The land grants made for establishment of agricultural colleges
by the Act of July 2, 1862, 12 Stat. 503, as amended by the Act of
March 3, 1883, 22 Stat. 484, and the permanent appropriations for
the support of such institutions under the Act of August 30, 1890,
26 Stat. 415, were made to the states themselves, and not to any of
the institutions established by the states,
Haire v. Rice,
204 U. S. 291, and
the disposition of the interest on the land grant fund and the
appropriation is wholly within the power of each state acting
through its legislature in accordance with
Page 206 U. S. 279
the trust imposed upon it by the acts of Congress, and an
institution, although established by the state for agricultural
education, cannot compel the payment of any part thereof to it.
The plaintiff in error, the State of Wyoming, on the relation of
the Wyoming Agricultural College and its officers, filed a petition
in the Supreme Court of that state for a writ of mandamus against
the defendant in error, the state treasurer. The object of the
proceeding was to compel the state treasurer to pay to the
treasurer of the college certain funds in his hands, being the
proceeds of land grants and the amount of appropriations made by
Congress for the promotion of education in agricultural and
mechanical arts. An alternative writ issued, and the respondent
appeared and demurred to the petition. The cause was then heard by
the Supreme Court of Wyoming, and by that court the demurrer, which
was regarded by court and counsel as sufficiently raising the
merits of the controversy, was sustained and judgment rendered for
the respondent. The case comes here upon writ of error, with
allegations of violations of federal rights, which, so far as
material to the decision, are stated in the opinion.
Page 206 U. S. 281
MR. JUSTICE MOODY delivered the opinion of the Court.
The Wyoming Agricultural College was established by an act of
the legislature of that state. Wyo.Sess.Laws 1890, 1891, c. 92. It
was declared to be "a state public educational institution," with
the object of giving to men and women, without regard to color,
"a liberal education and a thorough knowledge of such arts and
sciences as will aid in the prosecution of agricultural pursuits,
with their varied applications."
The University of Wyoming was established by the territory with
the declared object of providing education for both sexes in "the
different branches of literature, the arts and sciences, with their
varied applications." The Constitution of the State of Wyoming
confirmed the establishment of the university and declared it to be
the university of the State of Wyoming. The first session of the
state legislature enacted a law declaring more fully the objects of
the university, which
Page 206 U. S. 282
provided, among other things, that it should be open to both
sexes, regardless of race or color, and should
"embrace colleges or departments of letters, of science, and of
the arts. . . . The college, or the department of the arts, shall
embrace courses of instruction in the practical and fine arts,
especially in the application of science to the arts of mining and
metallurgy, mechanics, engineering, architecture, agriculture, and
commerce, together with instruction in military tactics."
Land grants and appropriations, which presently will be
described in detail, have been made by Congress for the support of
education in the state, and the state, acting through its
legislature, has accepted the appropriations under the conditions
prescribed in the acts of Congress, and has appropriated these
national bounties to the support of the university. The
agricultural college claimed that, under the acts of Congress
bestowing these gifts, it is entitled to them, and the denial of
the Supreme Court of the State of this claim raises the federal
question first to be considered.
By the Act of July 2, 1862 (12 Stat. 503), amended by Act of
March 3, 1883 (22 Stat. 484), Congress "granted to the several
states, for the purposes hereinafter mentioned," certain quantities
of the public lands, or, under certain conditions, in lieu thereof
land scrip. The entire proceeds of the sale of the land or of the
land scrip were directed to be safely invested by the states as a
perpetual fund, whose interest should be
"inviolably appropriated by each state which may take and claim
the benefit of this act, to the endowment, support, and maintenance
of at least one college, where the leading object shall be, without
excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including
military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related
to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the
legislatures of the states may respectively prescribe, in order to
promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial
classes in the several pursuits and professions in life."
The act further provided that "if any portion of the fund
invested . . . be . . . lost, it shall be replaced by the state to
which
Page 206 U. S. 283
it belongs," and that
"no state, while in a condition of rebellion or insurrection
against the government of the United States, shall be entitled to
the benefit of this act. No state shall be entitled to the benefits
of this act unless it shall express its acceptance thereof by its
legislature."
The grant made in this statute is clearly to the state, and not
to any institution established by the state.
Haire v.
Rice, 204 U. S. 291.
By the Act of August 30, 1890 (26 Stat. 417), Congress made
permanent annual appropriations of a certain sum of money
"to each state and territory for the more complete endowment and
maintenance of colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the
mechanic arts, now established, or which may be hereafter
established, in accordance with an act of Congress approved July
second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, . . . to be applied only to
instruction in agriculture, the mechanic arts, the English
language, and the various branches of mathematical, physical,
natural, and economic science, with special reference to their
applications in the industries of life, and to the facilities for
such instruction."
It is so obvious that these appropriations are made to the
state, and not to any institutions within the state, and that the
states, acting through their legislatures, are to expend the
appropriations in accordance with the trust imposed upon them, that
it is unnecessary to quote the numerous expressions in this act
which support that view. By the Act of March 2, 1887 (24 Stat.
440), Congress directed that a certain sum should be annually
appropriated "to each state" for the support of agricultural
experiment stations at the institutions established under the act
of 1862. The law provides that the appropriation shall be paid to
the treasurer of the institution where the agricultural experiment
station is established, and no money has come or will come into the
hands of the state treasurer. It is therefore unnecessary to
consider further the provisions of this act. There is in the hands
of the state treasurer the permanent fund established under the act
of 1862, and one of the annual
Page 206 U. S. 284
appropriations paid to him under the act of 1890. The interest
on the fund and the annual appropriation the state treasurer is
about to pay to the University of Wyoming in obedience to the laws
of the state. The agricultural college claims that it is entitled
under those statutes to receive this money. If this claim fails, it
is the end of the case. But, as has been shown, both the fund and
its interest and the annual appropriations are the property of the
state, and not of any institution within it. The agricultural
college shows no title or right to this money under these statutes.
The whole case of the plaintiff in error fails at the threshold,
and it is unnecessary to determine whether the state has complied
with its trust in bestowing the government bounty upon the
University of Wyoming, or has violated the obligation of a contract
by repealing, as it has, the act establishing the agricultural
college. These questions were discussed with learning and ability
in the court below, and we do not intend to intimate any
disagreement with the conclusions of that court. But, as the
plaintiff in error must fail in the attempt to compel the payment
to it of the money in the hands of the defendant for the reasons
already given, there is no need to go further in this Court, and
the judgment of the Supreme Court of Wyoming is therefore
Affirmed.