Changes

The  West Texas Chamber of Commerce supported legislation passed by both houses of the legislature in 1921 to establish a West Texas A&M College. The bill was [[veto]]ed by Governor Pat Morris Neff (1871-1952), who said that the state could not afford another state college. Neff also defended his veto on grounds that the proposed college was not included in the 1920 Democratic state platform. Neff's veto stirred up a political firestorm; two years later he was prepared to sign similar legislation.<ref name=findagrave/>

The  West Texas Chamber of Commerce supported legislation passed by both houses of the legislature in 1921 to establish a West Texas A&M College. The bill was [[veto]]ed by Governor Pat Morris Neff (1871-1952), who said that the state could not afford another state college. Neff also defended his veto on grounds that the proposed college was not included in the 1920 Democratic state platform. Neff's veto stirred up a political firestorm; two years later he was prepared to sign similar legislation.<ref name=findagrave/>

In 1923, Bledsoe and Representative Roy Alvin Baldwin (1886-1940) of Slaton in south Lubbock County pushed to passage the legislation (Senate Bill 103) with a $1 million appropriation to establish a four-year institution in West Texas with an emphasis on agricultural research. The school would be separate from [[Texas A&M University]] in [[College Station, Texas|College Station]], which had a similar mission and whose leadership opposed the new institution. Bledsoe confessed to having drawn up the requirements for the host city to fit only Lubbock, which was selected over thirty-six other locations, including Sweetwater in Nolan County, [[San Angelo, Texas|San Angelo]] (before the existence of Angelo State University), [[Midland]], Plainview in Hale County, Brownwood, Lampasas, Big Spring, Boerne (pronounced BUR NEY) in Kendall County northwest of [[San Antonio]]. Vernon, Texas, west of [[Wichita Falls]] claimed it should have been selected because of its [[railroad]] access; at the time Vernon had approximately one thousand more people than Lubbock. <ref name=zachd/>  

In 1923, Bledsoe and Representative [[Roy Alvin Baldwin]] of Slaton in south Lubbock County pushed to passage the legislation (Senate Bill 103) with a $1 million appropriation to establish a four-year institution in West Texas with an emphasis on agricultural research. The school would be separate from [[Texas A&M University]] in [[College Station, Texas|College Station]], which had a similar mission and whose leadership opposed the new institution. Bledsoe confessed to having drawn up the requirements for the host city to fit only Lubbock, which was selected over thirty-six other locations, including Sweetwater in Nolan County, [[San Angelo, Texas|San Angelo]] (before the existence of Angelo State University), [[Midland]], Plainview in Hale County, Brownwood, Lampasas, Big Spring, Boerne (pronounced BUR NEY) in Kendall County northwest of [[San Antonio]]. Vernon, Texas, west of [[Wichita Falls]] claimed it should have been selected because of its [[railroad]] access; at the time Vernon had approximately one thousand more people than Lubbock. <ref name=zachd/>  

The site selection committee traveled to all of the communities seeking to become the location of the new college, but the fix was in from the start. To win the competition, Lubbock was even allowed to amend its initial application to account for eighty more acres so that it could meet the two thousand acres required in the legislation for the chosen location. In time, [[Texas Tech University]], originally '''Texas Technological College,''' helped to make Lubbock the largest city of West Texas, excluding [[El Paso]] in the far southwestern corner of the state. Representative Richard Mortimer Chitwood of Sweetwater, the chairman of the House Education Committee, thought his city far better suited for the new institution as the "central" location of West Texas. When Lubbock was chosen, Chitwood was given a patronage consolation as business manager of the new institution.<ref name=zachd>Zach Dowdle, "In the Land of Sandstorms and Sand: Locating Texas Technological College in 1923," ''West Texas Historical Review'', Vol. LXL (2014), pp. 75-102.</ref> He moved to Lubbock, where for fifteen months he was the business manager.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Chitwood&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=46&GScnty=2696&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=15513681&df=all&|title=Richard Mortimer Chitwood|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=May 31, 2020}}</ref>​

The site selection committee traveled to all of the communities seeking to become the location of the new college, but the fix was in from the start. To win the competition, Lubbock was even allowed to amend its initial application to account for eighty more acres so that it could meet the two thousand acres required in the legislation for the chosen location. In time, [[Texas Tech University]], originally '''Texas Technological College,''' helped to make Lubbock the largest city of West Texas, excluding [[El Paso]] in the far southwestern corner of the state. Representative Richard Mortimer Chitwood of Sweetwater, the chairman of the House Education Committee, thought his city far better suited for the new institution as the "central" location of West Texas. When Lubbock was chosen, Chitwood was given a patronage consolation as business manager of the new institution.<ref name=zachd>Zach Dowdle, "In the Land of Sandstorms and Sand: Locating Texas Technological College in 1923," ''West Texas Historical Review'', Vol. LXL (2014), pp. 75-102.</ref> He moved to Lubbock, where for fifteen months he was the business manager.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Chitwood&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=46&GScnty=2696&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=15513681&df=all&|title=Richard Mortimer Chitwood|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=May 31, 2020}}</ref>​