Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1914-06-25
MAKE OUTSIDE
STUDENTS PAY

| Under the above caption an arti-
| Gle was published in the Daily Re-
porter of May 18th, last in which
the Hon. Geo P. Hambrecht,is repor-
ted as being in favor of requiring
each nonresident student at our
state university to pay a tuition fee
that would be equal to what it
costs the university to teach him.
Al first glance, this proposition
seems business-like and fair and one
that ought to prevail On a business
basis, every one is entitled to re-
ceiye at least the cost of the goods
or service he renders to another and
he should be required to pay at least
the cost of what he gets. But a lit
| tie study of the subject will satisfy
public education. public health, and
public morals is not, and should not
be worked out on this basis.
Prior to a hundred years ago. the
education of the young was mainly
left to the church, and to private en-
terprise. In these schools the student
was required to pay the cost Of his
tuition. They were conducted mainly
on a business basis. But this sys-
tenn has been abandoned in modern
| times, and in no civilized country
now is the student required to pay
/ the cost of his tuition, except it
might be in some private schools sup
ported and patronized by wealthy
families.
| Substantially the whole work of
education has been taken over by the
state, and each citizen is required to
pay according to his ability. The
wealthy man with no children has
to pay for the tuition of his neigh
| Dor who has a large family to edu-
cate, but no property to be taxed.
| The city of Grand Rapids today is
educating children from the country
at it's high school, and charging them
a tuition that is less than one-third
Of what it costs to teach them The
same is done in our normal schools
and in our university. 1t is true that
| in our university we charge the stu
dents from other states a higher rate
| for tuition than is charged to our
own students.
| Under our present system We get
nothing in return for what we con-
| tribute in taxes to maintain the pub
| lie health, the public morals, or pub
| lie education. Upon what grounds
should a man who has no children be
compelled to pay taxes to educate tn
children of man who pays no
| taxes? Why should [ be compelled
health or public morals when l ann
not in need of protection from pre-
vailirs5 epideInics, and | have no per
sonal interest in the moral welfare
Eof my neighbor?
| Probably the best answer that can
| be given to the above is-that our
civilization, the public welfare, the
public health, and general education
| Gall that goes to make up modern civ
| ilization) lis a blessed heritage into
which we have been born, and we
are morally bound to perpetuate and
transmit this to rosterity in little
better condition than we found it,and
to this end each man is required to
contribute, according to his ability,be-
cause a man of property derives spec
| ial advantages, and gains more out of
our civilization than a man who has
no property, and it is a curious fact
| that our wealthy men who pay the
greater part of the tax are usually
| taxing themselves to promote the pub
lie health, public morals, and public
education.
Probably the reader of this article
would answer that may be,all right
to- educate Wisconsin tsudents at our
university for a tuition fee that lis
less than the cost of instruction but
that we should not do this for stu
dents from other states, but the fact
of the matter is that other states
are doing this for our students at a
cost even less than what we charge
their Students.
Our university charges students
from other states and foreign coun-
trie an annual tuition fee of 1914
each.
Last year we sent from this state
! rs students to the university of Hi
nois where they paid an annual tut
ton fee of $34 each
We sent 81 students to Michigan
university where they paid an an
nual tuition fee of s45 each
We sent SO to the university of
Minnesota, where they paid,an annual
fee of $46.50 each
The above tuition fees, and the
average of the fees charged by other
state universities to nonresident stu
dents is less than one half of the
fee charged by our university to stu
dents from other states.
But even if we leave the tuition
undisturbed, as to students from 9th
er states, should we not charge the
full cost of tuition when We take
students from Mexico or from Japan
ton that it costs US to build one of
of our large battle4ships from six to
ten million dollars. We might edu-
cate in our universities, free of tut