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EDUCATION NUMBER

Vol. XVI

JULY, 1913

No. 9

ORGAW OF THE PRIESTHOOD &C/ORUMS, THE YOUNG MEN'S MUTUAL

IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATIONS AND THE SCHOOLS OF THE CHURCti OF

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14 HEN WRITING TO ADVERTISERS, HLEAsh MENTION THE "ERA"

EDUCATION IN UTAH.

The illiteracy in Utah is 2y2 per cent and the state stands third in literacy.

Utah teachers, of whom there are 703 males and 1,934 fe- males, received $1,564,522 in wages for the year 1912.

Utah has seven hundred public schools, with 2,637 teachers ; and 111,331 children of school age of whom 95,000 receive in- struction in the schools.

The valuation of school property in Utah has increased from $1,386,851, in 1906, to $8,000,000, in 1913; and the school popu- lation, from 79,339 to 111,331. The amount expended annually for the support of common sc hools, during the same period in- creased from $900,995 to $4,000,000.

Utah has four public high schools with at least three hun- dred boys attending, among whom there isn't one boy who uses tobacco or strong drink in any form. It is the ambition of every high school in the state, under the direction of the state officers, to reach this standard.

The public high schools of Utah have increased from five, in 1900, when 1,088 students enrolled, to forty in 1913, with an en- rollment of more than 6,000 students. The enrollment in the high schools of the United States increased from half a million, in 1900, to nearly a million, in 1910; during the past ten years the increase in Utah has much more than kept pace with that of the nation at large.

The standard of qualification of teachers in Utah is as high as that of any other state in the Union. State Superintendent, A. C. Nelson is authority for the statement that there are only three other states requiring the same standard, — New York, Indi- ana and California. Andrew S. Draper, who died recently, erect- ed a lasting invisible monument to his educational career by raising the standard of efficiency of the public school teachers of his state, New York ; and the requirement of certification of teachers in Utah, in operation since 1911, ranks with the new reg- ulations in New York.

HON. P. P. CI.AXTOX, UNITED STATES COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION

Improvement Era

Vol. XVI JULY, 1913 No. 9

The National Education Association'

Its History, Work and Mission

BY EDWARD H. ANDERSON

Salt Lake City and Utah have for their guests this month the largest education association in the world — the National Education Association, which meets July 5 to 11. While it is the largest organization of the kind in the world, some of the readers of the Era may not have an adequate conception of its purpose and mission or the great volume of business done by its officials, nor of the great number of people who are inter- ested permanently and temporarily in the association. Secretary Durand W. Springer reports that his postage bill amounts to something over $2,000 a year and that since last September over 20,000 letters have been deposited in the local postoffice at Ann Arbor, Michigan, the present residence city of the secretary. The permanent fund of the association amounts to $190,000, and yields an income in interest of $7,000 a year. For the year 1912 the association received from various sources nearly $50,000, and the total expenses for the year, including nearly $10,000 which was transferred to the permanent fund, approximated $45,000, leaving still a balance of $4,000 in the treasury.

HISTORY AND GROWTH OF THE ASSOCIATION

It is difficult to determine the question of priority of organi- zation among several educational associations of a national or semi-national character that arose in the early history of the United States. It appears that the earliest activity in the direc- tion of a national organization for the advancement of educational interests in the United States took place in 1830 and the following

*The writer is indebted to Secretary Durand W. Springer for reports, bulletins, and historical documents from which the facts in this article are culled ; also for the portraits accompanying.

844

IMI'U* >\'!MI NT I \< \

years. Tt has been quite definitely determined that the position of seniority belongs t<> the American [nstitute of Instruction which was organized in I '»< •- 1< >n. Massachusetts, in August, 1830, the

DR. EDWARD T. FAIRCHILD, PRESIDENT NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

preliminary meeting having hecn held in March of that year for the discussion of educational questions. At this time a com- mittee was chosen to prepare a constitution, and the organization

THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

845

resulted, as stated, on the 19th of August, 1830, when the consti- tution was adopted and the officers elected, with President Francis Wayland, of Brown University, as president. Prior to that time there had been no educational associations barring here and there a temporary gathering of teachers and educators interested in the development of pedagogy and learning. This Institute was largely responsible for giving Horace Mann to the edu- cational leadership of America which, as Dr. A. E. Win- ship has stated, "is all - sufficient r e- ward for its exist- ence." This or- ganization still ex- ists. Of it Dr. Winship says :

"In age it is peerless, in historic educational promi- nence it is unsur- passed, in delightful professional com- radeship it is in a class by itself, and the present prosper- ity is adequate for all of its necessities. The past is glorious, the present gratify- ing, and there is no reason why the fu- ture should not bear

out its early proph- d. W. SPRINGER, SECRETARY NATIONAL EDUCA- ecy of service to the TION ASSOCIATION

public".

The Western Literary Institute and College of Professional Teachers came second in order of organization, though some still claim it to have been the oldest educational association in Amer- ica. It resulted from the joining of two other organizations that date from 1829. The Western Institute existed from 1831 to 1845.

Then followed the American Lyceum Association which as- sumed national dimensions in 1831, and which held its last meet- ing in 1839.

846

I.MI'Ki IVEMENT I R \

In 1849, after these associations had disorganized, a new effort was made for the organization of a National Association of Teachers. This association assembled at Philadelphia, in tin- Mall of the Controller of Public Schools, October 17 t<> 1''. 1X4*'. under

the presidency of Hon. Horace Mann, member of Congress, and late secretary of the Board of Educa- tion for the state of Massachusetts. Jt would not be out of place to date the history of the National Edu- cation Associa- tion from this meeting in 1849 : though it was not until August 26, 1857, in Philadel- phia, that the Na- tional Teachers' Association w a s actually organized. In 1870, Aug. 17- 19, at Cleveland, Ohio, it was changed to, and has continued un- der, the name of the National Edu- cation Association. The growth of the organization can best be under- stood when we state that when Dr. Irwin Shepard, who for nineteen and a half years was secretary of the association, took office, it was said he could hold all the records, materials, etc., of which it was then possessed in his hands. When the office was removed to Ann Arbor, Michigan, it required two cars to bring the records and files, for they had a net weight of 68.400 pounds. In 1906 the association received its legal status when it was incorporated under a special act of Congress. Its charter was accepted, and it- by- laws were adopted at the Los Angeles meeting, in 1907.

ROBT. J. ALEY, PRESIDENT UNIVERSITY OF MAINE, AND SECRETARY OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, AND THE COUNCIL OF THE NA- TIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

847

MEMBERSHIP

Besides its active membership, which is over eight thousand, it has an associate membership which varies yearly from five to ten thousand. The active membership is com- posed of persons who retain their member- ship from year to year, paying their dues whether they are able to be present at the meeting or not. People who make use of the associate mem- bership are largely those who attend the meetings, if these hap- pen to be held in the neighborhood where they live, or who take trips with the Na- tional Education As- sociation, principally for a summer outing. Thus in Utah this year we look for at least a membership of 2,600, many of whom may perhaps not re- in a i n permanently with the association. Secretary Springer states that, of the eight thousand active members about seven thousand are personal, the remaining one thousand being institutional, consisting largely of libraries. The association has also a group of about fifty mem- bers known as corresponding members, comprising foreigners who have distinguished themselves in the field of education and for that reason were elected as corresponding members.

SUPT. C. G. PEARSE, VICE PRESIDENT N. E. A., CITY HALL, MILWAUKEE, WIS.

MEETINGS

Two meetings of the association are held each year. The summer meeting, generally held in July, and which is by far the most largely attended, attracts usually from twelve to fifteen

S4S

imi'k< ) vi-: mi-: nt i:ka

thousand teachers in actual attendance, while there has been as high as forty thousand paid memberships in a year. The summer meeting lasts a Whole week, beginning as a rule on Saturday.

This year in Salt Lake City, the Na- tional Council meet- ing is held July 5. Sunday, 6th of July, known as Educational Sunday, will be ob- served here as it is generally throughout cities where the asso- ciation meets. The sermons in the vari- ous churches are al- ways of a character suitable to the occa- sion. The general sessions begin on Monday, continuing till the 11th. One meeting will be held each day during the convention, at a time when none of the de- partments are meet- ing. The seventeen departmental commit- tees connected with the association have from two to four de- partmental meetings throughout the week, so scheduled that the departments shall not interfere with each other.

The mid-winter session is held during the last week in Feb- ruary and is known as the Department of Superintendents, although several other departments meet at the same time. This meeting is more largely given over to the administrative phase of educational activities, whereas, the summer meeting is devoted to a more general discussion of methods and educational problems. The summer and winter meetings are generally not held in the same section of the country. The winter meeting attracts the at- tendance of about twenty-three hundred, and this year was held in Philadelphia ; while, as stated, the summer meeting will probably attract fifteen thousand teachers and will be held in Salt Lake City.

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STANLEY

BROWN, JOLIET,

N. E. A.

ILL., TRUSTEE

THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

849

WORK OF THE ASSOCIATION

A highly important part of the work of the National Educa- tion Association is the educational investigation carried on under the direction of the National Council, a body of one hundred and twenty members representing every phase of educational activity. Several of the departments often appoint committees to make special investi- gations, and reports are published in pam- phlet form including such subjects as, "Teaching Morals in the Public Schools of the United States," "Provisions for Ex- ceptional Children in Public Schools," "The Place of Industry in Public Education," etc. In the history of the organization, hun- dreds of these com- mittees, composed of the greatest educators in the country, have submitted reports

which stand as the very highest authority on the different subjects with which they deal. Some of these were published years ago, but many of the ideas which they present are still entirely in accord with those of the present day. These pamphlets are selling in large numbers. At the last meeting of the association $8,735 was appropriated for the use of committees making these investiga- tions, for this year. The members from Utah in this National Council are State Supt. A. C. Nelson who has held the position since 1908, and Supt. D. H. Christensen, of the Salt Lake City schools, since 1911.

Aside from the publications of the National Council, there is a book which contains the proceedings of the mid-winter meeting entitled, "Proceedings of the Department of Superintendents," also a book entitled "The Addresses" containing all that takes

J- y.

JOYNER, RALEIGH, N. C, STATE SUPT. PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

K5<)

I.MI'K* iVIMI NT I R \

place at the summer meeting; then a year book which contains a report "i' all business, and the names, titles and positions of all the active members. Since there air 350 pages in this volume which

ci mtains the names and addresses of e i g li t thousand members, kept up- to-date, it may well be imagined that this requires .threat labor on the part of tlic secretary's office.

OFFICERS AND

STATE DIRECTORS

At the annual meeting a director from every state is elected ; also a president, eleven vice-presidents, and a treasurer are elected. The Board of Directors con- sists of these per- sons, and the ex- presidents of the association hecome life-directors. The president and vice-president, and the treasurer, are elected every year, and the retiring president always becomes the first vice- president. The directors hold two meetings each year, and in the interim business is carried on by the executive committee consist- ing of the president, vice-president, treasurer and the chairman of the hoard of five trustees, and one director selected from the board. All the property owned by the association is held by the Board of Trustees, who are also the custodians of the permanent fund. These trustees are elected by the directors for a period of four years one being elected each year. The hoard of trustees elects th • secretary who is the .administrative officer of the organi- zation. There is also an Executive Committee of five. The in- tent of so placing the election of the secretary, was to give the office an element of permanency. The last incumbent, as stated, held the office for nearly twenty year-, and then resigned. Each of the departments selects its own officers— president, vice-presi-

GEORGE B. Cook. STATE SUPT. PUBLIC IN- STRUCTION, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, LITTLE ROCK. ARK.

THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 851

dent and secretary, and the National Council, having' charge of all the educational investigations, have in addition an executive com- mittee of three members.

Utah was first connected with the Education Association by a state director in the year 1874, when Territorial Superintendent of Schools O. H. Riggs was chosen to that position, holding the place until 1877. From that time up to 1884, Utah was not represented in the organization. At this date Prof. J. M. Coyner became state director for Utah and held the place until 1886. The association met at Topeka, Kansas, in that year, at which time Edward H. Anderson, then superintendent of schools of Weber County, be- came state director, 1886-7 ; he was followed by Prof. W. M. Stewart, 1887-88 ; J. F. Millspaugh, 1888-89. Three years again passed, to 1892, when Utah was not represented ; then J. F. Mills- paugh was again chosen for 1892-3 ; Ella M. Dukes, 1894-5 ; W. R. Malone, 1895-7; Dr. J. M. Tanner, 1897-99; F. B. Cooper, 1899-1901 ;W. J. Kerr, 1901-4; A. C. Nelson, 1904-5; D. H. Christensen, 1905-10; G. N. Child, 1910-13.

THE SECRETARY

Practically all the business of the association is handled through the office of the secretary, excepting the collection of dues at the summer meeting. Mr. Durand W. Springer, the present secretary, was elected in 1912. Mr. Irwin Shepard, who preceded him, acted from 1893 to July, 1912, and he devoted his entire time to the work of the association since 1898. During his incumbency the association's permanent fund grew from $40,000 to $190,000 in 1912. The Secretary is charged with great responsibility, his list of duties being long and varied. He is the administrative officer, the secretary of the Executive Committee, of the Board of Direc- tors, and of the active members at the annual meeting. He is charged with issuing all the volumes of proceedings, with making arrangements for holding meetings, and with the printing and dis- tribution of the bulletins and official programs. One of the great problems requiring careful attention is the railroad rates, and con- cessions. He must deal with eight different railroad systems in the United States, securing rates for the members wherever they reside. The second problem is the local conditions in the city in which the meeting is to be held. In order to handle such a large number in a satisfactory manner the preliminary arrangements must be carefullv worked out ahead of time. The third problem, much more easily met, is the arrangement for receiving the annual dues, distributing badges, and printing and distributing the annual programs. Members who attend the annual meeting must pay their dues at the tfme, but all the permanent members who do not attend the meeting must receive notice of their dues.

852 IMPROVF.MKNT ERA

The editing of the manuscript for the "Addresses," and "Pro- ceedings'' ( 1 .427 pages for 1912) and the proof reading are no

small tasks. Furthermore, at least a third of the 3,000 active mem- l era change their residences each year, and every name on the "Year book" must be checked before the book can be issued. The office is a center for all kinds of questions in regard to educational matters, requiring considerable time in looking up the information desired. At the meeting in Salt Lake City it is likely that the headquarters of the secretary's office will be changed from Ann Arbor, to Washington, since the permanent heado|iiarters are de- termined by the board of directors, and Mr. Springer asked that the office be only temporarily located in Ann Arbor.

MISSION OF THE N. E. A.

At the national gathering of teachers and superintendents in Philadelphia, in 1849, which movement was destined to continue through the National Teachers' Association, and later the National Education Association, Hon. Horace Mann, its president, gave an opening address from which we quote. His inspiring and even prophetic words may be said to outline the mission of the associa- tion up to our own day, and are as applicable now as then, insofar as they have not yet been fulfiled :

"By the communion and the sympathy of assemblies like this we can not only enlighten the guiding forces of the mind, but we can generate the impulsive forces of the heart. We cannot only diffuse new intelligence, but we can excite new enthusiasm. Throughout the whole country the machinery of education needs to be increased in strength, and worked by a mightier power. In all material interests we are proverbial as a people for our enterprise. Let us seek for our country the higher honor of becoming proverbial in our regard for moral and spiritual interests. Let us devise systems of education that shall reach every child that is born in the land; and, wherever political privileges exist, let the intelligence be imparted and the virtues incul- cated, which alone can make those privileges a blessing. *****

"Look, too, at the condition of our country, and see what need there is of comprehensiveness in our plans and of energy in their ad- ministration. We have a higher object than to prepare a system of education for any one locality, or for any one party. To the West a region spreads out almost interminably — a region to be soon filled, not with savages, but either with Christians, or with men as much worse than savages as Christians are better. On the East, there comes pouring in upon us a new population, not of our own production, not of American parentage nor the growth of American institutions. Owing to the marvelous improvements in the art of transportation, the

THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

853

Atlantic Ocean has been narrowed almost to a river's breadth. The western and the eastern continent by the power of these improvements lie side by side of each other. Their shores, for thousands of miles, like two ships, lie broadside and broadside ; and from stem to stern the emigrant population of Europe is boarding us, tens of thousands in a day. We must provide for them, or we will all sink together.

"And what are we doing to prepare for the great exigencies of the future, which the providence of God seems to have placed in our hands; and, I speak with reverence, to have left to our disposal? A responsibility is upon us that we cannot shake off. We cannot escape with the lying plea of Cain, 'Am I my brother's keeper?' Let us then be aroused by every consideration that can act upon the mind of a patriot, a philanthropist', or a Christian; and let us give our hands, our heads, and our hearts to the great work of human improvement, through the instrumentality of free, common schools. As far as in us lies, let us save from ruin, physical, intellectual and moral, the thousands and hundreds of thousands, aye, the millions and hundreds of millions of the human race, to whom we are bound by the ties of a common nature and of kindred blood, and who, without our assist- ance, will miserably perish, but with our assistance may be saved to usefulness and honor, and immortal glory."

RESIDENCE DISTRICT, EAST ON SOUTH TEMPLE ST., SALT LAKE CITY

The American Buffalo

A Sketch of the Animal in its Picturesque Relation to the West

BY LEVI EDGAE YOUNG, M. A.

"I go to kill the buffalo.

The Great Spirit sent the buffalo,

On hills, in plains and woods. So give me my bow; give me my bow; I go to kill the buffalo."

— Ute Song of the Buffalo.

Before the white man settled the present confines of the United States, two kinds of thoroughfares led to the most remote and isolated parts of our country. These were the Indian and buffalo trails. The buffalo were the earliest pathfinders. They made great roads across the continent, and on the summits of the watersheds of North America ; not only across the Appalachian mountains into the interior of the country, but from the Missouri river westward, into the Rocky Mountains. Long before the old ( Oregon and Santa Fe trails were made famous by the trappers, freighters, and pony express, they were the highways of the buffalo. From the Missouri up the Platte river to the site of Fort Bridger, then on to the valley of the Great Salt Lake, the buffalo made his way to the salt licks of the Great Basin. He roamed all over the Mississippi Valley from the height of land separating the waters of the Arctic and the 1 ludson Bay country to the Gulf of Mexico. lie knew full well the fertile valleys of the Rocky Mountain-, and the canyon- and valleys of the present Utah, Idaho, and Columbia River country. Peter Skeene < >gden, who established a trading post "ii the Weber River where I tgden City now stands, in 1824. -peak- of the many herd- he -aw in the Valley <>i the Great Salt Lake; and the Ashley party which established a trading post on the west shore of Utah Lake, in 1826, report having killed many antelope and buffalo during their first winter of rendezvous on the lake. We know that he was a persistent occupant of the val- leys of the Wasatch, and it was a buffalo trail that was first made from the prairie region east <>f the Rockies through the canyons to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.

THE AMERICAN BUFFALO

855

The buffalo needed extensive feeding grounds, and the area traveled by a herd was thousands of miles in a single season. They also had their wallows, stamping grounds, and licks. The Platte River was a famous place for wallows, as was also the Jordan River in Salt Lake Valley. In the heat of summer, the buffalo found good wallows where they could immerse themselves in a slimy mud, which dried upon their bodies and protected them from flies, mosquitoes, and gnats. The salt licks were the "foci of all their roads." Since salt was as necessary to the buffalo as grain is to the horse, salt springs and lakes were hunted out. The shores of the Great Salt Lake were favorite haunts for this animal. On the old Oregon Trail which followed the Platte and North Platte to the Green River valley, thousands of bison were killed

AVARD FAIRBANKS BUFFALO*

by the emigrants in the very early days of the westward migration. In fact the bones of millions of these animals were found upon the banks of those streams and over the entire prairie region. The killing of the buffalo is one of the tragedies of our American history. They were needlessly sacrificed at times, not only by the old trappers and colonizers, but by the western Indian tribes

*Mr. Fairbanks is a promising young Utah artist in his sixteenth year whose work has received flattering notices in New York papers. He dedi- cated this buffalo to the public schools of the United States. Many casts of his work have been made, some in bronze by Tiffany & Co., New York. — The Editors.

856 IMPR( (VEMENT ERA

as well. It is a |>itv that something was not done in the early fifties to proted the animal from nttcr annihilation.

Thai the buffalo were extremely numerous there can be no doubt. Colonel Dodge describes a herd fifty miles wide, and says thai it took five days to pass a given point. In 1868, a train • mi the Kansas Pacific Railroad traveled for one hundred and twenty miles through a continuous herd of buffalo, "packed so densely thai the earth was black, and the train was compelled to stop several times." Colonel Tnman in his Old Santa Fe Trail concludes that from 1868 to 1881, over thirty-one millions of buf- falo were killed on the great plains. In Kansas alone there was paid out between these two dates two million five hundred thous- and dollars for buffalo bones found on the prairies. These bones were used by the various carbon factories in the manufacture of fertilizers. With the building of the Union Pacific railroad, thousands of travelers, to the Rocky Mountains spent their time in a wanton slaughter of the animals of the plains. Those who killed for the skins alone, made it a lucrative business, and a great demand for buffalo robes sprang up all over America. "Buffalo Bill" while employed as a hunter for the Kansas Pacific Railroad. in 1867-63, killed nearly five thousand buffalo in less than eighteen months. The buffalo were a great boon to the pio- neers of the West. Constituting the main source of food supply not only for the Indians of the plains, but the frontiersman as well, they have a setting in western history that is unique. Their hides and flesh were useful especially in winter. In fact, an old Sioux chief declares that "The whites never could have taken the lands from the Indians, had the buffalo been preserved." It was not until the buffalo had almost been exterminated that the great Indian wars were brought to a close in the early seventies. Buffalo with other wild animals of the American wilderness were looked upon by the Indians as gifts of the Great Spirit for the welfare of the Red Men. Red jacket, a famous chief of the Six Nations, delivered an address, in the summer of 1805, before a council of his people. Christian missionaries were present and sooke about the desire of the white man to educate the Indian in the "ways of righteousness." "Red Jacket, or better Sogoyewapha. which was his Indian name, said among other things:

"Brothers, listen to what we say. There was a time when our forefather* owned this great land. Their scats extended from the rising to the setting sun. The Great Spirit had made it for the use of the Indians, lie had created the buffalo, the deer, and other animals for food. He had made the bear and the heaver. Their skins served us for clothing. He had scattered them over the country and taught us how to take them. He had caused the earth to produce corn for bread. All this he had done for his red children because he loved

THE AMERICAN BUFFALO 857

them. If we had some disputes about our hunting grounds, they were generally settled without the shedding of much blood."

Pathetic words ! The buffalo with the beaver and antelope were gifts of the Great Spirit to his children. They formed a part of the life of the Indian ; they were the denizens of plain and mountain, wilderness and forest, without whom the Indian could not have lived the many ages on this continent.

Among the Sioux the buffalo was considered the "King of beasts," and his image played an important part in the ghost and sun dances. The Siouxan tradition as to the origin of the buffalo is full of suggestion. I give it in the words of Bushotter, the American ethnologist :

ORIGIN OF THE BUFFALO

The buffalo originated under the earth. It is said that in the olden times, a man who was journeying came to a hill where there were many holes in the ground. He explored them, and when he had gone within one of them, he found plenty of buffalo chips, and buffalo tracks were on all sides; and here and there he found buffalo hair which had come out when the animals rubbed against the walls. These animals were the real buffalo, who dwelt underground, and some of them came up to this earth and increased here to many herds. These buffalo had many earth lodges, and there they raised their children. They did many strange things. Therefore when a man can hardly be wounded by a foe, the people believe that the former has seen the buffalo in dreams or visions, and on that account has received mys- terious help from those animals. All such men who dream of the buffalo, act like them and dance the buffalo (bull) dance. And the man who acts the buffalo is said to have a real buffalo inside him, and a crysalis lies within the flat part of the body near the shoulder-blade; on account of which the man is hard to kill; no matter how often they wound him, he does not die. As the people know that the buffalo live in earth lodges, they never dance the buffalo dance in vain.

Here is the story of the mythic buffalo :

It is said that a mythic buffalo once attacked a party of Indians, killing one of them. The others fled and climbed a tree, at which the buffalo rushed many times, knocking off piece after piece of the tree with his horns till very little of it was left. Then one of the Indians lighted some tinder and threw it far off into the tall grass, scorching the buffalo's eyes, and seriously injuring his horns, causing the hard part of the latter to slip off, so that the animal could no longer gore any one. But as he was still dangerous, one of the men determined to fight him at the risk of his own life, and so he slipped down from the tree, armed with a bow and some arrows. He finally gave the buffalo a mortal wound. Then all the men came down the tree and cut up the buffalo after flaying him. They were about to carry off the body of their dead comrade in a robe, when they were obliged to climb a tree again because another mythic buffalo had appeared. He

858 IMPROVEMENT ER \

did nol attack them, l>ut went four times around the body of the slain man. Then he Stopped and said. "Arise to your feet." All at once, tlic dead man came t<> life. The buffalo addressed him, saying, "Hcrc- after you shall be mysterious, and the sun, moon, four winds, day and night shall he your servants." It was so. He could assume the shape of a fine plume, which was blown often against a tree, to which it Stuck, as it waved repeatedly.

The members of Cabeza de Vaca's company first saw the buffalo of the American plains in 1538. De Vaca with his fellow Spaniards roamed through what is now the coast of the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Mexico. This was some three years be- Fore the famous march of Coronado from the City of Mexico to the great plains of what is now Kansas and Nebraska. It was Coronado, however, who gives us our first description of these denizens of the plains. He found the Indians of Cibola or the Seven Cities using buffalo meat, and from them he obtained a supply for his journey further eastward. Coronado's description of the buffalo is full of interest, and it shows how closely he with other old Spanish explorers studied the fauna and flora of the present confines of the southwestern United States. In speaking of the Buffalo bulls, he says:

"They have very long beards, like goats, and when they are run- ning, they throw their heads back, with their beard dragging on the ground. There is a sort of girdle around the middle of the body. The hair is very woolly, like slurp's, very fine, and in front of the girdle, the hair is very long and rough like a lion's. They have a great hump, larger than a camel's. The horns are short and thick, so that they are riot seen much above the hair. In May they change the hair in the middle of the body, for a down, which makes perfect lions of them. They rub against the small trees in the little ravines to shed their hair, and they continue this until only the down is left, as a snake changes his skin. They have a short tail with a bunch of hair at the end. When they run, they carry it erect like a scorpion."

The Spanish explorers not only described the buffalo, but made drawings of them. These pictures are preserved in many of the old manuscripts, and one is produced especially for this article.

During the westward migration of the American people in the nineteenth century, the buffalo were driven from their old haunts and in the palmy days of the hide-hunting industry, large I undies of the skin- were shipped to St. Louis. Fort Leavenworth. and in the fifties to the tannery at Creelev. Colorado. In those days, one could have bought a robe for $2.50, which would now easily be worth some $200. Petition after petition was sent to Congress during the sixties and seventies asking for some act which would prevent the terrible slaughter of these animals, but nothing was ever done in the way of Congressional enactment.

THE AMERICAN BUFFALO 859

It is to the credit of Brig-ham Young- and the "Mormon" pioneers that the buffalo were killed only for food. There was no wanton destruction of these animals on the plains by the "Mor- mons," as there had been by other companies of emigrants along the Platte river. We have accounts of the "brethren" going on their hunts for food, and buffalo were killed, but only to supply the camps with meat. Wilford Woodruff, formerly President of the "Mormon" Church, has given a most interesting account of a hunt in his journal. He says:

"When the Utah pioneers had reached Grand Island, on the Platte river, they were greatly in need of fresh meat. One morning in May, a herd of buffalo was seen on a little hill not far from the pioneer camp. "This was an interesting day to the hunters of the camp. The pioneers made an early start, and after traveling six miles, camped for breakfast on the prairie in sight of a herd of buffalo feeding on a bluff to the right of us. There were about two hundred. Three only of the hunters started out. They rode as near to them as possible and crawled along the grass, but the buffalo became frightened and ran away. We had not traveled more than two miles farther before we discovered another large herd five miles before us. The hunters assembled and held a council. We determined to get some of the buffalo meat if possible. We traveled until we were within a mile of the herd, when a halt was made and fifteen hunters started together. We all went along until we reached a bluff within a few rods of the herd. We all made a charge upon them from the bluffs into the plain, but when we reached the plain, we soon overtook them, and each man singled out his game. We made choice generally of cows, and then rushed up to the side of them, and fired upon them with our pistols, which we found much better to carry than our rifles, which were very cumbersome in running. I killed a cow and calf. I then saw O. P. Rockwell with three bulls at bay on the prairie. We ran to his assistance, and surrounded them and com- menced firing. They bolted ahead. I put spurs to my horse, and ran in front and was within about a rod of them, when they pitched at me and gave me a chase for a fight. It hurried me to get out of their way. We killed three cows, three bulls, and five calves, making eleven in all. In the morning, Solomon Hancock had gone out to hunt buf- falo on foot. As he did not return in the evening, we felt greatly concerned about him; but in the morning he returned, having killed a three-year-old cow which he watched during the night to keep the wolves from eating her. He shot one wolf and the rest ran away.

"This was our first day's buffalo hunt, and we considered the results quite good inasmuch as we were all strangers to a buffalo hunt, very few of us having ever seen one before. We dressed our meat and the wagons came from the camp to take it."

We are removed only a few years from the pioneer days, and yet the Indians and the buffalo have gone from their old haunts. As the Red Men have been pushed from their hunting grounds, the buffalo have been exterminated. To see the buffalo killed was to the Indians "like a dream of sorrow, a supernatural cloud of darkness to punish their derelictions. Their old men tell of the

860

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/ears when the buffalo were scarce and had gone a long way off, but never since the world began, were there no buffalo."

The Indians say the buffalo will come again from the land where dwells the Great Spirit in his wigwam, where grow only flowers, tries, and all good things of the land, and where dwell the Indians of the good old times, in peace and fellowship with the Father of all.

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH

OT.D SrAXTSTT DRAWING OF A BUFFALO

Accounting for Every Idle Word

There is a remark made by the Savior recorded in Scripture as follows: "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." (Matt. 12:36.) We may wonder how each one of earth's untold millions can possibly give account of his every idle word in the day of judgment, but there is no reason to believe that it is not pos- sible. If man's character is made up of his every thought, word and (\vc(\, whether idle or otherwise, on the day of judgment he will stand for what his character denotes: "every idle word," as well as every idle thought and deed will be accounted for in tl e effect they have wrought upon life's record. In other words, he will amount to just what his good thoughts, words and deeds represent, minus that which his idle or evil thoughts, words and deeds have taken from that sum total — Edwin F. Parry.

A Story of Pioneer Days

BY JENNIE LEIGH

The Southern part of our state was, I presume, settled in much the same way as the Northern part. Many hardships had to be endured, many obstacles overcome, and what a nerve it must have taken to be able to stand the constant anxiety of an Indian attack ; for the Indians were very troublesome, and although the whites had several staunch friends among this dusky people who helped a great deal in keeping peace, they were continually stealing cattle and horses. But this was nothing compared with the terrible tragedies sometimes enacted when for some fancied wrong these cruel savages would avenge themselves upon some innocent victim.

Of the many brave men called from their homes and firesides to lead the dangerous life of an Indian missionary, my grandfather was one ; he was with that brave leader Jacob Hamblin in some of his most thrilling and sometimes tragic experiences.

In the year of 1860, a little company of men consisting of Jacob Hamblin, Thales Haskell, George A. Smith, Jr., Jehiel Mc- Connell, Ira Hatch, Isaac Riddle, Amos Thornton, Francis M. Hamblin, James Pierce, and an Indian called Enos, started from the Santa Clara, in Washington county, for the purpose of preaching to the Moquis Indians in Arizona, in the hope of estab- lishing a mission in some of their towns. Although in the first part of their journey no accident of interest occurred, the men were filled with a gloomy foreboding that something very un- pleasant was going to happen. Courageously they pushed on, determined to do their best to accomplish that which they had set out to do.

Everything went well until after two days' travel from the Colorado river, they found their first watering place dry. They urged their horses on to the next one before stopping. Undaunt- ed they started on, but about two o'clock in the afternoon, they met four friendly Navajos who told them that to go on to their next destination meant certain death.

The Navajos invited the missionaries to go with them to the camp of the Spanshanks where they would be protected. What should they do? To go one way surely meant death, for the famishing horses could not reach Spanshanks camp without first having water, while to go on would probably just as certainly

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restlll in death, at the hands of the cruel savages lurking in the mountains.

It was a difficult problem, but they finally decided to continue their present route and take the chances, desperate though they were. Brother Haskell, knowing the country, was sent ahead of the company to entrench himself on the table land which could be reached only by a narrow pass, while Brother Hamblin re- mained behind to gather as many of the Indians' plans as he could, lie learned that the Navajos were determined the missionaries should not reach the Moquis villages, but whether to kill them, or let them go home, they had not yet decided. A compromise was finally effected by which the whites were to trade the goods they had brought with them to the Indians for blankets, and then depart for their homes in peace.

The following morning while this bartering was going on, the In uses were successfully taken to the watering place, but on the way back, Brother Smith's horse, breaking away from the band took a trail that led over the mountain and out of sight.

As soon as the news was brought to camp, the owner, against counsel, jumped on a comrade's horse and started after it alone. The men being very busy trading, soon forgot all about him. In a short time Brother Hamblin realized that Brother Smith had not returned and that most of the Navajos had mysteriously dis- appeared.

Seized with a terrible fear, he sent two men to search for him, and after following the road for about a mile, they found him stretched out on the ground, the lower part of his body rid- dled with three bullets, and with three arrow wounds between his shoulders and a buckskin shirt thrown over his head.

Tt was afterwards learned that shortly after leaving camp. Brother Smith came upon two Indians, one of whom was leading the mi>sing horse. After persuasion and a little force, they re- lunctantly gave up the stolen property and Brother Smith was turning away when one of the Indians, riding up to him, asked to look at his pistol. Not suspecting any treachery, Brother Smith handed it to the Indian who in turn handed it to his com- panion a little in the rear. The latter then, while standing but a few feet from Brother Smith, mercilessly shot him three times.

Paralyzed and mortally wounded, the victim fell to the ground where one of his murderers threw a buckskin shirt over his head while the other pierced him with arrows. It was in this condition he was found and tenderly carried to his horror-stricken com- rades. When Brother Hamblin demanded of the Indians why they had broken their promise they replied, they had partly avenged themselves for the death of three of their brothers at the hands of the pale faces.

And they said if the whites would give up two more of their

A STORY OF PIONEER DAYS 863

men to be killed, the rest could go on unharmed. To this Brother Hamblin replied, "There are only a few of us but we are well armed and will fight as long as there is one left."

With the help of the four Navajo friends, they hurriedly cleared camp and mounted their horses, and placing Brother Smith in the saddle upon a mule, with Brother McConnell be- hind to hold him on, they hurried away, the Indians in close pursuit.

Thus they traveled as fast as they could, Brother Smith often pleading to be left, as he was only an encumbrance to them. About sundown. Brother Smith asked the company to stop as everything was growing dark and he was dying. When told they could not, "Well then, go on," he said, "but I wish I could die in peace."

In a few minutes he was dead. The only way to save the lives of the rest of the company was to leave the body of Brother Smith and hurry on. Wrapping it in a blanket, they laid it in a hollow place at the side of the trail. After two days more of hard travel, on tired and jaded animals, they reached a place of safety exhausted by work and sorrow. A company of twenty men was srnt out to gather up what could be found of Brother Smith's body ; as it was winter, it was a hard, cold trip, but they finally reached the spot to find only his head and a few of the larger bones. These they carefully gathered up and took home to his bereaved family and friends.

CEDAR CITY, UTAH

HILL AND VALLEY— FIELDS AND SNOW-CAPPED MOUNTAINS, IN

CONTRAST

Customs and Legends of Utah Indians

I'.Y I \(>( II JORGENSEN, PRINCIPAL JORDAN HIGH SCHOOL

IV— The Walker and Black-Hawk Wars

With the exception of Colonel Connor's successful campaign against the Amerinds on Dear River, most of the Indian troubles in Utah centered around Sanpete county, because the settlements there were more isolated, and the Sanpitch Utes had a bold, bad man as their leader.

The Walker War, 185s

This man, Wakara, or Walker, as he is known in history, continually gave indications of a desire to stir up trouble among the colonists, notwithstanding' his pleadings for white neighbors to settle in his territory. He and his brother Arropine (or Seig- nerouch) were the leaders in all strife, while Sowiatt, an old diplomat who always befriended the whites, was the peace chief.

As before remarked, the underlying cause of the Walker war was the refusal of the settlers to countenance slave-trade which Spaniards from the southwest had encouraged and prac- ticed. A signal for a general campaign against the whites was the killing of Alex. Keele, at Payson, July 18, 1853. Raids were common all through the southern part of the state, especially on outlying settlements; horses and cattle were driven off, and the killing ot lone and defenseless pioneers was of so common occur- rence tint the settlers became terror stricken, and colonization was greatly impeded. A company of fifty militiamen under Capt. P. W. Conover was sent out from Provo to assist the settlers in Sanpete Valley. A pitched battle was fought with the natives just east of Mt. Pleasant, and the savages were routed with heavy loss. Mt. Pleasant. Springtown. Ephraim, and other new settlements were abandoned, and all gathered in the newly constructed fort at Manti. "The whole white population of Sanpete Valley at that time was 7n5 nun. women and children." says Lever, and they all lived in the Manti fort until 1854. That' summer the Indians confined their depredations chiefly to Millard county, though kill- ings occurred at different points in Sanpete, Juab, and other coun- ties

That year Wakara died and Arropine succeeded his brother as chief. Arropine was not so bold nor so aggressive as was

CUSTOMS AND LEGENDS OF UTAH INDIANS 865

Wakara, neither did he live up to his promises as well. He pro- fessed much love for the "Mormon" people, and signed an agree- ment for peace. This chief deeded the whole of Sanpete county to President Brigham Young as "Trustee-in-trust" for the peace- able possession of the whites. A copy of this remarkable docu- ment is recorded in Book B, Church Transfer records of Sanpete county, Utah.

The Black-Hawk War, 1865- 187 2

But Arropine's treaties of 1854 and 1855 were grudgingly kept, "and it taxed the few settlers sorely to supply beef, flour, clothing, etc., to appease the increasing demands of the natives." Periodical attacks were made in different places by marauding bands of Utes, and no man was safe outside the settlements. Strong forts of stone masonry with look-out towers and port- holes all around were built at Ephraim, Manti, and other places. Scouts were on the lookout continually to warn against attacks on laborers in the fields, or against raids on flocks and herds, but in spite of the most watchful care, the settlers were the losers, and patience with the natives ceased to be a virtue. War was actually on, though Arropine's treaty was supposed to be in vogue.*

In the meantime Black-Hawk, another bold, bad man, had assumed command of the united Amerind forces from all the southern parts of the state, and organized his braves for the worst war in the history of Utah. Open hostilities began around Manti in March, 1865. The first man killed was Peter J. Ludvigsen, on Twelve-mile Creek, south of Manti ; and the same day James An- dersen and Elijah B. Ward were massacred and scalped in Salina Canyon. Then followed a series of assassinations, raids, and skir- mishes in various parts of that south country, until the inhabitants were completely beside themselves with fear and rage. Eighty- four members of the Sanpete militia led by Col. J. T. S. Allred went "onto the Sevier" to try to recover stolen stock, and, if pos- sible, to break up the band of savages operating south of Manti, but they met with disaster in Salina Canyon where, on April 12th, Tens Sorensen of Ephraim and Wm. Kearns of Gunnison were killed.

In July President Brigham Young visited Sanpete to confer with the people as to the best policy to pursue. Through his influ- ence Col. Warren S. Snow was elected a brigadier-general, and he immediately took command of militia and "minute-men." He pursued the Amerinds into Grass Valley where a pitched battle, disastrous to the natives, was fought July, 1865. Then fol-

*That chieftain died in Grass Valley, Dec. 4, 1860.

s<rfi IMPROVEMENT EB \

lowed in quick succession engagements at Glenwood, Fish Lake, Green River, and other places.

Among the notable raids made by the savages was one at For! Ephraim, October 17, 1865, when William Thorpe, Morten P. Kuhre and wife, Soren X. Jespersen, Elizabeth Petersen, Benj. J. Black, and William T. I lite were massacred, and a number of others wounded, some while harvesting their meager crops in the field just on the borders of the town, and others while on guard or in the canyon: at this time more than one hundred head of cattle were driven away. An especially interesting incident con- nected with this encounter is the fact that after the savages had done their worst, as they thought, and had retreated into the mountains, William D. Kuhre, then an infant about two and one- half years old. was found on his mother's breast alive and well. It is surmised that he must have been asleep in the willows near by while his parents were at work, and perhaps the noise of the melee awakened him. However, he lives today one of the honored men of the state, Bishop of Sandy ward, and ex-mayor of that busy little city.

The winter of 1865 and 1866 was specially severe for those south settlements, as grasshoppers had taken most of their crops; and though there was a lull in the warfare, they lived in constant dread of renewed outbreaks.

With the returning spring, killings and raids became common again, even as far south as Kane and Washington counties. Soon, however, a number of notable chiefs were captured near Nephi, among them, Sanpitch and Ankawakets, but the notorious Black- Hawk was still at large leading on the brutal assaults.

At last the citizenry of Utah and Salt Lake counties were aroused to the seriousness of the situation, and Capt. P. W. Con- over with 50 men from Utah county, and Colonel Kimball with a company of 50 from Salt Lake county, reached Manti in May, 1866. In June, General Daniel II. Wells came to Manti and took command of all the troops, and under his wise direction the people were better organized for defense, and they were able to gather bounteous crops.

Though the help from the more populous centers reassured the settlers of Sanpete and Sevier, it did not put an end to the war, for soon Utah county towns were being raided, and the war territory was spreading. Richfield, Glenwood, Circleville, and other new settlements were abandoned, and the fugitives joined with people of the Sanpete towns for mutual defense, 1866.

Through 1867 and 1868 the war continued. Ephraim was the center for the cattle industry of the section, and here the sav- age- made several successful raids on stock. On July 10, 1868, another attempt was made to drive off the herds that were being watched near Ephraim, but this time the young men of the town,

CUSTOMS AND LEGENDS OF UTAH INDIANS

867

now pretty well armed, gave chase, and a sharp engagement fol- lowed in which the Amerinds were badly beaten and the stolen cattle recovered.

August 19, 1868, a treaty of peace was signed in Strawberry Valley; this treaty, like other treaties made before, was soon broken and raids, though less frequent than before, were made in different localities; but murders had all but ceased, and well for the defenseless settlers that it was so, because Governor J. W. Shaffer had caused the troops to be withdrawn, and under his order none were permitted to drill or bear arms except under the direction of the U. S. Marshal. This order was issued September 15, 1870, and the Federal authorities did not succeed in consum- mating a treaty of peace until September 7, 1872, when Geners Morrow met the chiefs in conference at Mt. Pleasant.

John Ericsson was born in Sweden, in 1803. He was tire inventor of the turret-ship Monitor, which distinguished itself iiythe American civil war and inaugurated a new era in naval warfares Serving for a time in the Swedish army, he removed to London in 182*. anH rn Wv

York in 1839. He died in 1889. A national monument has been

erected to him at Filipstad, Sweden, a portrait of winch we herewith oresent It was sent by Elders J. Hill Johnson of Salt Lake, and Oluf Monson of Pleasant Grove, Utah, whose portraits are m the fore- ground.

J1

iiHi

0 sharp and many are the thorns of life, From youth till age their pains with us abide.

0 deep the wounds oft made from years o r strife; With smiles we fain this aching pain would hide.

How many souls have felt the thorn of doubt, Until pale fear has made of us a slave!

Then faded hopes but meet our gaze throughout, And tears fall fast on dead ambition's grave

How oft a weariness of life is born!

Dark sorrow and despair our faith o'ercome; Our hearts are pierced until, all bleeding, torn,

The weary senses with the pain grow numb.

And yet, some day the soul will struggle free, As does the sun from out a great storm-cloud;

'Tis then the meaning of life's thorns we'll see, When with immortal wisdom we're endowed.

Hope.

\

W^k

The Artist vs. the Poet

BY ALFRED LAMBOURNE

The question has often been asked — What is the relative dif- ficulty in the attainment of a position of supreme height in the two fields — Art and Literature? Is it as grand, is it as difficult, to become a great artist, as it is to become a great poet? and what is the relative influence of each ? Would two minds of equal power, one using the medium of the brush for expression, the other the pen, receive the same amount of recognition from the public, were their efforts alike successful? And would they make an equal impression upon the thought of the age?

To the second of these questions there seems to be, logicall) one answer that it is purely a matter of individual taste. To the master-mind of Goethe, the two fields of labor appeared equally grand. His genius could not judge between them, and that he became a poet instead of an artist, was, as we all know, the result of mere accident. In deciding the third question, no one gift has ever made a great artist, in the true sense of the word. His work has been the result of a full development of the ideal, the percep- tive, the reflective, the mechanical and, in the highest instances, of the moral organs of the brain. In addition to the ideal, the percep- tive and assimilating faculties, then, an artist must possess those that will also give him rare technical skill. His thoughts can not be at once transferred to canvas, but must, oftentimes, wait upon a slow manipulative process. He must have the power to hold fast his thought, while guiding it through some slow, or while inventing some new, mode of expression. In fact, the entire scope — the fulness of the human intellect — is necessary for the achieve- ment of such work as that done by Michael Angelo, Kaulbach and Gustave Dore.

Take the first and the last of the three artists we have men- tioned, and see not only how vast were the stores of knowledge they employed, but also how deep and far their thoughts reached into the problems of existence. Their works demonstrate for us

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that true art is never the result of ambition, that feverish desire for popularity, such as marks the greater part of our modern art work; but, thai it is either the outgrowth of admiration in the presence of nature; deep-felt emotion, under the questionings of life and fate, or the desire to express some message, or give answer to questions, thrust upon us from out the domain of the unknown.

There is a prominent fact in regard to the universal talents of artists, and that is, not only are they often fine painters, sculp- tors and architects at one and the same time, hut they are often excellent poets hesides. Michael Angelo is a noble example of this, as designer of St. Peter's Cathedral, sculptor of the statue of Moses, painter of the "Last Judgment" and writer of some of the most exquisite sonnets of his time. Something akin to this is seen in the works of the French artist Dore. In invention he appeared inexhaustible; in comprehension, limitless. Look what a vast scope, what a range of thought is expressed in his life's work ! Entering thoroughly into the minds of the greatest authors of modern times, see how he interprets them for us ! See how he takes his stand by the side of Dante, in his marvelous illustrations to the ''Divine Comedy;" and by Milton, in those to 'Taradise Lost!" Look in succession at the grandeur of the illustrations to the "Idyls of the King;" the weird, unearthly scenes in Coleridge's "Ancient Mariner ;" the solemn, rich land- scapes of "Atala" and the awful, almost heart-chilling, interpre- tations of the "Raven" of Edgar A. Poe. From the deepest tragedy he can pass at will to the broadest, the most subtle humor, as the "Don Quixote" amply shows. His sympathy with child-life is none the less marked than his other qualities, and of all artists who has so perfectly mastered the principles of the grotesque? In sculpture he was as eminently successful. Not a sculptor of France, but would be proud could he but claim the designing of that awe-inspiring group of "Love and Fate." In whatever direction his hand and brain were employed, like wonders were achieved. Through all the range of literature, can a name be found that suggests more varied qualities of mind, or one of broader scope?

To follow this subject further.

William Blake, who made the famous illustrations to the

THE ARTIST VS. THE POET 871

"Book of Job," was a poet of great ability ; as witness the exquisite verses called "The Garden of Love." Washington Allston, the American painter, was, also, the author of several poems likely to live through many coming years, and D. Gabriel Rossetti, of the English school, is as fine a poet as he is a painter. I lis "Blessed Damozel" takes rank with all poems of a similar nature, while many of his minor poems are marked by the highest genius. Rare, indeed, is it that the poet can turn with like success, to walk in the realms of art.

A desire to dim the golden aureola of the poet — what base ingratitude ! To attempt it — what presumptuous folly ! My thought is not to exalt the artist to the lowering of the poet, nor to make critical comparisons between the respective merits of poetry and the painter's or the sculptor's art. That, indeed, were odious. My aim is to point out the artist's intellectual capacity ; his position in the world as a worker, a thinker and a teacher.

The artist is generally quick in his appreciation of the work of his contemporary poet ; much of his work is often done to inter- pret him. But after we have examined the sympathy felt by the artist for the writer — his struggles in establishing new standards of taste — let us look at the reverse side. There we will find an almost total absence of reciprocity in appreciation or aid. Words- worth, keenest-eyed of modern poets, was apparently dead to the work of the best landscape painters of his clay. Sir George Beau- mont, that self-elected dictator of the fine arts, receives recogni- tion from him, vide "Elegiac Stanzas, Suggested by a Picture of Peel Castle in a Storm." The work of B. R. Haydon, Esq., calls forth a sonnet, and there is also a sonnet called "Upon the Sight of a Beautiful Picture,'; but in spite of this, he seems to have been ignorant of the fact that the landscape painters of England had begun to approach and interpret nature in a manner such as had never been clone before, and were struggling against the affected taste of the age, as regards landscape, as he himself, and Scott, and Byron, and Shelley were compelled to do.

Few of all the men that are supreme in literature understand those who are supreme in art. What did Scott, with all of his word-painting, know of the genius of Turner? Victor Hugo, judging by his written words, can think of no one in art but Ancrelo and Rembrandt, and even makes constantly false allusions

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to the work of the latter, such as "Rembrandt painting with a palette all bedaubed in the sun's rays," a most faulty expression, for although Rembrandt does indeed put a ray of light stealing in somewhere in his pictures, it is not their main point. His palette, it should rather be said, was bedaubed with night, for his pictures are the mystery of darkness.

Byron understood but little of art ; of painting he said : "Of all the arts, depend upon it, it is the most false and affected." Sculpture he understood a little better, paying it several tributes in verse, the best known of which are those addressed to the Dy- ing Gladiator, in "Childe Harold." Shelley upon the subject of art may be said to be silent, at least in verse ; and Elizabeth Bar- rett Browning, truthful and just as she generally is, when she speaks of painting, is all at sea, with the rest of them.

The great lights of literature pay homage, in words im- mortal, to other great lights in the firmament of literature. Not an artist has breathed who has had such encomiums as those that have been laid at the feet of Shakespeare. Jonson, Milton, Dryden, Goethe, Carlyle, have each offered words of praise. Nor must we forget, last though not least, the stupendous offering of Victor Hugo, whose marvelous summary of Shakespeare's genius — his place in the gallery of immortelles — is without a paral- lel for force and power. Raffaelle, Angelo, Titian, Correggio, Da Vinci — these, perhaps, have been extolled the highest. And, later, Turner, the English landscape painter, in whose praise Rus- kin, the art seer, penned his fervid descriptions, pouring forth his panegyrics "with that almost Roman severity of conception and expression which enables him to revel in the most gorgeous language, without ever letting it pall upon the reader's taste by affection of over lusciousness," placing Turner side by side with Veralum and Shakespeare, "equal stars in the annals of the light of England. By Shakespeare, humanity was unsealed to you ; by Veralum, the principles of nature ; by Turner, her aspect, lift- ing the veil from the face of nature" — but then Ruskin is also an artist.

Art has not the same chance of reaching the hearts of the many, that poetry has. There are thousands — nay, tens of thous- ands of homes in which there is a well-selected library of books, giving a perfect conception of the various life-work of the most

THE ARTIST VS. THE POET 873

eminent authors of all ages, but in which there may not be a single work of art that would give an adequate conception of even one great artist of even the present age. To get the same knowledge of art it would be necessary for the possessor of such a library to visit the art centers— the many galleries of England, France, Italy and Germany, and even there, under ordinary circumstances, the knowledge of art obtained by him would be but fragmentary, compared with the lasting impressions made by the calm and delib- erate reading of authors, year after year, at home.

Early impressions influence us through life. And here the poet and the artist may be said to stand equal. Youth is the age of poetical impressions, but the young are also fond of pictures. The means to gratify both passions are generally near at hand, though not in equal proportions. As shown in the foregoing para- graph, the book of poetry is easily reached; the good work of art not so much so. It naturally follows that literature is better understood by the young than art, and that the poet is nearer to the hearts of the peole than the artist. In the seclusion of the library, or by the winter fireside, we can commune with the spirit of Milton ; look with him upon the awful scenes of pandemonium, or the blissful glades of Paradise. With him we can stoop to the depths, or rise to the heights ; but with England's ideal painter, Martin, we have no such privilege ; the very nature of his work de- bars him from us. We can not look upon his large canvases of "Satan in Council," the "Plains of Heaven," or the "Bower of Eve," and yet, after all disparagements, those are glorious produc- tions. It is only the few who are familiar with those works, and consequently by the few only are they understood and appreciated.

The same comparisons can be made between Germany's great- est poet and painter — Goethe and Kaulbach. Those were men of equal merit in their respective fields, but their work is by no means equally well known. We are all familiar with the drama of "Faust," the "Sorrows of Werter," and all those other outpour- ings of Goethe's genius. Yet how many, outside of Germany at least, are familiar with the cartoons of Kaulbach— any of the works of his mighty mind and skillful hand? Still, what could excel for grandeur of conception his "Hunnen Schlacht"— Battle of the Huns, or, for analysis of human nature, that haunt- ing picture called "The Mad House?" His design for the frieze

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on the New Museum at Berlin is a marvel. Thereupon are shown, under the guise of childhood, the intellectual development of man, his hopes, his fears and his passions. Kaulbach was a teacher whose works should be known in every home.

Byron and Scott ! Who has not heard of them ? Have not their ideal creations become almost a reality? The influence they wielded, and still wield, is not to be estimated. They are known alike in the palace and the cottage. But not more than one in a thousand of those who speak the English tongue knows of the world of beauty and grandeur created or delineated by their con- temporary, Turner, although he stands like a giant in the domain of modern art. His work — in landscape art — may be said to oc- cupy a place, like the volume of Aeschylus, in the library of the Marquis de Mirabeau — alone; his brush being more than equiv- alent for those of all his brother artists, and the contemporary de- scriptive writers of his day.

Let us come nearer home.

The name Longfellow is a household word; his romance of "Hyperion," his poems of "Hiawatha" and "Evangeline" are household treasures. But how few there are who speak of the glowing and poetic canvases of Frederick E. Church, one of the finest of America's painters ; indeed, one of the finest landscape painters of the world? Yet surely he ought to be better known. His lovely picture of "The Icebergs," those of the volcanoes of "Chimborazo" and "Cotopaxi," realize for us the weird splendor of the frozen North, and the sensuous beauty of the South. The "Niagara Falls" and the "yEgean Sea" are no less splendid achievements, and America could justly feel proud of them. What inference must be drawn from all this, but that an artist and a poet of equal powers have not the same chance of becoming en- deared to the many, and that the work of the former influence less than the latter the thought of his age ? The poet then for the many, the artists for the few. Especially does this remark apply to the lesser lights in art. Indeed many artists of genuine talent, are known only to a small circle of admirers, those immediately around them, while men of inferior talent in literature are known throughout the land. The magazine, of course, is the great dis- seminator of all classes of literature.

If we take the three graces, as Music, Poetry and

THE ARTIST VS. THE POET 875

Art are sometimes called, we will find the order in which

they are named to represent their respective popularity

Music first, Poetry second, Art third. If we reverse the order, we have the relative degree of difficulty in understanding them — Art greatest, Poetry second, Music least, Poetry occupy- ing the connecting link in each scale. Music appeals at once to the heart without requiring knowledge of any kind. A beauti- ful poem often requires much education to thoroughly appreciate it. To estimate either the "Iliad" or "Siegfried's Saga" at their true worth, calls for at least some understanding of the Greek myths and the mythology of the Northern nations. Many paint- ings of the great masters, whether in landscape or figure, demand a cultured taste, or a keen observation of nature before half their beauties can be felt or understood. Of course, there is art that is simple and popular, such as the work of Birket Foster, the delineator of English rural life, or Landseer, or Rosa Bonheur — those inimitable painters of animals, or of Thomas Faed, who has painted so perfectly the cottage life of Scotland ; but this does not affect the main questions. Nothing that they have painted is as well known, or has reached the heart of the public, like the "May Queen" of Tennyson, or the "Elegy Written in a Country Church-yard," of Thomas Gray. The very acme of popularity is reached when simple music lends its aid to simple verse, as in "Home, Sweet Home." Again, there is music thoroughly difficult to appreciate, but still the relationship remains the same. "II Trovatore" is less difficult to interpret than "Manfred;" that again, less than Holman Hunt's "Light of the World."

How perishable, too, is the most beautiful work of the artist, and even of the architect, in comparison with that of the poet and the dramatist. Over a gulf of twenty-five centuries, the words of Homer come to us as when they were first sung, but only a wreck remains of the Parthenon. His portraits of Jupiter and Minerva still live for us, but the Olympian Jove and the Pallas of Phidias we see no more. The glowing description of Juno and her couch of flowers is as fresh as ever. The Venus Anadyomene of Apelles, is now but a dream. We still have tragedies of Aeschylus and Sophocles, and poems of Ovid, and comedies of Terence, but the Elgin Marbles are now but disfigured fragments. Yet, if poetry chronicle the deeds of heroes, sing the praise of beauty and give "to airy nothings a local habitation and a name,"

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art covers the earth with palaces and majestic cathedrals, carves the statue, covers the wall with glorious paintings, and keeps be- fore our cvis the features of beloved ones gone. Between art and poetry there can be n<> strife, only sweet companionship, giving to each other loving aid, and, to use the exquisite simile of Keats, blending the thoughts of its greatest votaries, as the per- fume of the violet blends with that of the rose.

G. N. Child, state director for Utah of the National Education Association. Mr. Child is one of Utah's leading educators, having been identified with the educational activities of the state for the past twenty years as teacher, principal, superintendent and super- visor. He is at present grammar grade supervisor of the Salt Lake City public schools and president of the Utah Education Association. Mr. Child's early education was received in the public schools of the state and in the Brigharti Young University. I le has a well established student habit which keeps him informed on the educational problems of the day and in close touch with the organizations and movements for improvement.

Education in Utah

BY LEVI EDGAR YOUNG, M, A.

"he story of Utah's educational development is a dramatic one and stands out as one of the most interesting subjects in American History. While the State ranks only third in literacy among the States of the Union, there are, nevertheless, more fac- tors entering into our intellectual development than in any other state. These statements, I know, are sweeping, but may be proved from our school and social statistics. The people of Utah have always remembered that education stands for more than school training and books. With them, education has meant the process that begins at birth and continues not only until the end of life, but for eternity. It is the process by which civilization is obtained. Educational activity has been the dominant force in Utah's history. There is a reason for this. Utah was settled by the "Mormon" people. With them, it has always been a cardinal principle that the "glory of God is intelligence," and intelligence, therefore, is the glory of man. They firmly believe that :

"Whatever principles of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection;

"And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come." (Doctrine and Cove- nants.)

The inventory of the educational resources of Utah have been what Dr. Samuel T. Dutton, of Columbia University, says must be the resources for all communities that are aiming at the higheSt in intellectual and moral pursuits. These resources are: First, homes, churches, schools, and libraries ; second, newspapers, magazines, museums, the drama, industry, and government ; third, those intellectual and ethical aptitudes of the people which make it possible for them to be quickened and influenced in the right direction.

Looking at the first group, we see the "four institutions which, in their educative powers, are greatest." I wish to speak of these separately.

First as to the home. Among the "Mormon" people, the home has been the centre of religious, social, and intellectual life. In fact, Utah has always been noted for its beautiful homes from the earliest days to the present. Even when the entire country was but a waste, the people made their surroundings beautiful by

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the planting of trees and flowers, and it was a custom, to dedicate

every home to God. Their history shows that the peo- ple have lived in homes where parents have been temperate, just, and kind; and where children have been taught that work, honest work, is the activ- ity most pleasing in the sight of God. The old homes in Utah were cen- tres of thrift and a high standard of morality. Chil- dren were supplied with books and pictures, music and games ; and were brought in touch with the best their parents could ob- tain. The effect of all these forces are seen today in the Utah home. In the city of Beaver, thirty-five miles from the railroad, I find that eight out of every ten families hame some musical instrument. Eighty per cent of the families sub- scribe to some first class magazine, and in the par- lors of ten families, I found copies of the Atlantic Monthly, The Century Magazine, Scribncr's Magazine, and other noted periodicals. In this, same city, I found six subscribers to Die Wochc, the famous German publication. Children of the little city were learning good music ; and the people took over an old United States Arsenal, and turned it into a first class high school. Beaver is typical of many towns and cities in Utah. By comparison, I might add here that there is more provincialism found within twenty miles of Boston than may be seen in the entire State of Utah. In the Utah home, children have received that training which has determined their future careers. The home has been the center of all good thought and activity ; it has been and is now purely American, and is the centre for the teachings of the Divine Master.

As to the Church, it has been a constructive force in our his- tory. Religion has directed the people in all of their work, and has affiliated itself with all the pursuits of life, and all the social forces in their history. To summarize their religious convictions,

DR. JOHN R. PARK

For many years head of the University of

Utah, and first State Superintendent of

Public Instruction

EDUCATION IN UTAH 879

one might say that they believe in God the eternal Father and in his Son Jesus Christ; that the kingdom of God will be brought to earth, when we have redeemed it, and made it beautiful and ready for God by our work and constant moral and intellectual progress.

It is, however, of the schools and libraries I wish to enlarge upon in this paper.

Utah has had a school system from the beginning of her history, and in 1851, the first school law was passed which pro- vided for a uniform system of schools as far as possible, and pro- vided in section 3 that every town and city support their schools by publigrcaxation. Each county was divided into school districts, and this district became the political and ecclesiastical unit of government. It is interesting to follow the history of these dis- tricts and note the interest the people took in education by en- forcing the law and supporting their public schools by taxes. The Territory of Utah extended over a vast area at that period ; in fact from Colorado on the east to the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the west. Towns were far apart, and communica- tion difficult. And yet we find the Chancelor and Board of Re- gents of the University of Deseret directing the schools through the county courts, and working for system and proper training in them all. The ecclesiastical district called the "ward" was always the unit, and in every ward, from its beginning, it was the rule to build the meeting and school house immediately after locating homes and planting crops. It appears from sources that the schools were in a thriving condition in 1850, three years after the advent of the "Mormon" pioneers, for the Deseret Neivs, Nov. 27, of that year, has this to say :

"Common schools were beginning in all parts of the city for the winter; and plans for the construction of school houses in every ward were being made, with a view for a general system of school houses throughout the city. One plan had already been submitted, which comprised three large school rooms, a large hall for lecturing a pri- vate study, reading room and library. A Parent or High School began on the 11th of November: terms, thirty shillings per quarter, under the direction of Chancelor Spencer. It is expected that teachers crenerally will have access to this school, and through them a system of uniformity will be established for conducting schools throughout the valleys Elder Woodruff has arrived with nearly two tons of school books. Donations from the states are already arriving in the shape of scientific instruments and other apparatus for the benefit of the University; also valuable books for the library. Mr. W. I. Ap- pleby is the librarian. . , , , . , , P "A committee was appointed to superintend the enclosing of the University grounds one mile square east of the city, and the erection of good s&tone wall around them, as soon as possible Our corre- spondent says that public meetings were being held in all parts of the city attending to and providing for the interests of education; and hat he present winter is expected to be one of intellects advantage to the people, which they seemed determined to improve.

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And in 1852, Robert L. Campbell, the Secretary of the Board of Regents of the University, says :

"We are happy to report that many select schools are in successful operation combining the languages and the higher branches of educa- tion generally. Still there is room for a more full development of the mental energies of our youth in their advancement in the classics, history, mathematics, and the polite literature of the ages, by which native talent and giant intellects of our young men who will shortly grace this stage of action may form a prominent phalanx of strength and wisdom in our nation's councils; who will guide the wheels of government of our rising territory in her glorious achievements for liberty, of universal empire over mind, and the blessings of her free and flourishing institutions."

A TYPE OF CABIN SCHOOL FIRST BUILT IN UTAH.

In the same document, Mr. Campbell reports that the County Court was seeing to the building of new school houses and the proper equipment of them.

In 1855, Governor Brigham Young, in addressing the Terri- torial Legislature, says :

"Educational interests have flourished hitherto, with but little aid or encouragement from the Legislative Assembly. Should not this subject be taken under advisement by this Legislature, and some well organized system be adopted, which will confer the blessing of at least a common school education upon every child, rich or poor, bond or free, in the territory, and which will establish and keep in operation at least one school where the higher branches are taught?

EDUCATION IN UTAH 881

"I am aware that much has already been done and great good effected by private enterprise throughout the settlements generally. Though I am sanguine that no territory, so young as this, can boast of so many or such good school houses and schools; still there is a lack, much remains to be done. The Legislature has appropriated comparatively nothing for this object, and the appropriations of land by the general Government are at present, and a great share always will be, entirely unavailable.

"None is so much interested in this matter as ourselves. It would therefore seem to be almost imperative upon this Assembly to extend their most reliable aid and influence for the promotion of learning. And now, while we have peace and quietness in all borders, is oppor- tune time to lay a foundation for the instruction of our children which shall grow with our growth, and strengthen with our strength, and extend it's influence around the children of the poorest and humblest citizen, as well as the most opulent and wealthy."

The Legislative Assembly receiving this message amended the school law, passed at the previous session, which divided the counties into new school districts, over which a board of trustees elected by the people should preside. A local tax should be levied, and teachers examined by the local board. Examples are numer- ous as to how the many different towns and settlements lived up to the law. The district of North Ogden was organized in 1851, in the autumn of which the first school was opened. The school house was built of pine logs, but this gave way to a much better and more commodious building, erected in 1856, by donation and local taxation. At this same time, the rooms were furnished with home-made desks, stoves, maps, and a small library. In the fall of 1851, a school house was built at the little town of Morgan on the main line of the Union Pacific Railroad, and this was super- seded in 1855 by a far better building, erected by local taxation. Again in 1874, another school house was built, the people of the town paying for it by donation and taxes. One of the most inter- esting examples we have of the enthusiasm of the people for the maintenance of a school in their district is that of East Mill Creek in Salt Lake County. In the spring of 1848, several of the pio- neers built cabins on Mill Creek, on the north side of the stream. Among the most prominent of the settlers was John Neff, who built the first flour mill in the Territory. In March, 1856, the district was organized for school purposes, and the first school house, erected by donation and local taxation, was built. The logs for it were hauled from the canyon nearby, and were dove-tailed and held together by wooden pegs. The furniture consisted of "rough slab' benches/' and a teacher's desk made of slabs from a neighboring saw-mill.

" The reader naturally asks here as to the first school in Utah, and herein lies an interesting bit of western history.

The first school in Utah was opened in October, 1847. _ The teacher was Mary Jane Dilworth (Hammond), and an old military

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tent shaped like an ordinary Indian wigwam served as a school room. Rough logs were used for seats, and the teacher's desk was an old camp stool, which had been brought across the plains. Maria Dilworth Nebeker says in her autobiography :

"I attended the first school in Utali taught by my sister, Mary Jane, in a small round tent seated with logs. The school was opened just three weeks after our arrival in the valley. The first morning we gathered before the door of the tent, and in the midst of our play, my sister called us and said, 'Come children, come; we will begin now.' There were just a few of us, I think only nine or ten. One of the brethren came in, and opened the school with prayer. I re- member one thing he said. It was to the effect that 'we be good children and he asked God that the school would be so blessed that we all should have his holy light to guide us into all truth.' The first day, Marv Jane taught us the twenty-third Psalm, and we sang much, and played more."

Mary Jane Dilworth (Hammond), Utah's first school teacher,

AS THE MORMONS FOUND UTAH

wa> of Quaker parentage, and was born in Westchester County, Pennsylvania, July 29, 1831. Her parents were Caleb and Eliza Dilworth, devout in their religion and steadfast in the adherence to principle. Caleb Dilworth's ancestors had taken an active part in the settlement of Pennsylvania, and his father was soldier in the colonial army under George Washington. The family be- came independent, in fact had some means, and early in the for- ties, they emigrated to the "Mormon" centre of Nauvoo, Illinois. They went through many of the harrowing persecutions of their people, and with the main body of "Mormons" made their way to

EDUCATION IN UTAH 883

Winter Quarters on the Missouri River, where they did their share in making preparation for the long journey of their people to the Rocky Mountains. While at Winter Quarters, Miss Dilworth taught a school in a little rock house. In 1847, she left with her people for "the promised land of the far West." There were some fifteen hundred souls in the company, under the personal direction and command of Jedediah M. Grant. Near Grand Island, the company was met by Brigham Young, who was re- turning to Winter Quarters. It was here that he "set Miss Dil- worth apart to teach a school in the Old Fort." W'hile on the plains the "Mormon" emigrants taught their children, and we have accounts of how they were assembled at times for the purpose of learning from some good teacher, the leading facts of history and geography. In fact, education in Utah began on the plains, for the people had been admonished by Brigham Young to continue the spirit of education that had been developed in the beautiful city of Nauvoo in the State of Illinois. They had maintained schools there, and had organized a university. The city had been pronounced by hundreds of travelers as one of the most moral cities in the Union, and far and wide was it noted for its civic life. In 1847, an epistle was issued to the people when they were encamped upon the banks of the Missouri River, in which Brigham Young said:

"It is very desirable that all the Saints should improve every opportunity of securing at least a copy of every valuable treatise on education — every book, map, chart, or diagram that may contain in- teresting, useful, and attractive matter, to gain the attention of chil- dren, and cause them to love to learn to read; and also every his- torical, mathematical, philosophical, geographical, geological, astro- nomical, scientific, practical, and all other variety of useful and inter- esting writings, maps, etc., to present to the general church recorder, when they shall arrive at their destination, from which important' and interesting matter may be gleaned to compile the most valuable works on every science and subject, for the benefit of the rising generation. We have a printing press, and any one who can take good printing or writing paper to the valley will be blessing themselves and the Church. We also want all kinds of mathematical instruments, together with all rare specimens of natural curiosities and works of art that can be gathered."

Those early days in Utah not only saw primary schools, but in 1850 was opened the first university west of the Missouri River. The record of that "Parent school" has come down to us, and is a valuable document to show the State's early educational develop- ment. It tells us that the university "is for the training of teach- ers, and to bring our boys and girls in touch with the progressive thought anfl educational activities of the age."

Down through the years before the advent of the railroad and telegraph, the people maintained their schools and those other

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factors that have entered into our educational development. School houses were built of rock and adobe, although the first schools were as a rule, housed in log cabins. In those days, all co-operated in building, and many school houses were erected upon the co-operative plan. An interesting example of this method of work, which all economists now pronounce as the best and most effective and democratic kind of work, is found in the records of the Thirteenth Ward of Salt Lake City :

"Friday evening, Dec. 1, 1854. The inhabitants of the Thirteenth ward met in the meeting house to consider the nature and extent of the improvement of the school. * * * A. W. Babbitt spoke of the benefits of the common school. * * * The plan of the main build- ing was presented by T. O. Angell. All the brethren spoke in favor of building the main house, the estimated cost of which would be $11,770. Bishop Edward Hunter spoke of educating our children, otherwise we were not worthy of them. A motion was passed pro-

THE OLD TWELFTH WARD SCHOOL HOUSE, SALT LAKE CITY A Type of Building Erected by Co-operative Work

viding for the repair of the present building, the building of a new fence, and the erection of outhouses. * * * The brethren were asked to co-operate in this work, and to put in a certain amount of their time in promoting the work."

ft Many beautiful buildings were erected before the railroad, buildings that were plain, but beautiful in their massiveness, sta- bility, and simplicity. The old Twelfth Ward school in Salt Lake

EDUCATION IN UTAH 885

City is an example of these characteristics. Not only schools were maintained from the beginning of their history, but the "Mormon" people have been great readers and collectors of books, and today, few homes in Utah are without a good library.

"In 1851, the first extensive library was brought by ox teams to this state. It had been purchased in New York City by Dr. John M. Bernhisel, and was a wonderful collection of books. There were the works of Shakespeare, Milton, Bacon, Byron, Homer, Juvenal, Lucre- tius, Virgil, Euripides, Sophocles, Plato, Montaigne, Tacitus, Spenser, Herodotus, Goldsmith, and many others of the great masters of the world's best literature. The library received copies of the New York Herald, New York Evening Post, the Philadelphia Saturday Courier, and the North American Review. Of the scientific works there were New- ton's Principia, Herschel's Outlines of Astronomy, and Von Humboldt's Cosmos. The treatises on philosophy included the works of John Stuart, Mill, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and Emanuel Swedenborg. These are but a few of the names found in the list. The books were read by practically everybody, as it was customary for the people to meet in the several ward assembly halls, and to discuss the substance of the best works on literature, philosophy, science, and history. This was the movement that gave rise to the establishment a few years later of the Mutual Improvement Associations throughout Utah."

In every ward of Utah, a library was established in connec- tion with the Sunday Schools and Mutual Improvement associa- tions from the very earliest days. The Twelfth Ward Library in Salt Lake City contained some of the best of the classics, and many of the books were deposited in the library as early as 1855. The cities passed resolutions and laws creating libraries in the early sixties, and in 1866, Provo, Lehi, Nephi, Salt Lake City, Manti, Beaver, Fillmore, and other cities had their public libraries. The following unique law passed in 1866, providing for a library in the town of Deseret is significant and tells a story that is well for us to remember :

An ACT to Incorporate the Deseret City Library Association Sec. 1. — Be it enacted by the Governor and Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah: That Thomas Memmott, John Rowell, Henry Roper, Isaac W. Pierce, Martin Littlewood and their associates and successors are hereby constituted a body corporate, to be known and styled Deseret City Library Association, and shall have power to pur- chase, receive and hold property real and personal, to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, defend and be defended in all courts of law and equity, and to do all things that may be proper to carry into effect the objects of the Association, by establishing a library of books, maps, charts and scientific instruments, connecting therewith a read- ing room and lectures. And the above named persons are hereby appointed a Board of Directors of said Association, until superseded as provided in the following section.

Sec. 2. — A Board of seven Directors shall be elected by the mem- bers of said Association on the second Monday of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, and biennially thereafter on said day, who shall hold office two years, and until their successors are duly elected;

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and they shall have power to appoint a president, secretary, correspond- ing secretary, treasurer and librarian and define their duties, and also to enact such by-laws as may be necessary to do all business of the Association. A majority may form a quorum to do business, and may fill any vacancy in the Board, until the next regular election.

Sec. 3. — This Association may raise means by the sale of shares and by contribution and donation, for the purchase of books, maps, charts, etc., and for leasing or erecting suitable buildings for the library, reading rooms and lectures.

Sec. 4. — Conditions of membership, admission to the library, read- ing rooms and lectures and the loaning of books or other property shall be as provided by the by-laws of said Association.

Approved Jan. 17, 1866.

As a result of this early library movement, Utah contains today some most beautiful buildings, where the public may obtain books free of charge, and where they may go to study and read. There can be no doubt but that the "Mormon" people have been great readers.

In the clays before the railroad, the schools and general prog- ress of the people were noted by many writers from the eastern states. In fact the testimonies of these writers show a rapid progress of the people intellectually and socially. Among them are Howard Stansbury, Captain of the Corps of Topographical Engineers, United States Army; Captain John W. Gunnison, United States Army ; Lieutenant Edward Fitzgerald Beale of the United States Navy, and later envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Austria-Hungary ; the Rev. A. M. Stewart of the Presbyterian church ; Col. D. C. Dodge, chief engineer in building the Union Pacific Railroad ; Leland Stanford of Califor- nia ; in fact a host of famous Americans have noted our early edu- cational development.

Before the railroad, the theatre was built, and dramatic art was encouraged from the beginning of our history. There were scientific and philosophical societies ; the Seventies of the "Mor- mon" church maintained a Hall of Science, where meetings' were held in which the "brethren" discussed the affairs of the day, and read scientific, religious, and philosophical treatises ; there was a Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society as early as 1856, and in every ward of Utah, there were established literary and religious societies called the Young Men's and Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associations. Thousands of boys and girls, and parents as well, have been enrolled in these organizations, and they have been a potent factor in our educational history. In fact they are unique, and at no time in American history has there been anything like them. Today, they still are doing a wonderful work among the young, and have an enrollment of nearly 100.000 members. In one of the meetings of a young ladies' meeting held in 1869, a lecture was given on the "Importance of Bible Study,"

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887

a short talk on the life of Shakespeare, and a third party read and explained the play of Hamlet. These exercises were interspersed with music. At a Mutual Improvement meeting held in a remote town of Utah recently, the people listened to a talk on Goethe's life, together with an explana- tion of his Faust. During the program, a young musician played parts from Gounod's Faust, and one young lady sang Wagner's "Evening Star" from Tanhauser.

So from the beginning of their history, have the people encouraged intellectual devel- opment in many, many differ- ent ways. Art has been en- couraged, music in its best form has been fostered. Han- del's "Messiah" was given in Salt Lake in 1866 to crowded houses. The leading artists of the world have sung in our Tabernacle, Utah's children, like Maud Adams, have won distinction upon the stage, and M. M. Young and C. E. Dallin have international reputation in the realm of art.

