The 1895 Legislature Bets on the University of Washington

The future of the University of Washington as one of the leading institutions of learning on the coast is practically assured. The favorable action of the recent session of the state legislature has demonstrated this beyond any doubt. There were seven bills passed by the legislature in which the university was directly interested. Five applied to the university alone; the other two were the general appropriation bill, which carried maintenance of the university for the next two years, and the deficiency appropriation bill, which paid a debt incurred by the old land and building commission.

The five special bills provided for the prohibition of the sale of liquor on the university grounds or within two miles thereof; for the regents to serve without pay after completion of the new buildings on October 1, 1896; for bonding the lands of the university to raise moneys not derived from the state; for appropriating money to furnish the new buildings and make other needed improvements; and for applying the balance of the old appropriation so that the contract entered into by the board of regents for construction of the new buildings could be completed.

Edmond S. Meany, secretary of the board of regents, said: "The University of Washington is very fortunate in being located in King county, because when that county is harmonious and presents united legislation to the legislature the interests of the university are sure to be properly guarded. The board of regents carefully considered all the future needs of the university and set them forth in detail in the third annual report to the governor. It soon became evident that it would be impossible to make new improvements unless some special provision was made to meet the expense. A plan was therefore devised to issue bonds on the landed interests of the university. The bill to accomplish this was introduced by Senator V. A. Pusey, chairman of the senate committee on institutions."

The bill created a "University of Washington fund" from the proceeds of lands granted by the United States for the university, and authorized a loan of $200,000 against that fund to refund the state for buildings and maintenance. Representative Goddard introduced a bill, which met with no opposition, prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors on the university grounds or within two miles thereof, fixing the grounds as fractional section 8, township 26 north, range 4 east of the Willamette meridian. A geological-survey bill introduced by Representative Frank Hanford failed of passage, though the regents had pressed for it after Regent William Wood visited the World's Fair and the universities of Michigan and Minnesota, and after the director of the United States geological survey agreed to share the cost equally.