Jasper County Democrat, Volume 17, Number 68, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 December 1914 — Advocates the Withdrawal of All State Aid. [ARTICLE]

Advocates the Withdrawal of All State Aid.

The Monticello Journal, in speaking of the recent disgraceful outbreak of “higher education” of Purdue students at Lafayette, says: What’s the matter with Lafayette and Purdue University? The night following the victory of the Purdue football team over that’ from Indiana University, between 1,500 and 2,000 students paraded the streets as a riotous mob. Upon the refusal of the proprietor of one of the local theaters to permit them to enter his place of entertainment free of charge, they mobbed the building arid endeavored to force an entrance with the avowed purpose of wrecking the interior. Eggs were freely thrown, bespattering the front of the building and driving the citizens from the streets. The proprietor and his employes to protect themselves turned the chemical fire apparatus of the building upon the mob, freely sprinkling their clothes with the chemicals. A squad of policemen with the head of the police 1 force of the city stood by and made no effort to quell the disturbance or to protect the theater. Two plain clothes men entered the mob and arrested four of the ringleaders and placed them in jail. The students' plea for their conduct was that they were jollifying over their victory over Indiana and that the manager of the play house had promised them free admission to his house if they won the game, and also that he is an unpopular man. A flimsy excuse at the best for such a disgraceful riot, with the attending destruction of property and menace to life and limb. The Purdue students are supposed to represent the highest type of the student life of the state and to come from the best families of their home communities. If football has such a demoralizing influence upon such as to convert them into lawless rioters the game should be barred from the university until such time as the authorities can keep them under control. If the university authorities - are unable to discipline the students and make them respect the rights of the law and order abiding citizens they Should be desposed. If the Lafayette authorities can not or will not enforce law on the streets and render them safe from such lawless mobs they should be deposed and the* government of the city placed in the hands of men who can. Otherwise the voters of the state should elect men to legislature who will withdraw every cent of state aid from the institution until such mobs shall be a thing of the past.