February 19-20, 1900
02-19-1900
Volume OC - Pages 187-188
Reno, Nevada
February 19, 1900
A special meeting of the Board of Regents was held at their
Office Monday, February 19, 1900, at 8:15 P.M., a full Board
being present.
It was moved, seconded and carried that the report of President
Stubbs at the National Stockmen's Convention held at Fort Worth,
Texas, January 16th to the 19th inclusive, be approved and that
same be printed in pamphlet form for distribution as follows:
NEVADA STATE UNIVERSITY
PRESIDENT'S OFFICE
February 19, 1900
To the Honorable the Board of Regents
of the Nevada State University
Gentlemen:
I submit herewith completed report of work done during my
leave of absence, from January 12th until February 15th.
Under the commission from the Governor of the State I was
present at the National Stockmen's Convention, at Fort
Worth, Texas, from January 16th to the 19th inclusive. At
the afternoon session of the Convention, on the 16th, at
the request of Mr. John Sparks, I made a report upon the
condition of the stock industry in the State of Nevada. I
wish to say in this connection that in preparing this re-
port I could find no reliable statistics either in the State
Land Office or the State Controller's Office. The fault
lies, however, not in the Officers, but in the law which
relates to the gathering of statistics pertaining to the
live stock and agricultural industry of the State. I am in-
debted to the courtesy of Governor Sadler, State Controller
Davis, Surveyor-General Kelley and the Honorable George S.
Nixon of Winnemucca, for the valuable data upon which my
report to the Convention was based.
At the last session of the Convention, on the 19th, I made
an address upon the subject, "What Stockmen of the West and
South Demand of the Federal Government". An abstract of the
paper, prepared before I left the University, was given to
the General Manager of the Associated Press; but during the
week of the Convention I took occasion to revise my paper,
the result of which was the preparation of an entirely new
address. I have a copy of this address as reported by the
stenographer of the Convention, and take pleasure in sub-
mitting the same to the Regents. The daily papers published
very full accounts of the proceedings of the Convention.
Copies of these papers were sent to the members of your
Board, so that you might judge of the value of the work of
this Convention from the standpoint of the interests of our
State. The leading features of the Convention was the de-
bate upon the question of the leasing of the public lands
by the Federal Government. The discussion was very able and
very earnest, and showed that there are difficulties connect-
ed with this question which will require very careful con-
sideration before just legislation can be secured. The
resolution as adopted by the Convention declares that such
of the public lands of the United States as are adapted to
grazing should be subject to lease by stockmen who are citi-
zens, at a reasonable rental, and under such conditions as
shall tend to preserve the grasses from destruction and im-
prove the value of the grasses thereon.
It is not probable that any legislation on the subject of
leasing the public lands will be accomplished at the present
session of Congress. The next meeting of the Convention will
be held at Salt Lake City, Utah, in January, 1901, when this
question will likely come up again for consideration. As
this Convention will be attended by a larger number of the
representative men of Nevada, our State will have an oppor-
tunity to be fully heard upon this subject.
The question of the storage and conservation of flood waters
and of irrigation in the semi-arid states seemed to be the
most important one for the State of Nevada, and it was to
this question that I gave first consideration in my address
before the Convention.
On my way from Fort Worth to Washington I spent one day at
the University of Tennessee, at Knoxville, to make a study
of their Experiment Station work, and in particular, to look
over the plans of the new stock barn, recently built at a
moderate cost, and embracing the improvements of the best
modern stock barns that have been built on several leading
Experiment Station Farms.
I arrived in Washington Sunday morning, January 28th. On
the following Monday I called upon the Secretary of Agri-
culture and received from him the assurance that the Depart-
ment of Agriculture would give all possible aid to the State
of Nevada. I took up, further, with Director A. C. True of
the Office of Experiment Stations, the matter of the appoint-
ment of an Irrigation Engineer for Nevada. As the Regents
are aware, such an appointment has been the subject of con-
siderable correspondence between Director True and the Pres-
ident of the University. It gives me pleasure now to report
to the Board that one of the most experienced Irrigation
Engineers has been selected by the Department of Agriculture
for work in the State of Nevada. This Engineer will become
a member of the staff of the Nevada Agricultural Experiment
Station, and will devote all his time to the study of the
irrigation problems of the State. The salary and expenses
of this Engineer will be paid by the Department. The Uni-
versity will provide office and equipment for the Irrigation
Engineer and give him such assistance as will enable him to
accomplish the best work for the State. Should there be any
demand for instruction in Irrigation Engineering in the Uni-
versity, it can be arranged for without interfering with the
special work of the investigation.
On Tuesday the 30th I arrived in New York and gave careful
study to the Schools of Science and the School of Mining and
Metallurgy at Columbia University. I am indebted to Dean
Hutton of the School of Mines, to Professor Monroe, Professor
of Mining Engineering, to Professor Howe, Professor of Met-
allurgy, and to Dr. James H. Canfield, Librarian, for many
valued courtesies.
I arrived in Boston Friday evening, February 2nd, and re-
mained there until Monday night, February 5th. While in
Boston my time was given to the study of the School of Mines
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and to the
School of Applied Science at Harvard University. I am in-
debted to Professor Richards of the Institute of Technology
and to Dean Shaler, Professor Marks and Professor Parker of
Harvard University for many and valued favors. One special
object in going to Harvard University was to meet Mr. Peter
Frandsen, a graduate of the Nevada State University, 1895,
a graduate of Harvard University, 1897, and for the past
two years an Assistant in the Department of Zoology, while
pursuing his research work for the Doctor's degree.
