Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-08-06

and private instead of State institution it is impossible
to avoid the question how members of that
had read the official records taken into consideration all
the facts involved.
Regardless of all questions local pride and community
interest the reflection which the education commission casts
the educational pioneers of Vermont and fidelity to his
tory demand that the official record be given prominence in
this connection
AS a matter of fact the Sons Of the Green Mountain
State among the first commonwealth to recognize
the need of State university and to take official action in
that direction And have already indicated the Pub
lie Statutes of Vermont to-day recognize the University of
Vermont the State Agricultural College state in
stituon in connection with the tenure of office and mita
ton of State officers. Section 929 reads as follows
No trustee supervisor of State institution, except
the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College,
shall be employed in any capacity in such institution
To say in the face of this enactment Of the Vermont
Legislature itself which to-day part of the Public Statutes
of Vermont and is being enforced, that the Uni
versty Vermont and State Agricultural College not to-
day State institution" question the English language
to dcredt the intelligence of successive Legislatures
throw doubt upon the sincerity fairness those raising
the question.
Let us now recr to the other end of the question: that
relating the founding of the institution by the Fathers of
Vermont
AS early 1777 the of Vermont declared in their
fundamental law that "a school schools shall be establish
ed in each town by the Legislature for the convenient
struction of youth, grammar school in each
county and university in this State ought to be esab
shed by direction of the General Assembly
Owing to the OF the OF division between
Vermont and New Hampshire and the subsequent
tainty as to whether Dartmouth in Vermont the
Granite State nothing further done about State uni
versty until 1791 the of the admission of Vermont
State when the Legislature decided that college unve
sty should be established and location adopted The vote
shows that the Legislature settled this question: which
cording to Thonpsons Vermont resulted follows Eighty
nine votes for Burlington twentfour for Rutland five for
Montpelier, five for Wiamstown, for Caseon for
Danville, and for Berlin
to is if
institution has been closely supervised by the State
its board than the State University of
Vermont lone of the most conclusive bits of evidence which
could possibly be provided is to be found in the act passed by
the General Assembly November g 1870 section of
which reads follows:
at is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the
State of Vermont that the number of trustees of the said
university regulated by the act aforesaid shall be and
hereby increased to the number of eighteen including the
exoo trustees and all vacancies in the board Of trustees
Of said university shall in the future be filled by the Joint
ballot of both Houses of the Legislature whether said
ces shall happen by DEATH resignation removal from this
State or the expiration of Office
Was the University Of Vermont then regarded
State institution only few years after its founding by
Legislative the lawmakers of that day presumng
take arbitrarily their hands the selection of the
trustees Of private institution which the present learned
and impartial Vermont education commission declares to
have been from the very outset Did the Vermont Lega
tre of that day know what it doing, looking
only to that period pending the time when public education
should become private trust?'
The official records answer this question also for it
from the Legislative journals that the General As
smby did elect the of the university for number
of years, and told that ultimately the Legislature
powered the select their part
in order to avoid the political entanglemens arising in that
connection.
The Vermont education commission cannot explain away
mstate the wording Of the official records in way
to the people of Vermont that the Fathers of the
Green Mountain State not public spirited regards
higher education addition to recognizing the supreme need
of schools in every town. Nor obscure the
fact that Of the present members of the Supreme Court
of Vermont hold practically the position have outlined
Turning to the union of the State University and the
State Agricultural College in 1865 the records show that the
word State officially retained in the title Of the nstu
on and that the selection Of majority of the trustees in
Guiding the State executive eXocio, finally resumed by
the State Legislature itself and that the selection
majority of the trustees by the people of the State
whole through their representatives has continued the
present day.
If the States trustees have not performed their duty
then they the to be held responsible State officers
elected for the State in the management the
institution and any impartial tribunal would DECLARE