The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1921-05-22
CLAIM MADE THAT
BOARD IS HANDICAP
(continusd from Page ons.J

the thing now in its charge? I do no!
think it Isl
| Senator Johnson bitterly criticized
the board Of control for yielding to the
/ efforts to get big appropriation this
year.
Several months ago as Is. generally
known, an effort was put on foot
among friends OF the university to en-
large its plant and that of the Won1-
ans college to considerable extent
this session. A budget was framed to
which the board Of control gave Its as
sent, calling-for a total Of $500, 900 for
the four institutions of higher learn
ing, the state College for Women, the
state university, the deaf and blind
school at st. Augustine and the negro
college.
Much Of this was to go to the en-
largement Of the university plant and
there has been considerable propa-
ganda to put the plan over, When the
legislature met many persons were
convinced that the sum asked was so
large that II It were granted It would
either raise the millage SO high that
theftax payers would revolt or would
result in other state needs being cut
to point where there would be a
complaint. So at an all day meeting
here with the state board OF educa-
ton the board of control was told to
go back and cut its budget in half be-
fore it presented it. The board Of con-
troll Is subsidiary Of course to the
board OF education which is a consti-
tutional body.
Johnson charged that there had been
a giant propaganda to secure the $3,-
100000 budget which would have
meant a nine mill tax for the two year
period or four and a half mills per
year. This propaganda has not come
from the. board Of control which was
plyable in the hands Of the faculty
and student body, he charged, but
from organizations within the schools.
He thought stronger control would he
exercised by the board OF education
which would be able to see the needs
and abilities of the whole state rath-
err than those Of the institutions Of
higher learning alone.
IF we were to give them this big
appropriation something else would
have to do Without and in four years
I would predict that the people would
rise up and abolish these institutions"
he said.
when we cut them down we found
that many of them were not disposed
to accept the board of education as
final and have been trying to over
ride that body. They have carried
their lobbying right to our DOORS"
Turnbull spoke on the benefit of
education and pointed out by statistics
that the college bred men while
forming one per cent Of the people,
occupy SO per cent Of the high places
in the government.
: How are you going to prove that
63 per cent of the leaders are college
men," said Johnson.
'I'N except the Florida state senatet9
said Turnbull.
knight suggested that il special
boards are good for the higher insti-
tutions of learning then there should
be boards for the high schools and for
the other schools. He thought the
board Of control fifth wheel.
Senator Lindsay pointed out that it
had been As months since the board
Of control had secured an audit Of its
expenses at the Woman's college, yet
in that time one man had handled
nearly a million and a quarter dollars.
He interpreted this as not q good
showing for the board, indicating a
lack of proper viewpoint. When the
board was brought in to tell where its
budget could be cut, it could not do it,
he said, and displayed real ignorance
Of what was in it. He said they had
to go back to see the professors whose
imaginations and pencils had been
working overtime. HeN declared the
boards budget was bundle OF mis-
information entirely lacking in value.
MacWilliams made an eloquent
speech, recalling the history Of the
buchanan hill under which in 1905 the
board Of control was formed and the
state institutions consolidated. It was
done because the various institutions
had lobbied the legislature for appro-
priations until they were a nuisance.
MacWilliams thought the state had
drifted back to the same place. He
said the institutions made up the bud
get and that the board knows moth
ing about them He, felt that the
board Of control Is supernumerary and
that the state should get back to the
constitution.
MacWilliams had an eloquent de-
Tense Of Lincoln against whom Sem
ator Malone had said that II he had
not been. a poorly educated man he
would not have acted unconstitution-
ally against the south. MacWilliams'
tribute to the great president was a
fine one.
Russell spoke briefly urging that the
abolition OF the board OF control would
be for the best interests Of the state
and calling 1t useless piece Of ma
chinery and the vote was taken with
the result that the motion to indefi-
nitely postpone was carried.