Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1915-03-16
nEeRAskA's

Ne 9RAskA's PROBLEM.
Nebraska, like Minnesota and
North Dakota is turning the search
light of inquiry upon educational ex
penditures. This is being done not in
a niggardly spirit but merely to
know where, why and how the public
dollar is being spent. :
1t has been the custom with Nebras.
ka legislatures to make university ap'
preparations in lump sums. Early in
the present session, however, a special
committee was appointed to 60 over
these requests and itemize them.
The board of regents of the Univer'
sity Of Nebraska asked the legislature
to appropriate for the years 1915 and
1916 the aggregate sum of $685.
Nebraska's constitution prohibits
the appropriation of money from its
treasury except in pursuance OF a
specific appropriation. In that state
vast sums have been appropriated
carelessly session after session be-
cause legislators were afraid opposi-
ton would injure their political for
tunes. Most of them feared their pO-
sition would be construed as hostile
to higher education.
But legislatures are becoming more
daring on the subject of educational
appropriations. Their sibackbones have
been stiffened because the public de-
mands more specific information as
to how the money appropriated for
educational purposes is being spent
and under what auspices.
Representative Taylor proves the
Moses Of the Nebraska legislature
and his statement is so applicable to
our own situation that we have select
XIV #rH "r# E #t
ed a few excerpts.
This year the university is asking
the same lump appropriation. They
want 1858, Enthusiastically more
than one.third of the total legislative
appropriation.
tarIGi the taxpayers are surprised at
the 4 sum Of money, used use. by the
uni s~ersity, there is a greater surprise
in store when they become aware of
the influence and control the universe
ty exercises over secondary and rural
schools. Every village or city school
that wants to belong to the university
accredited" list must be visited by
the university's high school inspector.
If its course Of study and general
standing min,e meet with his approval, it's
stggaasepffsS upon graduation may enter
the, University swyitthto,uht; examination esxainllua
Then the rural schools must have their
specified grades land course of study so
that their graduates can enter the
village or cit; school. This whole
arrangement of our school system is
based upon the' theory that the stu
dent is ultimately to attend the univer-
sity, when the plain fact is that not
one in a hund fed attends it a day.
What is a hundred times worse, this
system compels the farmer who wants
his child to go beyond the eighth
grade either to move to town or to
send the child the re. OF the compare
lively small number who finally reach
the university a large per cent never
return to the farm. Yet our great eco
nomists wonder at the trend of our
rural population cityward. The young
people don't go there to get money.
We are Compelled to send them there
to get education, and, once there, the
glamor of the town and city holds
them.
y
"The remedy is to take good high
schools to the country; then if your
children want still further education
send then, to a good agricultural col:
lege for &c neral training, under the in
~fluertce OF. teachers who respect as.ri-
cultnre, side by side with pupils like
wise from rural homes, an environment
pre- serves his faith in the farm
as the, best. place to find health wealth
and happi ness. This applies to the
yerage st ndent. The exceptional n
will find his place in the college OF
law, of m edicine, or whatever his In
clination dictates.
No. . %. 9--t x - 1