The War for Pullman’s Purse

I have received copies of two letters written to Mr. M. S. Lewis by Dr. Ira A. Cardiff, director of the Experiment Station at Pullman. Allow me to quote from these letters, which Mr. Lewis has suppressed: 'This represents an average annual income for the six-year period from state funds of $347,690. The $9,933 per year for agricultural investigations is approximately 2.8% of the above.' Supt. Linklater explained in detail before a number of legislators that the Puyallup Station was not attempting to do agricultural investigation, but instead demonstration and extension. Mr. Lewis should now cease mixing funds of state and government and quit adding extension and collegiate teaching funds to experimental funds to make me out a liar. It would also be more manly of Mr. Lewis to leave my name out of the discussion when writing to Dr. Cardiff and Supt. Linklater. He should not try to prejudice their testimony. Mr. Lewis can go on in his effort to make the public believe that $200,000 buildings are a yearly occurrence at Pullman and thus justify a department of architecture, and he can also state that forestry, as a course, is 'almost entirely agricultural' instead of lumbering if he thinks the public will believe him. I believe these funds should be devoted to agriculture. Think of it, forestry and architecture as practical courses in a prairie town the size of Pullman! As the Yakima Republic says, certain authorities at Pullman want the taxpayers to support two universities at the expense of the agricultural interests of the state.