The Daily Missoulian., 1913-01-27
WHOSE INTEREST
is SERVED?

May l ask the gentlemen of the Mis-
soula Chamber of Commerce to sit
down and ponder these facts anl then
give us an opinion about them?
First: The total equipment value
of the agricultural college is, by its
own report, $563,797; ours is by the
last report, $3S5,9SS. OF this amount
the value in buildings at Bozeman is
$297, 500; ours is $4,000 No addition
has been made to our building equip
ment in the last six years either by
the state or by the citizens of Mis-
soula; by the recommendation of the
state board no building will be added
for two years more. We have 40
acres of campus, unless we add $50
acres of the steep side of Sentinel and
100 acres at the biological station.
The lands in use by the agricultural
college are ,02O acres.
Second: The land endowment of
the agricultural college. as estimated
by it's president, has a value of $5,OO0,-
900. Their lands have been carefully
conserved, and their value not too gem
orally known 1--WE do not mean that
there has been concealment, While
the college has appealed successfully
to the state for maintenance appro-
priations in addition to the large
annual income from the federal gov
ernment. From the report of the COM
missioner of education it is found that
the total income of the college is
$172,S4S and of the university is
$S3,125.
The university on he other hand
has parted with $4,000 acres, out of
$4,000 acres and has only third o.
a million to show for it, about the
amount received by the college for
one tract of 5000 acres I find after
repeated inquiry no evidence that the
gentlemen who have had charge of the
business end of the university have
any records of location and description
and appraised values of the most val
liable assets of the university, and no
agency for protecting these lands from
loss through premature sales. Assum-
ing the fairness of estimating this
land as being of an average value as
high as that of the agricultural col
lege, there is still land endowment
value to the university of only 10000
acres against 10000 acres for the
agricultural college.
Add to this that the agricultural
college has an income of $105,000 a
year from the federal government,
with a probable addition shortly from
the Lever bill for extension work. The
present federal appropriation is the
equivalent of an endowment of $2,-
100000.
In short, the agricultural college has
a future endowment, independent OF
state appropriation of $7,000,000, per-
haps $100O0000 to our $1,0O0,O0O.
Third: Mssoula men know that the
agricultural college has well-laid plans
for the consolidation of engineering
at Bozeman. That this is true and
that the time was considered ripe for
the consummation of that plan is evil
dent from the editorials in the BoZe-
man papers lust before the recent
meeting of +hn stotn board of educa-
ton in viii u attorttGn was nlled t.
the feeling that tie time had come for
such union. Says the Chronicle after
discussing the disadvantages of di-
vision: From a reasoning standpoint
there is not the slightest doubt that
the engineering school should be kept
at the state college, Further the
Bozeman people We're discussing the
question from the economic stand
point.
The presentation at that meeting of
the state board of real plan for eff
fective organization of education, put
an end temporarily to Bozeman's zeal
for consolidation.
Fourth: Bozeman having an initial
advantage in endowment as calculated
above, now is interested in sharing in
the division of a proposed mill tax: a
neat plan for administrative unity" is
broached: Editor Durston of BoZeman
is the exponent of the idea of the
punching of hits" at Bozeman and
the school of mines. The Missoulian
quotes editorally from Mr.. Durston
of BoZeman: