The Daily Missoulian., 1914-11-02


have just read the letter of President.
Craighead published in Tho Missoulian
of October %. DR.. Craighead is hon.
estly for consolidation and I am just
as honestly opposed to consolidation.
We respect each others views and
there will be no unseemly contention
between us. cannot agree with the
statements in this letter. There is
just az high a percentage Of the grad
yates from agricultural courses en-
gagged in. agricultural work as there
ia Of graduates from law and medical
courses engaged in the practice of law
and medicine. This is true of con-
solidated and segregated institutions
alike. Had ] the space could give
the figures from the various in
stitutions. With the exception of
James +. Amin OF Columbus, Mont,
every graduate of the agricultural
courses in the Montana State College
OF Agriculture and Mechanic Arts is
engaged in agriculture and Mr.. Amin
is editing county paper which cir
culates largely among farmers. More
than this, a number of graduates from
other courses are following agricu!-
tures There has been such a demand
! at good salaries for agricultural grad
yates as teachers Of agriculture, ex-
pertinent station workers, farmers in
stitute instructors, positions in the
United States department of agricul-
ture, agriculture extension workers,
county agriculturists, expert advisers
to railroad. land companies and In
dustrial corporations. superrintendents
of creameries. orchards, stock farms
and other large agricultural enter
prises. that not many have been left
| to go on farms.
| Presidents and deans of agricultural
colleges all know how difficult it is
to find graduates enough to- fill the
demands. During Dr. Reid's 10 years
as president of the college IS men
were graduated and Of the 33 who
are now living IL are engaged in
agriculture.
DIR. Craighead assumes that the col
leges established by virtue Of the
Morrill, act Of congress of July 2, 1862,
and commonly known as Land Grant
Colleges, should be exclusively agri-
cultural colleges. The title of the law
is, IAN Act Donating Public Lands to
the Several States and Territories
Which May Provide Colleges for the
Benefit of Agriculture and the Me-
| chanic Arts" The law itself states
that the income derived from these
land grants shall be used for the sup
port of colleges where the leading
object shall be to teach such branches
of learning as are related to agricul-
| ture and the mechanic arts in order
to promote the liberal and practical
| education of the industrial classes in
the several Pursuits and professions
| of life" The, second Morrill, act of
congress Of August 30 1890, makes an
annual cash appropriation of $4,000
! from the United States treasury, and
this amount was doubled by the Nell
son amendment of March 4, 1907, said
smoney "to be applied only to instruc-
lllOll dSIlCuItuES, lIc ultCuduIC dTlS,
the English language, and the various
branches of mathematical, physical,
natural and economic sciences with
special reference to their application
to the industries of life.' The funds
derived from these laws together with
the student fees provided 50 per cent
of the cost of instruction in the col
lege at Bozeman for the year ending
| June 80. 1914.
The reference Of DIR. Craighead to
the University Of California in sup
port of agriculture at a consolidated
university was particularly unfortu-
nate, because some four years ago
the state of California established an
agricultural college at Davis, about 60
miles from Berkeley, the seat of the
university. and thus segregated it's
agriculture. And the reference to
Minnesota was also unfortunate. The
last report Of the United States COM
missioner of education states that
Minnesota had only 174 agricultural
students out of total of 3,701 college
lstuueHIS. IHe same report gives
Iowa, with its segregated institutions
739 college students I'M agriculture
The consolidationists are welcome to
all the comfort they can get out of
Minnesota. DR.. True did not refer to
these students OF agriculture in the
regular college courses. He had in
mind. as he says in his letter quoted
by DR.. Craighead, the students at the
farm school," This is an agricultural
high school conducted under the aus
pices Of the University of Minnesota
at st. Anthony Park, some miles from
the university. The college at Boze-
man maintains a school modelled after
the one in Minnesota and practically
all of its students come from the farm
and go back to the farm.