, 1921-01-20

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the support of the common schools,
and a small portion to enable the Uni
versity to complete its building pro-
gram.
State Institutions.
The state institutions, with the ex-
ception of the pe%nitentiary, are in a
very fair state of repair and large APP
are not necessary for
their Improvement or enlargement.
The penitentiary Is In need of a thor
ough overhauling and a large amount
OF money be spent in order to
renovate that institution. In addition,
the ~penitentiary is too small to care
Tor the number of prisoners thai we
have at the present time, and in or.
der to provide for them certain alter
atoms will have to be made in the cell
house.
The state has a thousand acres OF
choice agricultural land near Worland
and new buildings could be built there
apart from the present buildings where
this different class of prisoners could
be cared for. Unless some provision
s made at this time we will have a
large number of criminals on our
hands and no place to confine them.
SlalG Duln uOuSc Ut Iut big
Horn Hot Springs reserve is a dis.
grace to the state and should either
be 'remodeled or a new one built at an
early date. l have recommended an
appropriation of $50, 900 for this pur-
pose and 1t seems to me very neces-
sary that proper bathing facilities be
provided for those who cannot afford
to patroniZe the private bath houses,
An nnnrnnriofinn hos haa- asIral
for to complete the building provided
for by the last Legislature at the
School of Mental Detectives, as the
amount appropriated was inadequate.
A home of this kind is not for those
who have become mentally defective
but for those who were born feeble
minded, and the present board of char
tiles and reform has refused to accept
those whom 1t believes to be county
charges. The law should be SO re-
vised that persons of this kind could
not be committed to this institution.
An effort has been made to make
the state hospitals as nearly s~elf-sup-
porting as possible and while not all
has been accomplished that was hoped
for 1t Is costing the state less to con-
duct them than it has In the past. On
account of the accumulation of funds.
no appropriation will be necessary for
the maintenance of either the Casper
or Rock Springs hospitals, although
small appropriations have been asked
for a contagious and infections ward
at the Sheridan hospital and to COM
plete the laundry building at Rock
Springs.
University.
The state university at Laramie is
a most excellent institution. A num-
Der of new buildings are necessary but
most OF all there appears to be needed
a central heating plant and an addition
to one of the girls dormitories. The
university will have in its building
fund about 100000 which will be re-
quired to erect the heating plant, but
II seems necessary In order to provide
living quarters for the girl students
that an appropriation be made for the
dormitory.
The university has q number of
sources of income, from the federal
government, from leases and royalties
on lands, but the support which 1t re-
ceives from the state has been from a
$-mill tax levy for maintenance, to-
gether with a b-mill tax levy for build
ings. While 1 nave recommended else
where the doing away with levies for
the support of state institutions, be-
lieving that 1t is better to have direct
appropriation, / feel that In the case
OF the university an exception should
be made for the reason that this in
stitution should be kept as free as DOS
sible from politics and that it is not to
the best interests of the university
That those connected with 1t should be
compelled to come here and lobby at
each session of the Legislature. Fur
Their, hi levies provided will take care
of that institution under ordinary cir
cumstances and as the assessed valua-
ton Of the state increases, the funds
for the support of the university will
correspondingly increase, and can grow
In proportion to the state. However,
| feel that the university should con
line Itself strictly to higher education /;
that II should have no connection with
the common schools of the state and
that many of the things that IL has
been doing that might be classed as
sidelines should be discontinued. While
the Agricultural College should be in a
position to cooperate and assist those
engaged in agricultural pursuits, 1 do
not believe that IL should spend large
sums for this purpose, but rather, such
work should be done through a state
agricultural department. 1t is my opln-
ion that IL the university will confine
itself to those activities for which 1t
was intended, that If the present levies
are continued they will be sufficient so
that the institution can continue to
grow and can be built up into u great
Institution.
Schools.
In the budget l have recommended
very liberal appropriations for the con-
tingents of both the superintendent OF
public instruction and the State Board
Of Education, believing that there is
nothing for which the state n spend
money for which II will receive greater
returns than from providing good
schools for the children of the state.
There are 1907 pupils attending the
public schools, and we have 2232