When the University of Deseret took a forward step in 1867- 68, it announced a high standard of courses. From the catalogue of 1870-71, I take the following prescribed outline. How many educators and teachers of today are prepared for the studies? It shows the high regard in which the intellectual studies were held. Truly with these people, the "glory of God and man is intelli- gence :"

FIRST SCHOOL HOUSE IN FILLMORE

Built of red standstone and hand-hewn timber, with wooden pegs for nails

CLASSICAL STUDIES "Freshman Year

"First Term. — Cicero (Orations), Latin Prose Composition, Xenohpon's Anabasis, Greek Prose Composition, Higher Algebra completed, Natural Philosophy.

"Second Term. — Virgil's Aeneid, Latin Prose Composition, Xenophon's Anabasis, Greek Prose Composition, Cubic and Biquadratic Equations, Natural Philosophy.

"Third Term. — Virgil's Aeneid, Latin Prose Composition, Homer's Iliad, Greek Prose Composition, Geometry, Roman History.

"Fourth Term. — Virgil's Bucolics, Homer's Iliad, Greek Prose Composition, Greek Testament (Gospels), Geometry, Roman History.

"Sophomore Year

"First Term. — Cicero de Senectute, and Horace, Xenophon's Memorabilia, Greek Testament (Acts of the Apostles), Geometry completed, and Plane Trigonometry, Zoology.

888 IMPROVEMENT ERA

/r> •"?ECv0No Term-— Livy anc* Terence, Demosthenes (Philippics'), Greek Testament (Epistles), Spherical Trigonometry and Mensuration, and Surveying and Navigation Zoology.

"Third Term. — Livy and Juvenal, Plato (Apology), Greek Testament (Epistles), Analytical Geometry, Grecian History, Physiology.

"Fourth Term. — Tacitus (Germania and Agricola), Thucydides, Analytical Geom- etry completed, Grecian History, Physiology.

"Junior Year

"First Term. — Differential Calculus, General Chemistry (inorganic), Rhetoric, Political Economy.

"Second Term. — Integral Calculus, General Chemistry (organic), Rhetoric, Polit- ical Economy.

"Third Term. — Astronomy, Practical Chemistry, Logic, Botany, Mental PhiloSophy.

"Fourth Term. — Astronomy, Practical Chemistry, Logic, Botany, Mental Phil- osophy.

"Senior Year

"First Term. — English Literature, Natural Theology, Elements of Criticism, Moral Philosophy.

"Second Term. — English Literature, Natural Theology, Elements of Criticism, Moral Philosophy.

"Third Term. — Geology, Mineralogy, Analogy of Religion, International Law, Constitution of the United States.

"Fourth Term. — Geology, Mineralogy, Analogy of Religion, International Law, Constitution of the United States."

The schools of Utah were effective in their work, for from the earliest statistics of the United States, we find that Utah's educational standing has been exceptionally high. In fact so clean has been Utah's system of government, so intellectual and moral have been her people, that as early as 1869, the American Presbyterian, printed in Philadelphia, had the following to say from the pen of Rev. A. M. Stewart, who had spoken a few months before in the "Mormon" Tabernacle:

"When driven from Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa, the -wretched, starving, half-naked fugitives started on a pilgrimage, which an army with banners dared not have attempted. * * * How, under their condition, and without all perishing, they succeeded in traversing those fifteen hundred miles of reputed desert, seems even now a mystery. They settled, at length, upon a dry and apparently barren soil, where thev hoped never again to see or be troubled with intruders. * * * Whatever purposes the Almighty has to subserve with this strange mass of people hereafter, he has already effected purposes the most wise and beneficent, and for which no other agents seemed fitted. * * * * Salt Lake City is the most quiet, orderly, and best governed city in the world. Among the "Mormons" there is no disorder or outbreak; no profanity or intemperance. The city on the Sabbath is as quiet and orderly as a rural parish in Scotland pr New England. Whatever disorder there may be is created by Gentile intruders. * * * The court house and theatre are substantial structures. ***** J3y such processes, coupled with economy, industry, home manufacture, and consumption, that far inferior com- munity numbering at present one hundred thousand, is fast becoming one of the wealthiest' communities in the world."

Quite a testimony is this. I take it that Dr. Stewart is sin- cere, for his church pronounced him one of the most honest of men, and "a minister of grace in God's great cause."

The schools of Utah must have been productive of great

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889

results, for I find the following to be our educational standing in comparison to other states of the Union in 1870:

Comparative Statistics from Census of United States, 1870	School At- tendance, 5 tol8 yrs.	Illiteracy, can't read or write, 10 yrs. & upwards	Pau- pers	Insane and Idiotic	Con- victs	Printing and Pub- lishing Establish- ments	Church Edifices
Utah	35 31 30 21 25 27 24	11 26 10 9 12 40 10	6 31 45 59 55 23 41	5 16 17 20 23 35 22	3 9 9 12 11 9 19	14 6 9 7 11 11 14	19
	17
	14
	12
	12
District of Columbia California	9 9

"In 1877, when the school population of Utah numbered 30,792, there was invested in the Territory in school property the creditable sum of $568,984, being about eighteen and one-half dollars per capita of the school population. In contrast with this, take the amount per capita of their school population which some of the States have invested in school property: North Carolina, $0.60; Louisiana, $3.00; Vir- ginia about $2.00; Oregon less t^an $9.00; Wisconsin less than $11.00; Tennessee less than $2.50; Delaware less than $13.00."

During the last decade of the nineteenth century, the public school system of the entire United States was greatly improved

ONE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH BUILDINGS

upon. We find California, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Ver- mont, New York, Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Maryland, and all the states of the South making great headway in educational development. New school houses were built, the standard of teaching was raised, and better scholarship required of scholars and teachers. So in Utah. Great advance- ment was made. All people contributed to the building of the public school system, until today, we naturally ask, "How does Utah stand in education among the states and territories of the

890 IMPROVEMENT ERA

Union?" The following table was compiled by Andrew S. Draper, LL. D., and published some time ago in the Youth's Companion. It will be interesting to note the place of Utah among the other states of the Union in literacy :

"We have very exact information about the number of people in the United States who are illiterates. By an "illiterate" we mean a person who is ten years old or more and can not write in any language. It is generally true that if one can not write he can not read.

"The proportion of illiterates is smaller than it used to be. In 1870 there were 200 illiterates to each 1,000 of population; in 1880 there were 170; in 1890 there were 133; in 1900 there were 107.

"The accompanying table will show the number of illiterates to each 1,000 people in the various states in 1900.

"These figures are from the census, but a table from election returns showing the number of illiterate voters per thousand people in each state is so nearly the same that it confirms the substantial accuracy of the census figures.

"We have one full-grown man who can not read or write in every nine voters. We have no tests of exact comparison, but there are related and authentic figures which are more convincing than comforting.

ILLITERACY IN THE UNITED STATES

Iowa 23 South Dakota 50 Delaware 120

Nebraska 23 Maine 51 Nevada 133

Kansas 29 New York 55 Texas 145

Washington .■ 31 Oklahoma 55 Kentucky 165

Utah 31 North Dakota 56 Arkansas 204

Oregon 33 Vermont 58 Tennessee 207

Ohio 40 Massachusetts 59 Florida 219

Wyoming 40 New Jersey 59 Virginia 229

Minnesota 41 Connecticut 59 North Carolina 287

Illinois 42 Pennsylvania 61 Arizona 290

Michigan 42 Montana 61 Georgia 305

Colorado 42 New Hampshire 62 Mississippi 320

Indiana 46 Missouri 64 New Mexico 332

Idaho 46 Rhode Island 84 Alabama 340

Wisconsin 47 Maryland Ill couth Carolina 359

California 48 West Virginia 114 Louisiana 385

"The figures give the number of illiterate persons in each thousand of population, as shown by the census of 1900."

Although Utah's school system today ranks among the best in the world, it is far from what the ideals of the people wish for. There is not only the public school system maintained by taxa- tion, but the different religious denominations maintain their schools, and it may be noted that the Latter-day Saints University at Salt Lake City has possibly the highest standard of faculty of any high school in the United States. The head of the institution is Colonel Young, late of the corps of engineers. United States army, and a graduate of the Military Academy at West Point, and the noted universities of the world are represented in its faculty, including Harvard, Chicago University, Oxford, Uni- versity of Berlin, University of California, Cornell, and others.

As the public school system is the glory of the American Republic, so is it the glory of Utah. The people of the State pride themselves on their schools as they do on their high ideals and desires to become rich in knowledge and power — that power which is of light and high moral endeavor. Their school system has been built up by the people as a whole. Not by one party, one creed, one faction. The system has been formed by the union

EDUCATION IN UTAH

891

and co-operation of all sorts and conditions of people who have come to a firm conviction and realization in heart that "all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights." Utah has been an asylum for thousands of the best people of Europe. Germans, Scandinavians, Scotch, Irish, and the English have found their way to the far West, and have been taught the rudiments of American citizenship, and in becoming Americanized, they have learned the fundamental law of all good government, namely, self-government. All the forces they have been able to muster have been brought to influence the better ideals and attainments, the best men, the different Christian sects, the press, and the political parties, all have exerted a mould- ing influence.

Our school system has grown by the acceptance and adapta- tion of all the good things and best ideas of the world. Hun- dreds of young men return to our state every year from abroad to bring with them new ideals, new motives and incentives, new plans for a better living. Books and pictures are purchased abroad, and the average young man of Utah becomes acquainted through his traveling with Goethe, Lessing, Herder, Corneille, or Carlyle. Possibly no other state of the Union has so many people abroad every year in comparison with her population as has Utah. All this goes to make the people broad and conserva- tive in life.

In Utah the idea of universal education was outlined from the first. The circular letter issued by the chancelor of the Uni- versity in 1850, certainly snaps of breadth and enthusiasm for all that can be obtained for our intellectual advancement. In Utah the children have been educated from the primary school upward. The primary school came first, and in time the University was re- established as the head of the public school system of the State. In the United States we well realize that education owes little to paternalism. So it is in Utah. No creed or organization has control of the minds of the people. The people have promoted

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH BUILDINGS

892

IMPROVEMENT ERA

education from the first, and it has grown with their growth, and gathered strength as the industrial and social conditions of the people have become better. Our schools have been democratic from the first, and all that is good and true in the world at large, the people have tried to absorb. From the days of the overland emigration by pony express to the time of the completion of the

ALL HALLOWS COLLEGE A CATHOLIC SCHOOL, SALT LAKE CITY

trans-continental railroad, and from the time of the advent of the railroad to the present, Utah has been not only provincial but cosmopolitan ; sectional yet national ; individual, yet loving the influences of extraneous ideals and institutions.

The country has tended to create a hardy people, who hate the dilettante pursuits and who love hard work. For years it was a struggle for existence. Such a life could not produce cowards or effeminates. The people of Utah have naturally bred within them a love for the home, for humanity, and for God. They are free from the conventionalities of older communities, and are more given to. the belief that culture is not outward man- ners but inward grace and honesty of purpose. They believe that schools should produce citizens in the highest sense of the term. In fact, their ideals are expressed by the immortal Jeffer- son in his famous words before the Virginia legislature at one time :

"To form the statesmen, legislators, and judges, on whom public prosperity and individual happiness are so much to depend; to ex-

EDUCATION IN UTAH 893

pound the principles of government, the laws which regulate the inter- course of nations, those formed municipally for our own government, and a sound spirit of legislation, which, banishing all arbitrary and unnecessary restraint on individual action, shall leave us free to do whatever does not violate the equal rights of another; to harmonize and promote the interests of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, and by well-informed views of political economy to give free scope to public industry; to develop the reasoning faculties of our youth, enlarge their minds, cultivate their morals, and instill into them pre- cepts of virtue and order; to enlighten them with mathematical and physical sciences, which advance the arts and administer to the health, the subsistence, and the comfort of human life; and, finally, to form them to habits of reflection and correct action, rendering them exam- ples of virtue to others and of happiness within themselves— these are the objects of that higher grade of education, the benefits and bless- ings of which the legislature now propose to provide for the good and ornament of their country, the gratification and happiness of their fellow-citizens."

Upon her schools, Utah's future government depends. The schools must produce men and women who are interested in the government of the state. The youth of our state are to become the legislators and the officials. They will be exepcted to exer- cise the higher functions in the state according to the best of American ideals. Native talent must be developed and character building made the aim of our learning. Herein have the schools their great mission.

Again the schools must influence for the building up of the proper home environment. The youth must be taught that the home is the centre where life is begun and where all that is best emanates. We can never be a great and mighty commercial peo- ple ; we can be a wise and good people. The big broad "God's out-of-doors" must be appreciated, and the magnificent mountains, lakes, and canyons, must influence us to very great ideals and to very great actions. Our schools must teach us to come to a realization of our best selves, and that the best life is the life that finds its salvation not in formal Christianity and dogma, but in the "Gospel of work and redemption." Our education must revert, however, to the ideals of a generation ago, wherein it was taught that the school is but one factor in life to make for the better self. The school must make the whole setting of life worth more, and develop that wisdom and broad judgment that make good Christianity. They must give us that culture and education described by Hamilton Wright Mabie in his Nature and Culture:

"For culture, instead of being an artificial or superficial accom- plishment, is the natural and inevitable process by which a man copes into possession of his own nature, and into real and fruitful relations with the world about him. It is never taking on from without of some grace or skill or knowledge; it is always an unfolding from within into some new power; the flowering of some _ new quality hitherto dormant; the absorption of some knowledge hitherto unap-

894

IMPROVEMENT ERA

propriated. The essence of culture is not possession of information as one possesses an estate, but absorption of knowledge into one's nature, so that it becomes bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. It means the enrichment and expansion of the personality by the taking into ourselves of all that can nourish us from without. Its distinctive characteristic is not extent, but quality of knowledge; not

NEW HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING, FILLMORE, UTAH. COST $20,000

scope of activity, but depth of life. It is, in a word, the process by which a man takes the world into his nature and is fed, sustained and enlarged by natural, simple, deep relations and fellowship with the whole order of things of which he is a part."

So each and all may take the divine injunction of the Talmud:

"Not thine to complete the work, neither art thou free to lay it down."

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH

LIBERTY PARK, THE WASATCH MOUNTAINS IN THE DISTANCE

Evolution of Education in Utah

BY DR. GEORGE H. BRIM HALL, PRESIDENT OF BRIGHAM YOUNG

UNIVERSITY

/ — The Spirit with Which We Have Grown

The builders of Utah have worked under the inspiration of the thought that nothing is good enough that can be made better. Even in the days of isolation one thousand miles beyond the border line of civilzation the power of that idea was manifest on every hand. The people of Utah have always been in a state of healthy unrest. Not the unrest of the nomad, moving on at the approach of the first near neighbor ; nor the unrest of the fidgety, fault-finding pessimist, but the un- rest of up-and-at-it.

During the early days of Utah, prog- ress was of necessity measured from with- in. There was noth- ing without with which to measure. We were in competition with ourselves alone, and yet things were done — great things. Within ninety days from the entrance of

the pioneers, a school was started and in less than four years a university was chartered. The Salt Lake tabernacle, celebrated for its unique architecture and acoustic properties, and the Salt Lake theatre which has held rank as a first rate theatre for over half a century, were built ; and, too, that marvel of workmanship, the Salt Lake Tabernacle organ, was produced when transporta- tion was done by ox team; while the school house in the many

DR. GEORGE H. BRIM HALL

896 IMPROVEMENT ERA

centers of our colonial civilization stood as an evidence that this early isolated age was one of education, — all around, practical, social, scholastic, and spiritual.

The mothers of that epoch had ambitions — not so much for themselves as for their children, and these ambitions were re- enforced by the religious conviction, that education is salvation, — it was part of their creed.

In our log cabin on the east bench in Ogden, my mother taught me to read and cipher. She kept well our humble home, caring for a quartette of little ones, even to the making of our shoes, while father was out in Echo Canyon blocking the way of the "Buchanan blunder expedition."

There are some things we evolve from; there are others we evolve with. The evolution of our education has not been from this spirit of getting the best, but with it. The idea, inspiration and determination that gave the boy the best that could be given in the cabin home is with the aged matron today. She urges her grandchildren to attend high school and to go on to college.

The pioneer heroines and heroes are passing away, many of them are already in the Great Beyond, but each in turn has car- ried well the torch of educational inspiration to the end of his or her station, on the great relay race of life, where it has been seized by others, eagerly waiting for their turn to bear it onward at a winning pace.

The following incident illustrates that the spirit of "getting an education" is still dominant in the humble homes of our state.

A representative of an eastern publishing company tells the following story :

"I chanced to need entertainment in one of the towns in Sevier County, and sought it at one of the village homes. Early in the morning I found everybody at work, milking cows, putting up hay, etc. A little boy of seven attracted my attention in particular. "Why do you work so hard?" said I to the little seven-year-old who was raking hay. 'To keep Hugh at school,' was the reply."

Hugh was attending one of the normal schools of the state.

77 — Evolution of the Educational Idea

The idea of eternal progress is behind the evolution of edu- cation in Utah. Her pioneer founders stood on a spiritual plat- form into which was written these three educational ideas, "The glory of God is intelligence ;" "No man can be saved in igno- rance ;" "Man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge."

These ideas heralded from the pulpit, and taught at the fire-

EVOLUTION OF EDUCATION IN UTAH 897

side, naturally permeated the atmosphere of the. school room. They have never lost their hold in Utah. They have culminated in the educational ideas that dominate today — that breadth of cul- ture is preferable to breadth of domain — that winning without work is not worth while, and that usefulness is the progressive end of education.

Said Brigham Young, Governor of Utah, in the year 1852, in his message to the legislature, "Deplorable, indeed, must be the situation of that people whose sons are not trained in the practice of every useful avocation, and whose daughters mingle not in the hive of industry."

Thirty-seven years ago Brigham Young founded a school, conditioning the perpetuity of his endowment on the teaching of the arts and trades in the institution. The educational idea that has put manual training into our common schools today, domestic science, the arts, and agriculture into our high schools, and made the State Agricultural College a center of industry, is not an evo- lution from pioneer thought, but an evolution with pioneer thought.

Ill — Evolution of Implements of Education

We have evolved from the tent to the log cabin ; from the log cabin to the adobe building, and from the adobe building to pal- aces of brick and stone.

A little less than half a century ago, I attended school in an adobe school house, comfortable in the main, but of such quaint architecture that it was nick-named "the old gypsy with a pipe in her mouth," and really the resemblance justified the title.

On the 17th day of the first month of this year I had the honor of delivering an address at the dedicatory services of a fifty thousand dollar high school building in the town where once the adobe gypsy sat on her cobblestone foundation.

The basement of the old house had no windows, and was used as a cell where the big boys imprisoned the little ones during the noon hour. The basement of the new structure is a well equipped gymnasium and swimming pool. The playground of the old was two streets and part of a 12x12 lot; the campus of the new is a ten-acre field near the hill on which the magnificent building stands. We lighted the old with tallow dips and candles ; the new is illuminated with electricity. The old was heated with a stove stuffed with wood and brush (I remember one cold day we all turned out and gathered weeds to feed the ancient furnace.) In the new the heat is furnished by modern radiation. In the old, sat the wooden bucket with the tin dipper in it ; in the new the sanitary fountain gushes. In the old was the slab bench ; in the

898 IMPROVEMENT ERA

new are hard-wood settees and opera chairs. Libraries and labo- ratories were things undreamed of in the old, while in the new provisions are made for both.

This is enough — let fancy do the rest, but we must confess that our educational realization in the matter of buildings and equipments has surpassed all idealization of half a century ago.

IV — The Evolution of the Curriculum

The three R's constituted the early day essentials of education. There was little time for more. To this requirement subject after subject has been added until it is becoming a question whether or not a pupil has time for the three R's, in which event we have evolved from not zvith our fundamentals — a growth without ad- vancement.

