East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1920-03-06
ARGUMENT POINTS out URGENCY OF INCREASED
M|IACE FOR STATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

T'he urgent necessity of adopting the
bin for an Increased millage tax FOL
i...' s4atA University. Agricultural COL
lege and normal school Is shown by
arsument thai has been filed In
support OF the measure and which Is
~ &c puDnsued IA the voters pamph-
let.
Because 81 the importance Of the
riatt er the East Oregonian is pub
iishing the argument in full, usciuc
"ne half of the same today with the
expectation of using the remainder on
Monday.
Eaass Concerning the Crisis at the
State University. Agricultural Col
lego and Normal school. as Copic I
from the Official Voters Pamphlet
of the State of Oregon.
submitted by r. : Bean, President
of the Board Of Regents of the Univer-
sity OF oregon: J r Weatherford
President OF the Board of Regents of
the Oregon Agricultural College. and
Ren w Olcott, President Of the Board
az Regents of the oregon Normal
eoheot
4. Higher Educational Institutions
Inrccd 10 App al fo- Relief:
A financial crisis is upon the Ore
ron Agricultural College, the state
University and the oregon Normal
School. It is due to causes over which
they have no control. Upon this cris-
is. the Joint Ways and Means Com
mittee OF the last legislature held a
hearing. The committee found the
three institutions in desperate need.
l. found that they sohuld not wait
even until next year. Accordingly it
recommended to the legislature an
additional levy of 12e mills for sup
port, beginning in 1921, and as appro-
riation of like amount for this year
alone. The legislature itself was bar
red by the six per cent, tax Limitation
from making the levy and apropria-
ton. so it referred the bill to the peo-
pie and directed that two pages be
set aside in this pamphlet to explain
the facts to the voters. The voters
are to decide May 81. and as many of
the facts as can be contained in two
pages will now be set forth.
=. Ono Cause of Crisis is the Remark
able increase i'm Number of students:
Since the original millage bill went
into effect In 1918 the number of full
time residence students at the Agrieul-
tpral College and the State University
has increased one hundred and fifty
percent At the Agricultural College
in 1918 there were 1864 fulltime stud
ents; there are now 337s- At the
State University in 1913 there were
ee1 fusltime students: there are now
1745. The institutions have tried hard
to make income meet maintenance
costs in the face of this remarkable
growth, but have been unable to do
so.
>. Meanwhile There Income Is Furth-
or Reduced by Great Gphcayai
of Costs:
Not only has the number OF stud
ents increased one hundred and fifty
percent. but in the same seven years
the cost of supplies and equipment
has doubled. (This is not true of
faculty salaries. which have neces-
sarily been increased very little.) The
buying power of the dollar of 1913 is
today about as cents. The experience
of the three institutions has been the
same as the experience of every Ore
gon family. II is as il a family OF
four in 1918, with an income Of $4,000.
has been increased to a family of ten
IN 1920. with an income of 5000. And
with the attendance one and one-half
times as great, and the buying power
Of the existing income cut squarely in
two. the millage tax revenue has re-
n.afned almost unchanged.
1. NlIIIase Income Little Changed Be-
Cause of Policy on Assessed
Valuations:
The millage tax revenue has stood
slmost still because assessed valua-
ions in Oregon remain about on the
7rne basis as they Were in 1913. II
was the expectation of the legislature,
If the tax commission. and of all con-
,erned. when the present millage sup
eort was passed. that the annual rise
n assessed valuations would equal in
,rease in maintenance How con-
,picuousIy it has failed To do so is
ihown by the following table:
Ia12 1854, ,2s2,374
1914 932.413.0S0
ais 934.495.032
q1e S7s,763.944
AIR e2s,sO5. $50 II
sls ..... ss7.533.s9s
.aIe 99O.435.472
That is. the increase in the states
lssessed valuation since the miliage !
bills were passed in 1913 has been
hree and eight tenths percent, while
he increase in student enrichment has
,een one hundred and fifty percent,
md tho fpcreaes In ouerating costs