I returned to Washington on Tuesday, February 6th, where I
was engaged for several days in work connected with the Amer-
ican Association of Agricultural Colleges and Experiment
Stations.
Leaving Washington on Saturday the 10th, I stopped over two
hours at Baltimore with Doctor and Mrs. W. Mc N. Miller.
Dr. Miller is pursuing research in Pathology and Bacteriology
at Johns Hopkins University and desires a leave of absence
for next year that he may continue his studies in Europe.
I arrived in Chicago Monday, the 12th, met President Harper
of the University of Chicago by appointment, on the subject
of graduate study in Washington -- a subject which is now
under consideration by the Regents of the Smithsonian Insti-
tute, by a special committee from the Association of Agri-
cultural Colleges and Experiment Stations and by a special
committee from the National Educational Association. This is
one of the most important educational movements at the pres-
ent time, and should the work now being done result in open-
ing up the rich treasures of the Departments at Washington to
graduates of the Colleges and Universities of the Country, it
will prove very advantageous to the graduates of our own Uni-
versity. There is to be a meeting of the two committees --
one from the Association of Agricultural Colleges and Exper-
iment Stations and the other from the National Educational
Association -- at the University of Chicago, Monday, February
the 26th. It was my purpose to remain East until after this
important meeting, but the President of the Board of Regents
thought best that I should return home as soon as possible
after the meeting was closed in Washington. Whether I shall
return to this meeting at Chicago depends wholly upon the
judgment of the Board of Regents.
I had a conference with the Adjutant-General of the Army on
the subject of the detail of an Army Officer to this Univer-
sity. The present Commandant, Captain F. M. Linscott, re-
cently of the United States Volunteer Army in the Philippine
Islands, has made an exceptionally fine Officer for the Uni-
versity Cadets. I think it is not too much to say that no
Regular Army Officer hitherto detailed to the service of the
University has done more efficient work for the Military
Department than Captain Linscott. I felt justified, there-
fore, in asking the Adjutant-General if it were possible to
secure an appointment for Captain Linscott, either in the
Volunteer Service or in the Regular Army, with the under-
standing that he whould then be detailed to this University
and placed in charge of the Military Department. The Adju-
tant-General replied that the law would not permit any Of-
ficer to be detailed to the University except a Regular Army
Officer and one who had already had five years of service.
I submit herewith a list of the retired Officers of the Army,
furnished by the War Department, who have signified a desire
to accept detail to College service. You will observe that
in this list some names are checked, which indicates that in
the judgment of the War Department these Officers would be
suitable men in point of character and ability for College
service. Inasmuch as Captain Linscott does not wish to con-
tinue in charge of the Military Department of the University
without an Army appointment, I recommend that the Regents
pass a resolution asking the War Department to detail an
Army Officer for service at this University.
I submit herewith the following nominations, with the recom-
mendations which have been filed in connection with each
name:
I nominate Mr. Peter Frandsen to the position of Assistant
Professor of Zoology and Physiology in the College of Agri-
culture and Mechanic Arts; and to the Department of Zoology
and Bacteriology of the Experiment Station. I recommend
that this appointment take effect July 1st, 1900, and that
the salary shall be $1000 for the first year of service. I
recommend also that Mr. Frandsen be given a leave of absence
for the months of July and August for the purpose of special
duty in the Bureau of Animal Husbandry at Washington. I am
assured by Dr. True that Mr. Frandsen will be given opportun-
ity to make certain special studies that will fit him the
better for his work in our Experiment Station.
Second, I recommend P. Beveridge Kennedy, Ph. D. to be
Associate Professor of Botany and Horticulture in the Uni-
versity and to the Department of Botany and Horticulture in
the Agricultural Experiment Station at a salary of $1500
for the first year. This appointment to take effect the
first day of July, 1900.
I have the honor to remain, gentlemen,
Very respectfully yours
J. E. Stubbs
President
On motion of Regent Deal, seconded by Regent Starrett, the Pres-
ident of the University was requested to ask the Secretary of the
War Department to detail a retired Army Officer for duty at the
University.
President Stubbs placed in nomination Mr. Peter Frandsen to the
position of Assistant Professor of Zoology and Physiology in the
College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, and to the Department
of Zoology and Bacteriology of the Experiment Station, to take
effect July 1, 1900, and that the salary be One Thousand per
annum for the first year of service.
Upon motion, the above nomination of Mr. Frandsen was duly con-
firmed.
President Stubbs also recommended that a leave of absence for
the months of July and August be granted to Mr. Frandsen for the
purpose of special study in the Bureau of Animal Husbandry at
Washington, which was granted.
President Stubbs placed in nomination Dr. P. Beveridge Kennedy
to be Associate Professor of Botany and Horticulture in the
University and to the Department of Botany and Horticulture in
the Agricultural Experiment Station, at a salary of $1500 for the
first year. This appointment to take effect the first day of
July, 1900.
Upon motion, the above nomination of Dr. Kennedy was duly con-
firmed.
No further business appearing, the Board adjourned.
J. N. Evans
President
Geo. H. Taylor
Secretary