The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, January 4, 1917, Page 3

In-the interest of a square deal for the farmer fahrmer is not bucking real supply and demand, but mad gamblers’ guesses. wheat. the useless middlemen! of the board of regents toward the North Dakota Agricultural college have been confirmed by the full text, just made public, of the “survey” report, which the board hired outside educators to make. - The report recommends stripping the Agricultural college of all its courses leading to degrees except that in agriculture and a few jmmediately - related subjects. . The entire professional and technical courses in engineering of various kinds and in mechanic arts are to be taken to the university at Grand Forks, if the report is adopted. The Leader time and time again, reflecting what it knows to be ‘the sentiment of the great mass of the people of North Dakota, has stated its opposition to reducing the Agricultural college to a mere farm and trade school. The people of North Dakota want to see their university at Grand Forks remain a great institution of higher learning. They are not only willing but they insist that the state maintain as strong a university at Grand Forks as is compatible with the state’s financial resources and the educational needs of the people. The function of the university is to teach men and women in the higher arts, in the law and in medicine and to give purely cultural courses. It should be unexcelled in its proper sphere. On the other hand, the Agricultural college must also be a great institution of higher learning, co-ordinate with, not subsidiary to, the university, but with a different field. The people will not stand for any- crippling of the Agricultural college. THE APPREHENSIONS of the farmers in regard to the intention * ok %k MUST NOT CRIPPLE FARMERS’ SCHOOL 3 THE FIELD of the Agricultural college is different from that of L congress and the state constitution and laws whiph created it. The field of the Agricultural college is that of agriculture and the mechanic arts. Included in mechanic arts are the engineering courses, including mechanical §ivil, chemical, architectural and other engineer- ing branches. The removal of these courses would reduce the Agri- cultural college to a subordinate position. Such a course would prevent the Agricultural college-from covering half the field intended for it, for agriculture and the mechanic arts are inseparabl'y united and have equal position in the courses laid down for the school in the consti- tution of the state and the Morrill act of congress. The line of demarcation between the functions of the university and the Agricultural college is plain, but it is wholly ignored by the —— lonpartiSan Tader National Paper of the Farmers’ Nonpartisan Political League 7 FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA, THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 1917 Not Supply and Demand But a . The cartoonist shows a farmer selling some real wheat on the exchange and a gambling trader at the safe-time s This gambling transaction. floading the market with wheat to sell, beats down the price of wheat. € _mad : ! . The market for the non-existent “future” wheat absolute If you don’t believe it, see the Leader’s article in this issue in which V. E. Butler, Out of their own mouths they are convicted. Yet some say we do not need state-owned elevators and mills to take foodstufis out of the hands om ~ The Agricultural College and the ‘%fi\r%fi the university and must be different under the Morrill act of THREE WHOLE NO. 63 Mad Gambler’s Guess lling 10 times as much fictitious “future” wheat. What chance has thé» ainst a system of this kind? = The 2 'y ”» speaking ‘ta_grain_dealers and quated in grain "é‘b‘m\:‘i’;cg ok casidr:irtsrei::l “survey” report and by the state board of regents.~The university waa ' E created to teach the learned professions and higher arts_and to furnish™ higher learning for pure culture. The Agicultural college. was created as the practical school of the farming and industrial classes, to teach practical and technical courses in agriculture and mechanic arts, which includes engineering. The university has been given mining engineer- ing and other courses that properly belong to the Agricultural ¢oll . but the Leader is not advocating the taking away of these courses and\ the placing of them at the Agricultural college. It is simply protesting against taking anything away from the Agricultural college. It ig~ opposed to subordinating -the farmers’ school, the same as it would oppose subordinating the university. * * * e LEGISLATURE SHOULD ACT HE BUREAU of education at Washington, D. C., which has I charge of making the “survey,” has attempted the same thing in other states. It seems to be a countiy-wide effort to restrict and belittle the Agricultural colleges. The movement has not had much success. In the state of Washington what corresponds to the Agricultural college there, the State college, refused to give up its engineering courses and the people refused to permit it. What is more, the state university was not allowed to duplicate the Agricultural col= lege’s engineering courses, as has been permitted in North Dakota. On the whole, the universities, hanging to traditions and putting emphasis on education fer culture’s sake instead of with a practical outlook, have watched with jealousy the development of the Agricultural colleges of the country along practical lines. The Agricultural colleges, workiflg under the Morrill act provisions for schools of agriculture and mechanie, arts, have developed the engineering courses to what. they are today.-- And now they are to be stripped of this important part of their work! It was stated positively some time ago by the North Dakota board of - regents that the main provisions of the “survey” report were to be put in practice. But since then, seeingthe sentiment in the state, the board . has hesitated, and it is now.understood that “the report has not yet heen formally acted upon.” However, there can be no question of the senti- = ment of the members of the board of regents in regard to the report, ‘and their feeling toward the Agricultural college can hardly be dis-' guised. It is time, then, that something be done to prevent this report being put in effect. It is a matter that should be taken up by the legis- lature elected by: the farmers, and it doubtless will have attention., —f S = A e M S r————————— S R W AV W v sy