Grand Forks daily herald., 1914-12-29
ries dealing with educational

The readers will observe that, ac-
cording to the article, while 10000
acres of land were set apart for the
use Of tho agricultural college, the
university and its branch, the school
OF mines, were treated in an especial
ly generous manner by being given
1000 acres less.
The Bismarck Tribune has started
out, lust in advance OF the opening
of The legislative session, on a cam
paign. the purpose of which is 10 ere
ate in the minds of its readers the
impression that most of the money
received by the various educational
institutions of the state is wasted, that
the state university is the chief sin
nor. and to cause this falsely created
sentiment TO be interposcd as an OBJ
Staclc in the way of the making Of
necessary appropriations for tho prop
CT support of these institutions in tho
future. This is the intent of articles
which have been published in the
Tribune during the past few weeks;
and that is the intent Of the series Of
articles OF which the first has Just ap-
pcarrd. With this understanding of
the situation let us look Il little fur
ther.
directly and by Inference through
the article the Tribune states that the
grants of lands made to the several
educational institutions were state
grants. The fact is That the state of
North Dakota made no grants OF
lands TO any OF these institutions, for
the excellent reason that it owned no
land The lands from which these
grants were made were not the prop
erly of the state or the territory of
North Dakota, but of the United
| states, and ii was not the constitutions
al convention, but the congress of the
United States that made the gifts.
congress enacted Il law providing that
North bakota---toget her with other
icrrilnrics--sllould be admitted us
states of the union under conditions
winch were carefully prescribed in
the law. Ono of these conditions was
that sections lG and 36 in every sec
llon OF land within tho borders OF the
proposed state should br set apart for
common school purposes. aud the re-
celrts from the sale OF these lands
should pass into the permanent school
fund and should be forever inyiolatc.
Inc lrlhnnc appears to confuse the
permanent school fund with the insti-
tuition funds. aud it would he quite
IN Keeping with its course for il TO
! charge M this fund as well as the
others To tho institutions. "cspecially''
the university. Tho law further pro-
Nidcd that certain number of acres
| Of land should be set apart for the
separate institutions, SO lnauv acres
Tor one. and SO many for another,
With balance of 10000 acres unas-
! signed To any special institution, but
l" be assigned later by the lcysla
ture. Let it he remembered that not
an acre Of this land was or could
nave become in any way the property
OF tho corporate body TO be known
as the state of North Dakota. The
lands were tho property or the nation,
ana u was the nations appreciation
OF the value of education, as express
I'd by it's congress, which caused these
gifts to be made.
The state was made the custodian
"f the gift. Its position is that Of .
trustee. and what the makers Of the
state constitution did. and what the
people of the state did when they rat
lfied the constitution by their votes
was to declare that they accepted the
gilt OH the terms on which 1t was Of
tercd. and that they would faithfully
administer the trust. Had this Gift
not been made the state would no,
have been Il dollar better off. The
United States would merely have liza d
half million more acres OF land to
dispose Of.
The purpos. Of congress in making
Fhls gift. and nf tho people i'm ac-
cepting 1t was not. AS the Tribune
seeks to convey. to provide pcrma.
hentlH for the maintenance of the
common schools or the advanced in.
st1tutions. II was rather to provide
In tho formative days of the state, \
srlld foundation on which 10 build
The future of the state was unknown,
lis needs We're unknown. But it was
Known beyond peradventure that no
matter what the rate of It's growth or
the development Of its needs, reouir.
ed that if anything like an ADEQUATE
system of public education were to be-
created. there must be created for
each institution capital account a
permanent estate upon which it could
depend Tor some portion Of its in-
come The wisdom of congress in
making this provision, and of the peo-
pic of the state in accepting it, can
rot be questioned. But that tho nro-
VISION made could have su(fced, or
was ever intended TO suffice for more
than fraction of the actual needs OF
the institutions is utterly false.
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