Montana labor news., 1939-11-23
RESIGNATION OF
SIMMONS ASKED
BY BUTTE ALUMNI
Resolutions Unanimously Adopt
ed Demand His Resignation
and Reinstatement of Dis
missed Professors.

At a mass meeting sponsored by
Butte alumni of Montana Universe
ty Friday, November II, at the old
Butte high school, the following
resolution was unanimously adopted;
I'VE request:
l. That the immediate resignation
of DR.. George Finlay Simmons as
president of the State University be
demanded by the State Board of
Education.
2. That the order of the Board
demanding the resignation of Pro-
fessors Atkinson, Keeney, Lennes,
Merriam, and Mollett be rescinded.
3. That the designations of Pro-
fessors Atkinson and Merriam be
not accepted and that Professor
Merriam be given a one-year leave
of absence"
Attorney General Freebourn
spoke briefly for the minority of
the State Board of Education, which
opposed the act demanding the
resignation of the five professors.
He emphasized the baneful effect
of the effort made by private citi-
zens and business organizations to
obtain control of the State Univer-
sity. These, he said, have even gone
SO far as to use their far-flung in
fluence to secure the dismissal of
members of the faculty whom they
do not like personally. "A univer-
sity as we understand it here in
America cannot be developed under
such conditions. We must use all
our effort to break the stranglehold
that they have obtained on this in
stitution."
DR.. N. J. Lennes, whose resigna-
ton at the end of this academic year
has been demanded, spoke at length
of the perilous condition of the uni
versity and of the failure of DR..
Simmons as its president:
During DR.. Clapp's fourteen
years as president Che said), there
was never even heard a single sug-
gestion among the faculty that he
should resign. At a meeting of
thirteen members of the faculty who
had all served during the whole of
DR.. Clapp's administration, each one
testified that he had never even
heard a rumor of such a suggestion.
There was as complete peace and
harmony as one ever finds in a uni
versity faculty.
"Since Simmons became president,
there has been constant turmoil
which has steadily become worse,
until now our university is without
doubt the worst in this respect
among all the one thousand colleges
and universities in the United States
of America. This statement is borne
out by the American Association of
University Professors, which inves-
tigates all fragrant cases of this kind.
There have been two formal in
vestigations of our university by
this organization in the last three
years, and, without doubt, there will
be a third report on this last act of
the State Board. 1t is practically
certain that we shall be put on their
censored list at their next December
meeting. This means that the whole
educational world will be aware of
our condition. Because of this, it
will be more difficult to secure high
grade instructors and the diplomas
that we grant will be less valuable,
since the institution will be looked
down upon by the American uni
versity world, this world including
both teachers and students. We are
universally being held up for pity
or for derision. 1t is even probable
that some of the various national
associations of universities and col
leges to which the university be-
longs may deprive us of our mem
bership. Exactly this has happened
in the past in less fragrant cases
than ours. If we continue as we
have been going the last four years,
we are not unlikely to be rated as
a B institution whose credits for
transfer are called in question by
the stronger universities. To avert
such a calamity it is absolutely
necessary that the late action of the
Board of Education be rescinded. AS
matters now stand in the United
States of America, no university can
long enjoy respect and full %recogni-
ton unless the universally accepted
standards of tenure are maintained.
These standards imply a tenure,
after a probationary period of a few
years, about as secure as that en-
joyed under the widely accepted
civil service regulations"
DR.. Lennes then went on to sub
stantiate the assertion that DR.. Sim
mons has failed utterly in interpret
ing the university to the state; that
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