The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1913-04-24
MAY REDUCE APPROPRIATIONS
Members of Legislature resent Political
Activity of University Heads and
Opposition to Big School Crops Out
in Many Hearings at the Capital.

iAOA 20 WIN - pSluS uOSO1oES ~ - $500
legislature is the anti-university SEN
timent. If the members of the legis-
lature are rejecting the views OF
their constituents fairly there is GER
tainly d great deal of opposition in the
state to the University of Wisconsin.
The opposition comes to light in very
many corners and there has never been
a legislative body collected in Madl-
son which has been SO unfriendly TO
the university as the present leglsla-
ture. The opposition to the university
comes to light in various ways. Per-
haps it came out in its most pronounc-
ed form one day last week when the
Judson bill making the Office of mem
bers Of the university board of regents
elective. AS Mr.. Hall expressed it, the
people Of Wisconsin were getting tired
of having the university SO active
politically, and while he admitted that
the feeling as to the university's poll
tical activity was rather i'll defined:
he declared the sentiments of many
were that where there was so much
smoke there must be some fire.
But the Hall bill is not the only one
on which there has been university OPP
position shown. The readiness with
which the assembly the other day ad-
vanced to third reading the bill
which gives the board Of university
visitors great powers of investigation
and provides that any five members of
the board can order an investigation
on any subject and have the usual
powers Of an Investigating body on
the subject which it desires to inves-
tigate was very good illustration of
the depth of the anti-university feel
ing in Madison, The protests against
the bill were IN vain and the measure
would have gone to its passage under
the suspension Of the rules but for
the fact that it involved an appropria-
tion and for this reason had, of neces-
s1ty, to go to the finance committee.
In a way this anti-university feeling
is in part due to the university itself.
There can be no denying the fact that
the university authorities have not
exercised the greatest amount of tact
in the world in the administration of
the university affairs. There has been
for some years past strong feeling
shown in the legislature that the uni
versity was having altogether too much
to say as to what legislation should
and should not pass. More than this,
there has been kind Of star chamber
air about the whole university man
agement and the result has been the
building up of a prejudice which can
not but in the end result in harm to
the university. Laying aside the ques-
tion as to whether the university has
or has not been extravaganza which is,
Of course, a debatable measure, there
has been in past Legislatures a feeling
that it was almost lese majestic for
member Of the legislature to raise his
voice against any university desire. To
do SO was likely to incur the wrath of
the university authorities and right
fully or wrongfully members consid-
cred that such move brought them
into political antagonism with the
university.
Many members of the present leg
islature came to Madison with the
idea in their heads of freeing the leg
islature from this alleged university
domination, and there is no question
that instead of injuring the standing
of Speaker Hull's candidacy when he
was running for speaker, he gained
very material support because it was
known that he was not in any way
under university domination and that
he had not hesitated in past legisla-
lures to freely speak his mind at times
in regard to the relations between the
university and the legislature and to
criticise the university when he con-
sidered such criticism warranted.
More or less, too, in the recent Cary
Kittle campaign for state superin-
tendent Of public instruction this anti
university feeling was prevalent and
there can be no question that the can
didacy of Mr.. Cary for reelection,
which received the Endorsement Of q
substantial majority, was more or less
aided in many parts of the state by
the fact that it was generally believ-
ed Mr. Cary was not under domination
of the university. Furthermore, the
standing of Mr.. Kittle as a candidate
was injured, because of a prevalent
feeling that he had university support.
Whether the opposition to the uni
versity will have any effect on the uni
versity appropriations cannot yet be
said. There is a general feeling that
the appropriation desired by the uni
versity for dormitories will go through,
but it is more than probable that to