The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1925-03-05

personal advertising by making the first page
of the papers of the state but the deliberate
and careful statement of the President of the
Board of Regents of the state university.
/ He proposes to tell in some other statements
! just why the university is slipping" Posi-
! bly, he will satisfy lot of the people OF the
state, but there are some people who are going
to continue to think that the main reason that
the university is slipping, is lack of education
al direction of the university.
/ 1t is rot possible for drain layer to operate
an automobile factory, it would be foolish to
expect lawyer to properly take care of the
business of doctors clinic and it is ridiculous
to suggest that the welfare of great utility
company could be best advanced by direction
on the part of men who never did anything but
write newspapers
/ What the University of Wisconsin needs, is
first of ALL expert educational direction, and to
get this it must have men making up the
Board of Regents who are educators first and
something else afterwards. Of course it needs
proper economic direction of its financial ex-
penditures by financial experts, it should have
building experts to look after it's physical
growth, it needs men Of high morals to ap-
preciate the value of moral training and as a
foundation of all of it the great need is for
someone who understands education.
The President of the Board of Regents says
in one of his preliminary articles: rive used
to have great university. That is true but
that was before we reached the idea that
everything in Wisconsin must conform to the
advancement of some political organization
In those olden days when the fame of the Uni
versity of Wisconsin was being built up it was
considered an institution aside from political
activities The men who were picked to direct
n xyoro yio1rod hoooucoa how ware hnlinund In
have some special fitness for the position of
leadership in great educational institution.
They were not named as regents in order to
pay political debt, strengthen political Or
ganization or f1atter political leader. They
were named because they were men who were
believed to be in touch with great advancing
Ideal of education and because they were be-
lleved to recognize the value of higher educa-
tion.
We are not criticising the present admin
Istration. Governor Blaine has done nothing
that men who came before him in office have
not done Other governors have named to the
board of regents of the university men wholly
unfit to sit on the board and men who have
contributed by lack of interest and their ignor-
ance of educational problems to the Slipping"
of the university.
Politics and education are not proper bed
fellows. Personal fattery lis not valuable in
advancing the cause of learning Wisconsin
is having the bitter experience with it's uni
|versity that it has had with lot of her lnstl-
buttons of the state We have known many of
the regents of the University of Wisconsin in
the past twenty years. We have known their
abilities and their limitations. Most of them
have undoubtedly meant right but they could
not advance the cause of education in this
hoo If of
sympathy with educational progress and ignor-
ant of what university could do or could not
do.
Undoubtedly millions of dollars appropriated
by the state for the support and upbuilding of
the university have been wasted on account
of lack of intelligent direction of the expendi-
ture of this money. 1t is certain that other
millions will be wasted in future years, unless
the state sees the need of having educators
rather than politicians and friends of political
leaders direct the affairs for the institution.
We believe that the present President of the
Board of Regents of the University of Wis
consin has the best interests Of that institu-
ton at heart and that he is a capable leader,
but he has a great handicap to contend with.
1t is not at all improbable that it might be the
salvation of the University Of Wisconsin to do
away witIits board of regents and instead en-
ploy some such man as Mr.. Kronshage, the
present President of the Board to operate it.
The state might be well rewarded by paying
this man or some other man salary of $780,
900 year to stop the university from slipping
and put it back on the upward course.
The mothers and fathers of Wisconsin are
contributing much in sacrifice and money to
make the university successful. The leaders
of the state should be willing to sacrifice some
thing in their own political advancement which
would be just little commensurate with the
sacrifices being made by others.
The university is more important than any
political regime, no matter who may lead that
regime, Possibly the way back is to have Of