As we are little more than on the threshold of advancement with our secondary schools, very little can be said concerning the curriculum, except that the general trend is towards providing for the community needs and individual aptitude.

V — The Evolution of the Institution We quote from Whitney's History of Utah the following:

"The University of Deseret, under the title of the Parent school, was opened for the first time on Monday, November 11, 1850, in Mrs. Pack's house, 17th Ward, under the direction and supervision of Chancellor Spencer. Dr. Cyrus Collins, A. M., a sojourner in the city, on his way to California, was employed for the time being to take immediate charge of the school. Later, Dr. Collins retiring, Professor Orson Spencer and William W. Phelps, and later still Pro- fessor Orson Pratt became preceptors. Owing to a lack of room the . school was at first organized for 'yovmg men only,' but a separate department for young ladies was contemplated. The tuition was eight dollars per quarter, half payable in advance. The second term of the Parent school opened in February, 1851, in the upper room of the Council House, corner of East Temple and South Temple streets. "Forty pupils, male and female, were then enrolled, the idea of a separate department for ladies having been abandoned. Subsequently the school was held in the Thirteenth Ward, where the university building was projected. A few years later the Parent school col- lapsed, the common schools established throughout the city and terri- tory being deemed sufficient for educational purposes at that time. Until the revival of the University in 1867-69 the common schools, so far as possible, supplied its place."

It is plain that from the beginning the educational institu- tions have been co-educational. Our higher institutions have fre-

EVOLUTION OF EDUCATION IN UTAH 899

quently come up through the grades and secondary schools to the college and university.

VI — Financial Support

From a standpoint of financial support we have passed through several stages. First stage, local taxation for buildings and applicances only ; second stage, state and local taxation for partial payment of tuition ; third stage, state and local taxation for full payment of tuition, and fourth stage, for free text books.

VII — Evolution of the Educational Unit

The educational unit for many years was the county, sub- divided into districts with a board of trustees managing each dis- trict, and a superintendent. Later, cities of the first and second classes were made educational units, with a superintendent, and provision made for county consolidation at the option of the voters.

The public high school has been latest in its development. Until the last decade the high school work was done for the greater part by the University of Utah, the Utah State Agricul- tural College, the Salt Lake City and Ogden high schools, and the various denominational schools.* These schools carried on the high school work with great credit when the state was financially unable.

The state is at present in what may be styled the high school era. Beginning with the establishment of high, schools at the expense of the locality, and terminating with the establishment of high school units or districts composed of counties or parts of counties, at the option of the voters in those districts. All build- ing and furnishing expenses are provided for by local taxation. The teaching expense is provided for by tuition, special local tax, and a per capita state appropriation.

The University of Utah, as most of the other institutions of higher education in the state, has come up through the elementary school; the secondary school, (which in most instances has been a normal school preparing teachers for the elementary schools,) to the college and university.

Today our state University has a school of mines ; well equipped departments of engineering; a teachers' college, and departments of medicine and law, as well as a normal training school of high repute.

VIII — The Evolution of the Teacher

If it be true that the teacher is the soul of the school, then

*An article in this issue of the Improvement Era by General Super- intendent of Church Schools Horace H. Cummings reviews the work of the Latter-day Saint system of schools.

900 IMPROVEMENT ERA

the schools of Utah have, as a rule, never been small-souled. Civilization in her invasion of the American desert resorted to unusual tactics. There was not a gradual advance of the ever- rising tide, but the sudden heaving forth of a mighty wave from the banks of the Missouri over the summit of the Rockies carry- ing with it the aggregation of the ages ; skilled artisans and scholars from Europe, people of culture and refinement from the Eastern and Southern states, and characters of strength in prac- tical affairs from Canada and the then Western states of the Union. Cosmopolitanism characterized the communities from the first, while conditions tended to a rapid amalgamation of interest.

Inspiration, Indians, and irrigation are responsible for the village method of settling and developing Utah. This system of settlement had a tendency to accelerate and economize the appli- cation of skill and ability.

The pioneer teacher of Utah was Mary Jane Dillworth (Hammond), a talented maiden of seventeen, whose portrait de- serves a place in every school house in the state. She taught in a tent where pieces of logs served for benches and a camp table for a desk.

Education in Utah has had no backwoods era. Fifty years ago this winter my teacher in the little hamlet of Cedar Fort was the honorable Zerrubbabel Snow, a member of the first supreme court of the territory of Utah, and a friend of Daniel Webster, while the latter was secretary of state. Over forty years ago, in the little town of Grafton, on the Rio Virgin, it was my good fortune to come under the training of one of the best teachers I have ever known, in the person of Henry I. Young. In makeup he seemed to me the prototype of the author of the Monroe Doc- trine, whose picture was in my geography, and in disposition I thought of him as I did of Washington. In my early teens the great man of our town was my teacher, Silas Hillman, a man of eastern training. He was justice of the peace and a general legal adviser of the town folk.

Then later I had the good fortune to become educationally intimate with Robert Campbell, a scholar of whom it is said, "He worked all the time ;" John Morgan, the father of commercial schools in Utah ; T. B. Lewis, with a soul akin to that of the present incumbent of the office of State Superintendent, A. C. Nelson, which position he once held ; John R. Park, college bred, who came to Utah, taught the village school at Draper, success- fully stood for many years at the head of the faculty of the parent education institution of our State, and rendered yoeman service to the state as superintendent of public instruction. Dr. Karl G. Maeser, German-trained pedagogue, none too big to teach a dis-

EVOLUTION OF EDUCATION IN UTAH 901

trict school, and none too little to work out and direct a magnifi- cent educational system. J. B. Forbes, one of the first persons in Utah to establish a free school. For a decade and a half before free tuition was state wide, American Fork, Mr. Forbes' home town, had free schools.

Glancing back over this line-up of departed educators, with the famed philosopher and mathematician, Orson Pratt, at their head, and seeing also the community leaders still with us who have retired from teaching, and then viewing the multitude of trained teachers at this noblest of all tasks, it can be said of Utah, "She has had no cause to plead pedagogical poverty." But by peda- gogical poverty I do not mean to say that teachers are as a rule on "Easy Street;" I mean that from the first the teachers of the schools of Utah have been good teachers.

IX — Evolution of Teacher's Pay and Preparation

The teacher has not received relatively his share of what has been created by honest toil. Often he has taught school be- cause he loved the work and those for whom he worked, while he has been forced to make most of his "living" on the side. His vocation was not as compensative as his avocation. But the evo- lution of pay has gone on, beginning with what he could collect with sack on his arm, or pushing a wheelbarrow, or with some borrowed team, and up to the present, when the bank check is regularly mailed. There are instances now where the teacher receives more for one month's service than he did for six months' service four decades ago.

The day may be dawning when our educational motto may apply to the teacher in a twofold way: Get the best preparation and then get the best salary. Here are a few pointers I quote from the Journal of Education:

"A year ago there were but three cities in the United States that paid salaries higher than $6,000 for city superintendents. New York and Chicago paid $10,000 to their superintendents, and were in a class by themselves. Seattle paid $7,000. Today New York pays $12,000; Chicago, Boston and Cincinnati pay $10,000, and Philadelphia and Pittsburg $9,000."

Surely the world moves educationally, if the salaries of super- intendents have any significance.

X — The Rise of the Stepping Stone

It has sometimes happened that school teaching has been made a stepping stone to something else, say law, medicine, en-

902 IMPROVEMENT ERA

gineering. Rut the stepping stone has stepped up. In the face of the following it would appear that teaching is very near the door of honor. From the Journal of Education we quote : "The fraternity rejoices in the election of Woodrow Wilson, as Presi- dent of the United States." The evolution of the teachers' in- come has lagged behind the requirements made of him. For a new candidate to receive recognition as a permanently certificated teacher today, for the elementary schools, four years' high school training, supplemented by two years in the college, is required. For full recognition in the high schools of the state, a requirement of a four years' college course, with a four years' high school, course, as a foundation, is demanded.

From the fact that the other professions, requiring no more preparation, are much more remunerative in this state, it must be seen that in order to get its share of the best talent, the teaching profession must expect to increase the teacher's compensation, even if some other educational output must be curtailed.

No one can hope for a greater proportionate revenue for education than the state of Utah allows, but the real educational growth of the state will demand a change in the distribution of the finances. It may not be possible to have buildings, furnish- ings and fixtures that are too good, but it is quite possible that we have a teaching force that is too poor.

The faculties of our higher institutions of learning are made up, in the main, of men and women who have done graduate and undergraduate work in institutions of the first rank in both Amer- ica and Europe. We have done more than supply our own facul- ties with the majority of its members, for Utahns are to be found upon the faculties of a number of America's leading colleges.

In conclusion we present a summary of some of the educa- tional results growing out of our educational effort : Utah made the first appropriation for an annual Art Exhibit. Utah was one of the first states to make the Kindergarten part of its public school system. Utah made the first appropriation for the National Education Association, excepting perhaps California. Utah devotes 86 per cent of her taxes to Education, and her educa- tional edifices are among the best in the land. Utah has always stood near the head of the list in respect to literacy, for many years standing third.

The report of the United States Commissioner of Education (1890-1910) shows that Utah and Iowa lead the United States in their percentage of secondary school students, these being the only two states that have over 20 per 1,000 of population.

PROVO, UTAH

LOOKING DOWN THE RIVER AT THE NARROWS IN OGDEN CANYON

The roadway in this scenic canyon is doubtless the best in the mountain country. From Ogden it extends twelve miles east to Ogden valley, through mountain scenes unequalled in the Wasatch range. A trolley road leads up the canyon for several miles.

The Utah Public School System

BY A. C. NELSON, STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

While it is our province to write of the present condition of the public school system, and not of the history of education in Utah, it will not be out of place, as a prefatory remark, to

say that in Utah there have always been schools. Our schools began when Utah began and they have grown as Utah has grown. An ex- amination of the his- tory of thirty-eight towns shows that in every instance a school was opened during the first year of their history. The second act of the first legislative assembly, which convened three years after the arrival of the first settlers, was the passage of a measure providing for the establishment of a .university. The plant- ing and cultivation of crops and the build- ing of homes neces- sarily claimed first at- tention, but the estab- lishment of schools

HON. A. C. NELSON, STATE SUPERINTENDENT , ,

was soon begun, and

OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, UTAH frQm ^ J^, fc

present time there has been a gradual and consistent educational growth.

TESTS OF EFFICIENCY

Judged from the standpoint of literacy, Utah stands among the first of the states ; measured by the ten tests of efficiency, ap-

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906 IMPROVEMENT ERA

plied to the state school systems by the Division of Education of the Russell Sage Foundation, Utah holds a position of honor ; re- garded from the achievements of its students and the character of its citizens, it merits a full share of credit and distinction.

For many years Utah has stood third or fourth in the sister- hood of states in point of literacy. Only two and one-half per cent of its population over ten years of age are unable to read and write. These are found almost exclusively among the foreign element in the mining camps, where also are found a large per- centage of college graduates governing the great mining industry for which the state is universally noted.

The ten tests, applied by the Division of Education of the Russell Sage Foundation, to determine the efficiency of a school system, are as follows :

1. The number of children in school 6. School attendance.

2. School plants. 7. Expenditure and wealth

3. Expense per child. 8. Daily cost of schools.

4. Number school days per child, 9. High school facilities.

5. Length of school year. 10. Salaries

Judged from these ten tests, Utah stands fourteenth among the forty-eight states of the Union.

When the work of the schools has been exhibited in com- petition and passed upon by educational experts, the results have been most favorable. At the St. Louis Exposition, held in 1904, the grade schools of Salt Lake City received a gold medal, plac- ing them in the second rank ; the high school a silver medal, plac- ing it in third rank; the State Normal Training School received a gold medal. The grand prize, the highest award given to any school was secured by the State School for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind.

The credits of the State University are accepted at their face value by the highest educational institutions of the land. The State Agricultural College ranks with the best. The president of that institution, himself a Utahn, is recognized everywhere as an authority on the work of his chosen profession.

In regard to the achievements of some of Utah's students, the attention of the reader is directed to the following brief ex- cerpt taken from the Journal of Education, January, 1913, pub- lished in Boston by Dr. A. E. Winship, a venerable educator who is recognized throughout the nation as an authority on conditions which best promote the educational welfare :

"Today one little county in Utah has in the world's arena, some of the best artists, sculptors, singers, and instrumentalists in America, more,

908 IMPROVEMENT ERA

probably, than any state of ten times its population. In Boston, alone, last year a Utahn won the highest prize in sculpture, musical composi- tion, and on the violin. One of the prizes of the National Federation of Musical Clubs goes to a Utahn."

Not only is this true of art and of music, but it is also true that Utah has produced writers and actors of note. In history, in law, in science, and in government, our students have made marked progress. It is a matter of common knowledge that Utah students who enter Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Columbia, Chicago, Wisconsin, and similar universities, often excel in their classes. The excellent standing of these students is due largely to habits of sobriety and right living. With the students, so with the teachers throughout the state, practically all of them refrain from the use of tobacco and intoxicants.

ATTENDANCE AND EXPENDITURES

Today, in the public school system of the state, 95,000 chil- dren between the ages of six and eighteen years receive instruc- tion. There are 115,000 school children in Utah, but several thousands of these attend private schools. The children are taught in 700 school buildings, the value of which is $8,000,000. The expenditure for school purposes has now reached the sum of $4,000,000 per annum, which means an expenditure of $35 for each pupil of school age, or an annual tax of $11. to each person in the state.

UNITS OF ADMINISTRATION REVENUES

Utah has three units of administration in its school system. One is to be found in the first and the second class cities ; one in the consolidated districts of the first class ; the other in local common school districts. A city of at least 50,000 population belongs to the first class ; a city between 5,000 and 50,000 to the second class ; school districts of the first class must have a popu- lation of at least 2,000 children of school age.

The schools in cities of the first and the second class, five in number, are governed and controlled by their respective boards of education. A board of education in a city of the first class consists of ten members, one-half of whom are elected biennially for a term of four years ; a city of the second class has a board of education consisting of five members, one of whom is elected every year for a term of five years. In cities of the first class, school boards are authorized to levy a tax of six and one-half mills for general maintenance and one and one-half mills for building purposes ; boards in second class cities with an assessed valuation

THE UTAH PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM 909

of at least $10,000,000 have the same taxing power. In second class cities with less than $10,000,000 assessable property, school boards may levy eight and one-half mills for general maintenance and one and one-half mills for buildings.

The members of the boards of education in county school districts of the first class are elected for a term of four years. The elections are so conducted that some of the members are always experienced in their duties. The boards have authority to levy from ten mills to fifteen mills for general maintenance and building purposes, according to the assessed valuation of their respective districts.

The local or common school district boards consist of three members, one elected annually for a term of three years. These local boards have a taxing power of ten mills.

In addition to the taxing power of the boards in these re- spective units of organization, additional funds may be raised by a vote of the qualified electors. All cities and districts receive their pro rata share of the three mill state tax for graded schools and of the county school tax, which may not be more than four mills on the assessable property of the county. All high schools in the state which are maintained upon the standard fixed by the State Board of Education receive their pro rata share of the funds derived from the state high school tax, which consists of one-half mill of the eight mill state tax. From these sources of revenue come the $4,000,000 which are raised and expended an- nually among the public schools of Utah.

SCHOOL BUILDINGS

The school plant, as before intimated, is one of the factors which has much to do with a school system. With school build- ings this state is well supplied. The little one room rural school house is now almost unknown in Utah. There are perhaps not more than a dozen such buildings in the state. Practically every community has a school building which adds to the beauty of the place and which contributes to the health and comfort of the child. With the exception of the Salt Lake City high school building, which is being erected at a cost of one-half million dollars, the accompanying likenesses are of buildings such as are being constructed in many parts of our commonwealth. It will be noted that some of these buildings are more or less remote from the centre of population. During the last five or six years nineteen high school buildings have been erected ranging in cost from $25,000 to $100,000. In every case these buildings have been fully equipped with modern conveniences. A brief de- scription of one of them may aid the reader to form a more ade-

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THE UTAH PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM 911

quate idea of the buildings in which the children receive their school training.

The Carbon county high school building with its furnishings cost approximately $100,000. It is built of reinforced concrete and is absolutely fireproof throughout. It covers three-fifths of an acre of ground and contains more than one and one-half acres of floor space. Outside, it is cement plastered and finished with Caen stone color water proofing. The ground floor contains the gymnasium, the domestic science and art department and the manual training department. The gymnasium is 50x75 feet. It has a running track, a number of shower baths, and a 25x40 foot swimming pool. It also has a spectators' balcony. The domestic science rooms are equipped with electric, gas, and coal ranges.

CARBON COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL, PRICE, UTAH

In connection with the domestic science department there is a model dining room and also a lunch room for the boys and an- other for the girls. The building contains its own gas plant used chiefly for the chemical laboratories and for the domestic science department. The first floor has an auditorium with a seating capacity for five hundred persons. Leading from the gymnasium on the ground floor to the auditorium is a spiral stairway, over which the gymnasium performers may pass to and from the stage of the auditorium without in any way disturbing the audience. On the floor also are two locker rooms equipped with steel lock- ers, two retiring rooms for teachers, and the principal's office. The second floor contains the physical and chemical laboratories, a lecture room, and music and art rooms. Throughout the build- ing there are the latest designs in plumbing and heating. The building is equipped with an electric plant. This lighting is of the indirect type which approaches more nearly to daylight than any other artificial light known. Besides the rooms already men- tioned, there are eighteen regular class rooms. The likeness of the building shows that it is a structure of architectural beauty.

912

IMPROVEMENT ERA

TEACHERS

Much as are to be desired commodious and comfortable school buildings, attractive and sanitary surroundings, the most modern and improved equipment, still they are all of secondary importance to the character and qualifications of the teachers. During recent years somewhat rigid legal requirements have en- hanced the teaching efficiency in the schools. No person is now eligible to take the examination for the purpose of securing a teaching certificate valid in the common schools until such person has acquired either three years of successful teaching experience or four years of high school training and about one-half year of normal school work. Graduates of normal training schools which require their students to complete two years of work beyond

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a four year high school course, or its equivalent, are given teach- ing certificates without examination. A greater number of such qualified persons are entering our schools each year. They are well prepared, especially after one or two years of experience, to give valuable service. The increased preparation required of teachers has contributed to a rise in teachers' salaries. The average monthly salary of the common school teachers in Utah is, male, $85 ; female, $65.

HIGH SCHOOLS

A remarkable impetus was given to the high schools when in 1911, state aid was secured and the high schools were placed under the direction of the State Board of Education. Utah is one of the few states giving state aid to high schools; last year

THE UTAH PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM

913

the state contributed $20.90 for each student who had been in attendance at least twenty weeks during the year. To be eligible to participate in the state high school fund, schools must follow the prescribed course of study ; they must provide adequate equipment for the courses which they offer ; they must remain in session at least thirty-six weeks during the year, including holi- days ; they are required to employ teachers who hold state high- school certificates or diplomas. As these certificates represent scholarship equivalent to a degree from a standard college, includ- ing credits in the professional subjects, it is apparent that high school teachers are required to undergo thorough preparation for their work. A state high school inspector works under the direc-

IIIGH SCHOOL, AMERICAN FORK, UTAH

tion of the State Board of Education, who visits the schools fre- quently and gives such aid as may be required.

