Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 21.djvu/123



OREGON NORMAL SCHOOLS 113

With the addition of one more institution, the normal school constellation is complete. The fifth and last was the Wasco Independent Academy, established in 1889. W. C. Ingalls was the president. Previous to becoming a normal the academy had offered a normal course leading to the degree of Licentiate of Instruction. There was also a short course for which a certifi- cate to teach was granted. The catalogue for 1899 had this announcement :

"We give four years' daily instruction in Latin, and thereby give students a strong mental grasp on all subjects. It has this great advantage over those normal schools which have no Latin in their courses."

Probably this argument influenced the legislature to estab- lish the school in the first place. There seemed to be no other reason. The Dalles Normal was not prosperous ; its existence was brief indeed. One graduate only, Frances Ettie Rowe, was reported. This was in 1892. In 1895 the report of the state superintendent, Mr. G. M. Irwin, contains one sentence in relation to The Dalles school. Like Grey's line, "The short and simple annals of the poor," it suggests volumes: "The Dalles Normal School has ceased to exist."

Tuition was very reasonable, being about $20 a year, or $5 a term. This brought in an income entirely insufficient for the needs of the schools. Indeed, increased enrollment merely served to aggravate financial difficulties, as it made necessary increased expenditures for teachers and equipment. The schools were reported as prosperous, when the term applied mainly to their prospects. Monmouth maintained an average enroll- ment of approximately 200 for the first nine years of its exist- ence, then experienced a decided growth. This was in part due to the fact that in 1893 state aid was granted Monmouth and Weston.

The sentiment for state assistance in a financial way had been growing for several years. It was said to have been in the minds of the supporters of Monmouth and Ashland at the