Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-06-24

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The increased attendance OF STU
dents and the Introduction of war
students, who were subject to gov
eminent selection only, increased
| the need of discipline and personal
supervision, especially since the
college is CO. educational. The
president could get no residence
at or near the college, and the city
OF Las Cruces is several miles from
the campus. His presence on the
campus was imperative and We
were compelled to build a house
for him. 1t is a modest, comfort
able house, built as cheaply as We
could make it.
The faculty of the college has
worked faithfully, during this cri-
sis, most of the time for much less
salary in value than its members
received in 1914. We have, with
out request, raised salaries from 90
to 80 per cent, but the present
salaries are worth only half the
purchase value of 1914. The fac.
ulty has not been increased In
numbers to any extent, in spite of
the increased attendance, yet in the
last two years the number of ac-
tual teaching hours has been three
times as large as previously. This
faculty carried, during the past
year, more teaching hours and
more laboratory work per man
than any faculty OF like character
In the United States. No institution
has had a more loyal or industri-
Gus faculty, yet no institution to-
day has a good faculty so poorly
paid, or late we have been losing
valued mem bers because we cannot
afford to keep them, and the only
wonder Is that we have Kept some
Of them so long. =.
We bought $4,000 worth or
new and unused engineering ma
chinery from the government after
the war for $4,000, an unprecedent-
ed bargain. This was carefully Sc
lected by the dean Of engineering
and would now cost ten times Its
cost to us, If 1t could be secured
at all.
However, according to bills now
appearing unpaid the engineering
department exceeded this appro-
priation of two thousand dollars by
several hundred dollars, which
amount the regents are under no
liability to pay. This item and one
later referred to have been pre-
sented very lately, and though they
appeared in the deficit alleged by
you they have never been author
lied by us. and we are in no way
responsible for them. These bills
and those elsewhere referred TO
herein as unauthorized would have
been presented to us on the 14th
of the present month, and the
members of the board could not
have known about them before.
There has not been one dollar
wasted or Incorporated. All
persons handling money are care
fully bonded. The regents have
worked without recompense. at
great loss to themselves, and not
even all their necessary expenses
have been paid. No work or I'M
provement has been done by any
one outside the college without
bids and bonds. and some of the
work has been done with even bet
ter material than the contract re-
quired. All payments on contracts
have been made on the certificates
Of competent architect employed
by. the regents. All extras were
paid for at contract prices, on the
same kind Of. certificates. The
same work could not now be done
without an additional cost of APP
| proximately so per cent on the
price paid There has been no
graft in extras or small bills. The
requirement Of bids and the award
Of contracts to the lowest respen-
sible bidder have caused some I'M
favorable criticism by those who
expected political graft from this
institution, but this criticism has
not swayed the regents from their
legal duty.
The cost of materials ana living
expenses have doubled since the
board took charge, but the general
legislative appropriations have
been no larger, and even less. than
before. All property of the col
lege Is insured as required by law,
but both values of and insurance
rates have increased, and 1t costs
much more to keep the amount of
| insurance Imperatively required.
In 1919, the state overpaid one
fund by mistake in the sum of So
400, which fact was not known to
the board of regents until recently
but in 1920 this amount was arbi-
trarily withheld by the state. with
out notice, when it had been taken
into account in the college budget
This was not the fault of the re-
gents, and they would not have
used this money had they known
1t and they had no reason to ex-
pect this amount to be deducted
from the present fiscal years APP
preparations. They had a right to
rely upon the reports made to them
by state officers, and upon the
statements of the competent book
keepers at the college.
On August 20. 1919. the board
of regents authorized certain i'm
provements to be made in the en-
cheering building by the dean of
engineering. in the sum of $4,000,
of which $4,000 was to be diverted
from the budget of the engineer
ing department and repaid from
other funds covered by the college
budget, so that the total expendi-
ture authorized from the general
college funds was $1,000. The fund
of $1,000 to be diverted was not
turned over and without any au-
thority from anyone additional
bills for $8,4S4.32 have lately ap-
peared in the college office, and
have been included, in the deficit
alleged by you. These items were
never ordered by the board of re-
gents and would not have been