The course of study aims to train for efficient citizenship. In the course of study, the fact is not lost sight of that the high school owes a duty to those seeking higher education, but the dominant idea is not that the function of the school is performed merely in preparing its students to enter college. It takes into account the fact that many high school students do not enter col- lege at all, but that practically all of them enter civic and indus- trial life and that they should, therefore, receive the best possible training for civic and industrial success. It is recognized also that the schools should train young men and women for useful-

914 IMPROVEMENT ERA

ness in their own community. Heretofore, the rural high schools have been feeders to the college and to city life. The high school is now seeking to readjust itself to the needs of the particular community in which it is situated. Courses are given in agricul- ture, outside of mining districts and first and second class cities. Courses in domestic art and science are offered, that the girls may become acquainted with household duties. Courses in music, commercial branches, and subjects leading to the professions are also given. But one of the main purposes now sought in the rural high school is to educate the stronger youth toward the farm and to industry instead of toward the professions and business exclusively. . The greatest change in the Utah school system dur- ing recent years has taken place in the high schools. Only a decade ago, there were but four or five high schools in the state. Today there are forty. High school privileges are now accessible practically to all of the youth who are prepared to pursue courses in secondary instruction.

LIBRARIES

A word should be said of the public libraries. Recent legis- lation has made it the duty of the State Board of Education to promote the establishment and maintenance of libraries. School boards are required to set aside annually from the local school fund, a sum equivalent to fifteen cents for each child in the dis- trict of school age, which sum is expended for books recom- mended by the State Board of Education. The schools through- out the state now have libraries well adapted to the needs of the pupils. In addition to school libraries there are between twenty and thirty public libraries in various towns and cities. Since the beginning of the library-gymnasium movement, gifts aggregating $70,000 have been received from Andrew Carnegie. Other gifts from private and public organizations have contributed to the establishment of municipal libraries which are a distinct credit to the cities in which they are situated.

CONSOLIDATION

About eight years ago, a law was enacted providing for the consolidation of small school districts into larger units of organi- zation. Seven of the twenty-seven counties have already taken advantage of the benefits of this law and several other counties will doubtless consolidate their districts within a comparatively short time. In these consolidated districts, there is an equitable distribution of school funds. As a tax is levied upon all the assessable property of the county, sections with much corporate property necessarily contribute to the support of sections less favored in this respect. Consolidation admits readily of the ap- pointment of efficient supervisors ; of a desirable grading, both of

THE UTAH PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM 915

teachers and of pupils ; of economy in the purchasing of supplies ; and of a more efficient school administration throughout.

SUMMARY

While, as before stated, there has been a consistent develop- ment in the schools of Utah from the beginning, it is only fair to say that the schools have made especially commendable prog- ress during recent years. The citizens have responded readily and generously to any requests which have appealed to them as beneficial to the schools. During the last decade we have changed our school law, and therefore our standards, so that now we have

MT. PLEASANT HIGH SCHOOL, SANPETE COUNTY, UTAH

free, uniform text books, uniform state examinations for teachers, uniform examinations for eighth grade pupils, school libraries, better organized county teachers' institutes, a committee to pre- pare a state course of study, county consolidation of districts, a committee to approve school house plans, and medical inspection in city schools. Now our high schools receive state aid when they reach such standard of efficiency as is prescribed by the State Board of Education. Ten years ago, an eighth grade graduate was eligible for examination for a teaching certificate. Now four years of accredited high school work and at least nine hours in the professional subjects are required for entrance to the exam- ination. The requirements for state certificates and diplomas have been greatly increased. A state high school diploma then represented scarcely more than one year's work of college grade. Now a full college course or its undisputed equivalent is required.

916

IMPROVEMENT ERA

Corresponding increases have been made in the requirements for grammar grade diplomas and state five year certificates. Largely through these requirements the schools have grown in influence and efficiency. They are not perfect, but they are responding in an encouraging manner to our necessities and to the praiseworthy ideals of our people.

[Superintendent A. C. Nelson, who has faithfully and efficiently served Utah as Superintendent of Public Instruction since the year 1900, is a man who stands as well with the leaders in education in the United States as in our own State. Here is what Carrol G. Pearse, Superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, wrote last August: "Mr. Nelson is known to me, as he is to all the men engaged in school work throughout the country, as a splendid type of western educational leader, a man who commands the respect of all his associates through- out the country; and who is regarded by them with the warmest feel- ing of personal friendship."

M. G. Brumbaugh, Ph. D., LL. D., Superintendent City Schools, Philadelphia, says of our state superintendent: "I count Superintend- ent Nelson one of the kingly men in the profession, able, alert, pro- gressive, sane, and lovable."

G. H. Harris, State Superintendent of Louisiana, writes: "I consider Superintendent Nelson one of the strongest superintendents in this country. He is so considered by thousands of men who annu- ally attend the N. E. A." — The Editors.]

A SCENE IN EMIGRATION CANYON THE RAILWAY WINDING

OVER THE HILLS

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Organization and Government of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

BY JOSEPH B. KEELER, OF THE BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

"In the founding of his over-hated Church, Joseph Smith displayed a consistent genius for organization and government that has baffled the best conceived plans of enemies, bent on undoing his work, during three generations, and half of a fourth."

That is the opinion of a non-"Mormon" writer, Doctor Webb, who recently gave a lengthy review of some of the doctrines and policies advanced by the prophet Joseph Smith, founder of the religious organization known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many other outsiders all down the line have in effect expressed the same judgment as this commentator. It is taken for granted, therefore, that any phases or particulars couched within the caption of this article would be alike interest- ing to the young "Mormon" as well as to the uninformed outsider.

/ — Source of Authority for Organization

At the outset, it should be said of Joseph Smith that he never claimed to have originated that form of church government so often ascribed to him ; it was not an emanation of his brain. He ever and persistently proclaimed that he was simply a human agent under the Almighty, in whatever he advocated either as law, religious principle, or as sociological doctrine. The "Mormons" themselves thoroughly believe this, however others may question its truth.

The world of mankind first began to know Joseph Smith when he announced that the heavens had been opened to him and he beheld two glorious personages, God the eternal Father, and his Son Jesus Christ. This event occurred in his fifteenth year, as he prayed fervently to know which church he should join. At intervals from this time on, from 1820 to the day of his death, 1844, he claimed communion with holy angels and to be constantly guided by Divine Providence pertaining to social and religious matters. The scope of this article precludes details of history showing the process of development of church government as a practical instrument by which a people have secured much of this world's comforts and a hope of happiness for the future. But two very important events must be mentioned.

GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH

919

77 — Heavenly Messengers Restore the Priesthood

When a man starts out to set up a church in the name of Christ, he ought to give some reasonable explanation for his au- thority in such procedure. This Joseph Smith did. He asserts that in May, 1829, no less a personage than John the Baptist, now a heavenly messenger, conferred upon himself and Oliver Cowdery the Aaronic Priesthood, which delegated the keys of the minister- ing of angels, the right to proclaim the doctrine of repentance,

and to baptize by immersion for the remission of sins. Shortly after this, three an- cient apostles, Peter, James and John, being commissioned of God, conferred the higher or Melchizedek Priesthood. This latter endowment in- cludes the apostleship and gives authority to build up the kingdom of God in the world ; this priesthood also compre- hends all spiritual powers and keys necessary to be exercised for the salvation of mankind.

Ill — Foundation Stones of Government Laid

With this authority, on April 6, 1830, in the little town of Fayette, New York, the Prophet proceeded to or- ganize the Church. It started with six members — a few others were present. The first foundation stones of the new government were firmly laid. It was definitely stated to those present, that the method of organizing and the form of the organi- zation itself were in conformity to a command of God. The new Church members were asked if they were willing to accept Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery "as their teachers in the things of the Kingdom of God," to which proposition they all voted affirma- tively. ' "And all things shall be done by common consent," is a command to the Church. This doctrine, then followed, has been strictly adhered to from that first day to the present. There can be no foisting of men or measures onto the organization. Every

JOSEPH B. KEELER

920 IMPROVEMENT ERA

officer from president to deacon, must stand the test of a vote of the people, at least once a year. Even the revelations to the Church from the living Oracles (the leading authorities of the Church) must first be accepted and approved by the body before they are operative. Tn these matters the greatest freedom is ac- corded to all members, women voting with the men. It should be a self-evident proposition that no law, either human or divine, can be effective without its free and intelligent acceptance by those who are to obey it.

IV — The Mclchizcdck Priesthood — and Offices Arising Therefrom

The primary offices of the Melchizedek or Higher Priesthood are those of Patriarch, High Priest, Apostle, Seventy, Elder. By virtue of his office and calling the President of the Church is President of the High Priesthood. From the body of High Priests, at present numbering over ten thousand, all the general officers are chosen, including also patriarchs, stake presidencies, and ward bishoprics. The subdivisions of this body of priesthood number sixty-four, corresponding with the number of organized stakes (or geographical divisions) of Zion ; except, however, the priesthood in the mission fields are not regularly organized in quorums but meet generally for instruction and work. The High Priests, as a rule, are men of long service, mature years, and are usually well versed in principle, doctrine, and government. Most of them have performed missions, have traveled extensively, and have clone service in the offices below their own grade ; and, withal, are men of dignity, being rounded out by careers of varied experiences.

V — The First Presidency — Some of Their Powers and Duties

The office of President of the Church is elective. The Presi- dent is first selected by the council of Twelve Apostles, from among the High Priests, himself a High Priest ; then at a general conference held in Salt Lake City, semi-annually, also at stake conferences, held four times each year, at the headquarters of each stake, he is by vote "upheld by the confidence, faith and prayer of the Church." He has associated with him two Counselors who are chosen in a similar manner, and the three compose the First Presidency. Connected with this high office is the endowment and confirmation of prophet, seer, and revelator. The powers and duties of the First Presidency are co-extensive with the Church. To summarize the revelation designating their powers, it says they are "to receive the oracles," or revelations, "for the whole church ;" they hold the keys of all the spiritual blessing of the Church ; they "have the privilege of receiving the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven — to have the heavens opened unto them, to

GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 921

commune with the general assembly and Church of the First Born, and to enjoy the communion and presence of God the Father, and Jesus Christ the Mediator of the new covenant."

VI — The Marriage Covenant

The President is the only person who holds the keys of that priesthood which includes the eternity of the marriage covenant. Church marriages are solemnized only in temples, and only to the few who officiate therein is this power delegated. The Church, however, recognizes marriage under the civil law, but it does not encourage members to marry for time, yet some do. The per- petuity and strength of any government depends largely upon the esteem in which the marriage contract is held by its people. In the light of "Mormon" doctrine, "Man, in his fulness, is a two- fold organization — male and female. Either being incapable of filling the measure of its creation alone, it requires the union of the two to complete man in the image of God. Outside of mar- riage, the salvation of man is incomplete." This idea of per- manency of the marriage bond, enduring not only for time but for eternity, has a wonderful effect on the integrity of the home — which fact may be attested, in one way, by the very small per- centage of divorces. The statistics of 1912 show but fifty-three divorces after Church marriages ; the year previous showed fifty- two divorces for the whole organization.

VII— Temples, and Vicarious Work for the Dead

Another distinctive function which attaches to the office of the First Presidency is that of building temples, and the direction of the work therein. The first edifice of this kind was built in Kirtland, Ohio ; the next in Nauvoo, Illinois ; and four others have been erected in Utah, and one is now being constructed in Alberta, Canada. Paul's question to the Corinthian Saints, "Why are they then baptized for the dead?" is receiving a practical answer in the temples. A vicarious work for dead ancestors is constantly going on. Up to date deceased persons numbering over two mil- lions have had the ordinance of baptism performed for them. Many of these have had the endowment of the priesthood ; hus- bands and wives have been sealed in the marriage covenant, and other ordinances have been administered by living relatives and friends. Ordinances and covenants under the gospel necessary to salvation which may be embraced by the living, may also be applied to the dead, by proxy, in the temples. To keep this work going requires a great deal of time and means of members who labor for others, and a vast outlay by the Church for construction and maintenance.

922 IMPROVEMENT ERA

VIII — The Tzvelvc Apostles — Ambassadors of Christ to the World

Ranking next in authority and official position to the First Presidency, is the Council of Twelve Apostles. The duty of its members is to preach the Gospel to the world, to send it to all people, and to bear testimony of Jesus Christ, as living witnesses of His divine mission. The senior member is president. Under the direction of the First Presidency they have charge of the mis- sionary work of the Church.

At present twenty-one missions are established ; and they comprise all of the United States (outside of what is known as the stakes of Zion), parts of Mexico, all of the countries of Eu- rope, except Russia, Spain, Greece and Turkey ; the South African mission, embracing all the civilized parts of the continent of Africa, except the northern part; practically all of the Pacific Islands, including Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. About one thousand missionaries are sent annually to the various parts of the world. These are taken from any and all occupations. They go on missions without salary, providing their own means of support, sometimes being assisted by friends, the Church pay- ing only their transportation home. Their terms of service are about two to three years. These missionaries are imbued with a sincere love for their fellowmen, and manifest a patriotic devo- tion to God and to everything for which the Church stands.

IX — The Quorums of Seventy — "The Minute Men"

The body of priesthood standing next to the Apostles are the Seventies. These are elders whose special calling is to do actual service in the missionary field ; they are the "minute men" of the Church. The last enumeration, (1912), placed their number at 10,442. They also are organized into groups or quorums of seventy members, (when complete) and each quorum is presided over by seven presidents, one senior and six associates. There are now organized one hundred fifty-nine quorums. A council of seven presidents has the supervision over these quorums, and looks after the details of their labors ; the council being, of course, under the general direction of the Council of Apostles.

X — The Elders — The Home Ministry

In a class below the High Priests is the great body of Elders, numbering 25,320 men. These are mostly young men. Their calling primarily is to assist the High Priests and to do service at home, not abroad, though thousands of them do go upon foreign missions. Those who are residing in stakes are organized into quorums of ninety-six Elders each (as near as may be) having a presidency of three of their -nvn number as head. At present

GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 923

there are 329 quorums, and in this capacity they are engaged in systematic work, first by acquiring theological and sociological information, and second by active service among the people.

It may be remarked in passing that all of the quorums are similarly engaged, systematically pursuing educational courses — studying the scriptures, history, social questions, government, and many other things that make for efficiency in their respective lines of work. In fact, it may be truthfully said of the member- ship of all the quorums taken together, numbering 84,406, that they form one immense college or "school of the prophets."

XI — The Stakes of Zion

Stakes of Zion are territorial, and governmental divisions of the Church. In form of organization they correspond mainly to the Church as a whole. At the head is a presidency of three High Priests; then a High Council of twelve men, Elders' quorums, and presiding boards of Relief Societies, Sunday Schools, Young Men's and Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associations, Primary Associations, and Religion Classes. The population of the Church, which in round numbers approximates half a million, is organized into stakes, wards, and missions. The sixty-four stakes now established are distributed in Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Alberta, Canada.

XII — The Local or Ward Organization

The ward organization is a subdivision of the stake, and its presidency is a bishopric — a bishop and two counselors. Here may be observed the real life and activity of the people. It is so perfectly organized that each man, woman, and child almost daily feels the influence of its agency in their religious, moral and intel- lectual life. Often, also, through this medium are many of the secular or temporal needs of the members looked after and pro- vided for. The population of a ward ranges from about 300 to 1,500, and there are now organized 720 of these miniature gov- ernments, and they are continually multiplying. The bishopric of the ward presides over the Aaronic Priesthood divided into quorums of Priests, Teachers, and Deacons. In membership, these quorums separately when complete number 12 deacons, 24 teachers, and 48 priests, with a presidency of three presiding over each group. The membership of the Aaronic Priesthood for the whole Church is 7,578 priests, with 258 quorums ; 9,778 teachers, with 298 quorums ; 20.608 deacons, with 797 quorums ; or a total of 37,764 holding the lesser priesthood. The Improvement Era is the organ of these quorums.

All the quorums or parts of quorums meet weekly in each ward to study the principles of the gospel and to learn of their

924 IMPROVEMENT ERA

duties in the Church, under teachers called for that purpose. The educational value of this training in spiritual and practical religion can not be overestimated. All instruction is free.

XIII — Auxiliary Organizations — "Helps in Government"

There are six other organizations forming an integral part of Church government which are not councils or quorums of the Priesthood, but which are auxiliary to it and under it. They are "helps in government" in the various bishops' wards, missions and branches of the Church. The frame-work of each organization is three-fold, consisting of a General Board, a Stake Board, and a Ward Board ; the latter board presiding directly over the member- ship in a ward or other jurisdiction. In their operations they are subordinate to the ward, the stake, and the general authorities. Naming them in their chronological order they are : ( 1 ) the Relief Society; (2) the Sunday School; (3) the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association ; (4) the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association; (5) the Primary Association; and (6) the Religion Class. The titles of these societies pretty well indi- cate their character — they are agencies for education, culture, and benevolence. The number of the separate societies range from 600 to about 750, the Sunday School Union having the largest number of organizations. A few items relating to these societies may be mentioned.

XIV — What the Societies Stand For — What They Are Doing

The Religion class was organized in 1890. The work is the training of children of elementary school age in practical religion and in character-forming habits. The number of pupils at present enrolled is 37,149.

The Primary association was organized in 1878. The object is to promote spiritual development in children, to encourage in- dustrial occupations, and to discourage idleness and careless habits. The age of members is from three years to twelve ; the work is graded. The number enrolled is 63,103. They publish a monthly magazine — the Children's Friend.

The Young Men's Mutual Improvement association was or- ganized in 1875. The object, fundamentally, is to provide a means for self-culture and special advancement in the fields of religious and secular learning ; especially in the latter, through the activity of reading circles, boy scouts, athletics, musical and oratorical contests ; besides each year a course on some phase of sociology, government, ethics, practical religion, or industry, is pursued. Also the object in view, through the activities of the associations, is "to establish in the youth of Zion an individual testimony of the Latter-day Work, to develop the gifts within

GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 925

them, and to cultivate a knowledge and application of the eternal principles of the great science of life." The membership is 33,506 The Improvement Era is the organ of these societies, and is at present in its sixteenth volume, it having succeeded The Contrib- utor which was published seventeen years.

The Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement association was established in 1869. These organizations furnish opportunity for education in the domain of religion, science, history, and of women's work generally. The membership is 33,969. The Gen- eral Board publishes a monthly magazine — The Young Woman's Journal.

The first Sunday School was organized in 1849, in Salt Lake City. The Sunday School Union Board was formed in 1866, and more completely in 1872. The membership of all schools com- bined, is 181,152. The Juvenile Instructor has been published regularly since 1866, and is the exponent of this organization.

XV — The Relief Society — Among the Oldest of Women's

Organizations

"I now turn the key for women," said the Prophet Joseph Smith, on the 17th day of March, 1842, when he organized the Relief Society and sent it forth on its mission of love. It has a membership of 33,674, with 720 separate ward societies. Its work in the world is to manifest benevolence to all, to look after the poor, comfort and help the sick and unfortunate, to minister where death reigns, to assist in correcting the morals, and in strengthen- ing the virtues of the community, and to foster among its members a love for education and refinement. It has given for charity during the year just past, in round numbers, $36,000 ; it has now stored in granaries and elevators many thousands of bushels of wheat for bread in cases of extreme want or famine. But, as another has said, "written words could no more tell the magnifi- cent work of members of the Relief Society than they could de- scribe the perfume of a flower or the song of a meadow lark ; for, like ministering angels, they comfort the sorrowful, relieve the distressed, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, wait upon the sick, scattering glad news and cheer along their daily work, giving in true Christian spirit, letting not the left hand know what the right hand doeth." There are about 100 societies in the missions.

