressed to Hon. ]. w. Baird, Pairs,
Texas, is so at variance with facts that
1t should not go unchallenged. The
statement that the principal feature
connected with the Agricultural and
Mechanical College, is the military
training, and dare say that this fea-
ture which attracts the greater number
of young men who attend the Agricul-
tural and Mechanical College," is SO
absurd and so far from the truth, that
1t is strange that any man Of intelli-
gence would make it. A casual glance
at the catalogue shows the falsity of
this statement 1t is little less than
SANDER OF the institution. The princi-
pal features of this institution are the
courses in agriculture and its allied
branches, architecture, architectural
Engineering, civil engineering, electri-
cal engineering, mechanical engineer
ing and textile engineering. VOnly
about four hours in each week are de-
voted to military training. The train
ing given, however, is sufficient to
warrant the War Department to class
the Agricultural and Mechanical Col
lege of Texas next to West Point as a
military school.
During the season of 1912 there
We're enrolled 264 engineering students
in the University of Texas, while the
| Agricultural and Mechanical College
had 512 taking the several branches of
engineering. The success of our en-
gineers and agricultural students
shows that they get the right kind of
training in everything.
The Governors statement that the
University ought to have an agricultu-
raj and mechanical department as one
of its activities, because a large num-
Der of farmers sons attend the Uni
lversity." is absolutely puerile. We
have at the Agricultural and Mechani-
cal College a large number of young
men who are the sons of lawyers and
doctors, according to that method of
reasoning we should put in law school
and a medical department here to ac-
lcommodate these young men.
There has never been any effort in
this country to prescribe young men in
a laudable effort to seek knowledge 1t
has been thought best to leave them
untrammeled in the important bust
ness of getting an education. Many of
our greatest lawyers, doctors, preach
ers and other professional men, are
sons of farmers, and it will be seen in
few years that many of our success
full farmers, stock raisers and men en-
gagged in other agricultural pursuits
will be sons of professional men as
well as sons of farmers. Agricultural
education is just now beginning to
take deep root in our agricultural and
mechanical colleges. Five years ago
only eighteen per cent were taking
agriculture over one-half enrolled
during the last year were agricultural
students Many of them are bright
sons of lawyers, doctors and other pro
fessional men. And many of the bright
young men taking medicine and law at
the University are the sons of farmers.
The land-grant schools, of which the
Agricultural and Mechanical College Of
Texas stands out prominently as one
of the greatest in the United States,
was established by Federal law, en-
acted by Congress in 1862, which pro-
vides for the
support and maintenance OF at
least one chronological college in
each state, whose leading object
should be, without excluding their
scientific and classical studies and
including military tactics, to teach
branches of learning pertaining to
agricultural education of the in
dustrial classes in the several pur-
suits and professions of life"
Aside from the teaching done here
at the College a vast amount of agri-
cultural knowledge is being carried to
the farmers of this State through our
Agricultural Extension Department.
During the past three years over 5000
miles have been covered by demonstra-
tion trains, reaching over $4,000 peo-
pie, to say nothing of the State and