XVI — Courts — Regular and Special

One of the three departments of government is the judicial. A complete system of courts is established, which give final and authoritative interpretation and application of the laws of the Church wherein members are charged with or found guilty of unrighteous conduct, breaches of discipline, of apostasy, and the

926 IMPROVEMENT ERA

like. In case of transgression neither layman nor officer, high or low, is exempt from their authority. These courts may be divided into two classes, regular and special. The regular courts are : ( 1 ) the ward bishop's court, or common court, the bishop acting as judge, assisted by his counselors; (2) the Stake High Council, composed of the Stake Presidency, and twelve High Priests, having original and appellate jurisdiction. In form of organization it approaches the ancient Jewish Sanhedrin; (3) the Council of the First Presidency. The special courts are: (1) the Presiding Bishop's court; (2) the Council of High Priests abroad ; and (3) the Traveling High Council of the Twelve Apos- tles.

The extreme penalty that may be inflicted is severance from Church membership. Members are counseled to adjust and settle difficulties which they may have one with another, between them- selves. Failing in this, two of the "peacemakers" of the Church — the Teachers — are called to their aid who help to conciliate and arbitrate the trouble. If these agencies fail, the case may be taken to the bishop's court, where an impartial hearing, devoid of tech- nicalities, is had. Should either of the parties feel that the de- cision is unjust, he may appeal to the High Council, where fifteen men will sit on the case ; and even from this high tribunal an appeal may be taken to the Council of the First Presidency, for a review of the whole proceedings. All of this is without cost to either party, the only object in view is to mete out justice and equity to everyone.

XVII — Aaronia or Lesser Priesthood — Office of the Presiding Bishopric — Some Activities Mentioned

One more important organic feature of government is yet to be mentioned — the office of Presiding Bishopric, consisting of bishop and two counselors. They are the general board of the Aaronic Priesthood of the Church. Aside from a general super- vision of the educational and social activities. of the Lesser Priest- hood, their chief function is the direction and management of temporal or business affairs of the Church under the direction of the First Presidency. A few of the things that are being done by the Church through the medium of this office may be briefly mentioned :

The tithing, (one-tenth of the net income), voluntarily con- tributed by the people, is collected and disbursed, as well as other revenues, through the Presiding Bishop's office, and local offices in the various wards and missions.

Once a month, in the respective wards, fast meetings are held ; in these assemblies fast offerings for the poor are made. Upwards of $60,000 from this source alone was contributed last

GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 927

year. During the same period there was given to the worthy poor $197,000 ; and the number of persons assisted temporarily was 4,930 ; while the number assisted permanently was 12,439, many being non-members. Quick response with generous amounts are often made to people, not considering creed or color, who are overtaken by earthquake, famine, flood, or other disasters.

One of the finest and best equipped hospitals in the West is established in Salt Lake City and is managed through this office. Thousands of dollars of charity treatment is done annually by this institution.

An employment department is conducted through local offices. Its benefits are not restricted to members of the Church ; for the month of April, 1913, for example, there were 139 applications for employment, and 130 positions supplied.

This office also gathers vital statistics, some items of which are interesting. The birth rate shows 59 births per thousand of Church population, which is larger than for the United States as a whole, or than any nation of Europe. Of the women who bore children in 1912, the average in these families is four for each mother. The death rate is 8.4, for the thousand, while the death rate for the United States is about 15 per thousand. The average duration of life taken from deaths reported for 1912, is 35 years.

Twenty-two schools are maintained — three of college grade, and nineteen of secondary grade, with an aggregate registration of about 8,000, maintained at a cost of about half a million dol- lars annually.

The settlement of lands and the providing of homes for its people have always been among the prominent 'activities of the Church ; through its fostering care large tracts in many regions have been redeemed and colonized. At present there is a depart- ment in the Presiding Bishop's Office, the purpose of which is to locate members on land who are unable to help themselves and who wish to obtain homes and engage in farming. In short, under its auspices and by its powers and functions, the Aaronic Priesthood undertakes numerous measures looking to the temporal comfort and well-being of the people.

XVIII— The Final Test

The final test of any religious system holding out salvation to the world must be judged by its power to save men, body and spirit. "Mormonism," so called, embraces the workable doctrine of a temporal salvation, here and now, as well as a soul salvation hereafter. The first part of the proposition should be a matter easily proved, the latter is a matter of faith and individual testi- mony.

PROVO, UTAH

ONE OF THE MOUNTAIN LAKES IN THE COTTONWOODS

On the summits of the Uintah Mountains, in which rise the big rivers of northern Utah — the Weber, the Bear, the Provo, and the Duchesne, are a thousand clear-water lakes like the lake shown here in the Wasatch mountains. Many of the lakes abound in fish. The rivers and creeks draining the Uintahs on the south empty into the Pacific, while those on the north feed the waters of our great inland sea.

The Church Schools

BY GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT HORACE H. CUMMINGS

Some time ago I received a telephone message from a Chi- cago friend who was sojourning in this city, about as follows:

"Mr. and Mrs. L are here from Chicago and I cannot get them

to believe that the 'Mormon' schools are worth calling schools. Won't you come over to the hotel and take luncheon with us, and then con- duct them through the Latter-day Saints' University?"

My Chicago friend was well acquainted with the work done by that school. I gladly accepted the invitation and had a very pleasant visit with them at the luncheon. Both were refined and cultured ; he had acted twenty-two years as State Superintendent of schools in one of the most progressive middle-west states. After luncheon we went to the school for the afternoon, visiting the various classes, the library, the laboratories, and the different departments of work. I explained the various kinds of work to them, the intellectual, the industrial, and the religious, and their relation to each other and their effect upon the pupil, all of which seemed to surprise and interest them very much. They asked many intelligent questions about the school and seemed pleased with what they saw and heard.

I asked Mr. L what he thought of the school. "It is one

of the best, if not the very best high schools I ever saw," he earn- estly replied. This was after we had completed the inspection of the school.

If a man of his intelligence was so far misled by the false statements published against our people, from time to time, how can the less informed be blamed for thinking the "Mormons" are indifferent to education ? It is astonishing how the effect of this misrepresentation persists, in the face of so much evidence to the contrary.

Another error quite widely believed, intended to take the place of this one, when it is counteracted by the knowledge of real conditions, is that our excellent schools are of very recent origin, being brought into existence through the influence of out- side people of education and refinement who have come and set- tled amongst us. Without any conscious feeling of ingratitude for help received from any source whatever, I desire to present a few well-authenticated facts about the educational efforts and development among the Latter-day Saints.

930

IMPROVEMENT ERA

True, the Prophet Joseph Smith was prevented both by age and circumstances from being educated when he began the estab- lishment of the Church ; but the Church had been organized only a trifle over a year when two of the principal elders, William W. Phelps and Oliver Cowdery, were instructed (in June, 1831) "to

do the work of printing, and of select- ing and writ- ing books for the schools in this Church, that littlechilr dren also may receive in- struction be- fore me as is pleasing unto me" (Doc. & Cov. 55:4). In June, 1832, this instruc- tion was re- peated in an article which appeared in the first num- ber of the Evening and Morning Star: "The disciples should lose no time in providing schools for the children that they may

PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

be taught as is pleasing unto the Lord, and brought up in the ways of holiness. * * * It is all-important that to become good they should be taught good."

"The Glory of God is intelligence." "Men cannot be saved in ignorance." "A man is saved no faster than he gets knowl- edge." These sayings and other teachings of the Prophet, to- gether with the facts set forth in the New Testament that the Savior himself had to learn "line upon line and precept upon pre- cept," and "was made perfect by what he suffered," destroyed the old sectarian notion that death-bed repentance and confession

• THE CHURCH SCHOOLS 931

of faith in Jesus, by some miraculous power prepared the sinner at once for celestial glory. Planted in its place came a belief that we must become "perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect," and that this was necessarily through a slow educative process as shown in the life of the Savior himself. Actuated by these teach- ings, the best schools possible have been maintained by the Church. The School of the Prophets and the Elders' school were established, in 1832 and 1833, and did much good in that early day. In August, 1833, the Lord said:

"Behold I say unto you concerning the school in Zion, I, the Lord, am well pleased that there should be a school in Zion, and also with my servant Parley P. Pratt, for he abideth in me; and inasmuch as he continueth to abide in me, he shall continue to preside over the school in the land of Zion until I shall give him other commandments."

The Saints are then commanded to erect a school building in which they can be instructed (See Doc. and Cov. sec. 97). The year 1834 was fraught with much persecution, which interfered very greatly with the schools of the Church. However, it was provided that a school should be opened in the lower portion of a building erected for a printing office (See Church History, Vol. 2, page 169). This school was conducted throughout the winter, and lectures on theology, which furnished an important part of the work, were prepared under direction of the Prophet, and are now found in the Doctrine and Covenants under the title, "Lectures on Faith." Concerning the Kirtland school, William E. McLellan made the following report, dated February 27, 1835 :

"The school has been conducted under the immediate care and in- spection of Joseph Smith, Jr., Frederick G. Williams, Sidney Rigdon, and Oliver Cowdery, trustees. When the school first commenced, we received into it both large and small, but in about three weeks the classes became so large and the house so crowded that it was thought advisable to dismiss all the small students and continue those only who wished to study penmanship, arithmetic, English grammar, and geography. Before we dismissed the small pupils, there were, in all, about 130 who attended. Since that time we have had upon an average of 100, the most of whom have received lectures upon English gram- mar; and for the last four weeks, about 70 have been studying geog- raphy one-half of the day and grammar and writing the other part. Burdick's Arithmetic, Kirkham's Grammar, and Olney's Geography have been used. The Noah Webster's Dictionary is standard. Since the year 1827 I have taught schools in five different states and visited many schools which I was not engaged to teach in. In none, I can say with certainty, have I seen students make more rapid progress than in this."

932

IMPROVEMENT ERA

A Hebrew school was also taught in Kirtland during the winter by Prof. Joshua Seixas, who was engaged to teach seven weeks for three hundred and twenty dollars. Several classes were organized and great interest was aroused in the study of ancient languages. Other branches were also taught, a singing school being an important de- partment. The next ten years was a stormy time in the history of the Church. Persecution in- terfered very much with school activities. From Ohio and Missouri the Saints were driven and settled in Nauvoo, Illi- nois, and there soon es- tablished thriving col- onies, schools being anl important, ever-present feature. On December 10, 1840, Gov. Thomas1 Carlin, of Illinois, signed the charter for the Uni- versity of the City of Nauvoo. Adults, as well as children, attended these schools, and every effort was made to im- part information and make it general among the people.

The Saints were final- ly driven from their beautiful city, in 1846, and a brave little band

of one hundred and forty-three pioneers piloted the way across the desert into the Salt Lake valley, arriving there July 24, 1847. The first few weeks were used in planting crops for themselves and others about to follow and preparing shelter for their fam- ilies. As soon as practicable a school was started by Miss Mary Jane Dil worth (Hammond). A few weeks later, when the frosts of winter lessened the outside work, a larger school was estab- lished under the direction of Julian Moses, who was the first male teacher in Utah. From this small beginning, the system of pub- lic schools gradually grew. Within two years and a half a state university was chartered by the Utah legislature. At first a tui- tion was charged students of the university as well as the pupils

DR. KARL G. MAESER, FIRST PRINCIPAL BRIGHAM YOUNG ACADEMY

THE CHURCH SCHOOLS

932

of the elementary schools, but as population and wealth increased, they all became free. A most excellent system of public schools was thus provided by the "Mormons" who have always gladly maintained and patronized them and done all in their power to render them efficient.

As religion was not taught in public schools, the Church con tinued the original practice of maintaining Church schools. The Brigham Young Acad- emy was founded at Provo, October 16, 1875. The Brigham Young College, at * Logan, two years later. The latter was endowed by its found- er, whose name it bears, with a valuable tract of land near the city of Logan. The deed of trust grant- ing this endowment provided that besides the usual subjects taught in colleges, the curriculum of this school should include /instructions in what are now known as agriculture, manual training and mechanic art, domestic science, domestic art, branches which were not taught in other institutions at that time, but which have since become so important.

Under the wise direction of the General Church Board of Education, during the next decade, a system of Church schools was established in the principal stakes of Zion. An academy to do high school work was established in each of the most popu- lous stakes and a seminary for elementary work in the more wealthy wards. In all these schools, besides the branches taught in the public schools of like grade, theology was required and the spirit and atmosphere of the schools made to conform to the ideals of the Church as far as possible.

The seminaries, however, did not continue many years be-

HORACE H. CUM MINGS, GENERAL SUPER- INTENDENT L. D. S. SCHOOLS

934

IMPROVEMENT ERA

cause of the great expense to educate the vast number of chil- dren of elementary school age, but the academies still persist, though several discontinued during the financial depression of the early nineties.

Dr. Karl G. Maeser, the first principal of the Brigham Young Academy, was also chosen as the first General Superintendent of

MAESER MEMORIAL BUILDING, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

the Church schools, and under the guidance of the General Church Board of Education, the peculiarities of the present school system were developed. He had great ability both as a teacher and an organizer, and he originated many excellent features that still are peculiar to our Church schools, and have proven to be of the highest value. His labors seemed timely, for the growth of the Church and the increased number of its schools demanded a more thorough systematization, and his peculiar ability had a unique field in which to operate.

Surely a people who willingly taxed themselves to maintain a double system of schools could not be said to be indifferent to matters of education.

The problem of financing the Church schools has always been a serious one, and in times of business panics and during early persecutions, it has several times become desperate. In many instances, the devoted teachers have willingly given their services free, as missionaries, or for half pay or for whatever the people

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936

IMPROVEMENT ERA

could give them ; since the only sources of revenue are the tithes and voluntary contributions of the people.

Latter-day Saints regret the present general dearth of reli- gious training for the young, for moral training cannot be entirely successful without religion. The three great forces that the

jC^b

UINTAH ACADEMY, VERNAL UTAH

Christian world depends upon for moral and religious results are the home, the church, and the school.

The modifications in home life have been so srreat and so

SNOW ACADEMY AND GYMNASIUM, EPHRAIM, SANPETE CO., UTAH

THE CHURCH SCHOOLS

937

rapid during recent years that methods of moral training there have not kept pace with them, and are now inadequate to meet the needs and conditions in most homes. When each family pro- duced most of what it consumed, each member had some task which contributed to the welfare of all ; family ties and home influences, then, were strong. Morning and evening prayer, Bible reading, and practical exhortations to right conduct, were common exercises around the family hearth. Now, the factory,

WEBER ACADEMY, ON AN ARBOR DAY, OGDEN

shop, department store and office separate the family after_ a hasty breakfast, perhaps too early for younger members to join. Conditions are no more favorable for the family devotional exer- cises at the irregular hours of assembling in the evening. De- mands of business upon the father and of society upon the mother divert their interests, in a measure, from the home, with the result that the number of children as well as the quality of parenta training is rapidly diminishing. Modern society is in such a whirl of business and work and fashion and pleasure that the training of the children receives too little attention.

The public school is no longer opened with any form of devo- tional exercises. Many of the teachers and pupils never pray. No religious instruction can be given lest the schools become sec- tarian Even Christmas exercises are fast becoming Christless.

938

IMPROVEMENT ERA

While most schools are conducive to morality, the instructions along these lines are so indistinct and general that they fail to develop the sturdy integrity of the founders of our nation, who knew the New Testament by heart, having learned it in the public school.

To my mind, the differentiation that has grown up amongst us as to the religious and the secular incducation is most unfortu- nate. I love to think that all the principles of education are both religious and secular. Not one of them could be spared from so- ciety or from the Church. Either would suffer irreparable loss if deprived of training in language, mathematics or science, as it would without truthfulness, charity or virtue. The multiplica-

G1LA ACADEMY, THATCHER, ARIZ.

tion table is as essential to salvation as is faith or baptism. As well might we think of an unreformed thief in the kingdom of heaven as an uninstructed ignoramus. The so-called religious cannot say to the so-called secular, "We have no need of thee." "Be ye perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect" is the task assigned us, and we should not only acquire the divine attri- butes of His heart but attain unto the knowledge which is in Him.

The child is a unit and should develop as a unit. All his pow- ers and attributes must be trained in proper season or the pro- duct will be unbalanced and unsatisfactory, if not positively dan- gerous. Neither the head, the hand, nor the heart must be neg- lected. Church schools, in preparing for this all-around develop-

THE CHURCH SCHOOLS

939

ment of their students, use on the intellectual side the same text books as are used in the best public high schools. Their curricu- lum contains the same courses of study. The teachers are certifi- cated with the same requirements as those of the public schools. Their libraries, laboratories, and other equipment are equal, and in many cases superior, to those of the public schools, and every effort is made to insure that the training of the students of our schools shall not fall below that of the best standard high schools.

Industrial education was provided for even before Dr. Wood- ward started, in St. Louis, the first manual training school of the United States. We have been leaders in this work. The products of our industrial departments are always of a high order, except in the smaller schools, where efficiency can not always be ob- tained.

The following will give an idea of the number, and distribu- tion of our schools, and interesting statistical information con- cerning them :

SCHOOL

B. Y. University

B. Y. College

Big Horn Academy

Cassia Stake Academy- Emery Stake Academy- Fielding Academy

Gila Academy

Knight Academy

L. D. S. University

Murdock Academy

Millard Stake Academy.. Oneida Stake Academy.. _

Ricks Academy

San Luis Stake Academy.

Snow Academy

Snowflake Stake Academy Summit Stake Academy..

St. George Academy

St. Johns Academy

Uintah Academy

Weber Academy

Juarez Academy

Diaz Seminary

Dublan Seminary

Pacheco Seminary

Morelos Seminary

Chuichupa Seminary

Garcia Seminary

Oaxaca Seminary

Guadalupe Seminary

San Jose Morelos

Provo, Ut.

Logan, Ut.

Cowley, Wyo. Oakley, Ida. CastleDale, Ut. Paris, Ida.

Thatcher, Ariz. Raymond,

Al'ta, Canada Salt Lake, Ut. Beaver, Ut. Hinckley, Ut. Preston, Ida. Rexburg, Ida. Manassa, Colo. Ephraim, Ut. Snowflake, Ariz. Coalville, Ut. St. George, Ut. St. Johns, Ariz. Vernal, Ut. Ogden, Ut.

Juarez, *Mex. Col. Diaz, " Col. Dublan," Col. Pacheco" Col. Morelos " Col.Chu'pa, " Col.Carcia, " Col. Oaxaca," Col.Guada. " Col. Morelos "

w

Oct. 16, 1875 July, 1877 1909 July 25, 1888 1890 1884 1888

1909

1897 1890

1906 Nov. 5, 1888 Nov. 30, 1888

1910 1

188S 1888

1909

1409 540 120 158 136 208 174

150

1146

215

125

242

333

101

305

107

64

234

101

193

485

228

228

389

127

201

84

103

51

30

25

8012 233

03 « EH

S-o

*&

109

3 >•

584

13000 IO00 350 208 1000 1725 1270

200

5975

3000

550

1600

2150

575

1185

640

650

700

315

655

3000

220

220

40

104

50

160

PI

$116,000

61,900

4,630

7,000

6.80C

12,900

10,003

11,000

62,000

13,000

9,000

10,500

15,303

7,200

15,500

6.000

5.000

6,250

4,203

7,000

25,030

11,000

} 12,000

48542 $439,180

•The statistics from the schools in Mexico are taken from reports two years ago, as the war down there has closed all of them during 1912-13, and some suspended during 1911-12.

The regular courses in theology consist of the careful study of the Book of Mormon, New Testament, Old Testament, and

940

IMPROVEMENT ERA

Church History. Besides this, a domestic organization is main- tained. Pupils are responsible to the schools for their conduct at all times. The regulations of the school prohibit the use of tea, coffee, liquor, tobacco, profanity and late hours. Students are also impressed with the necessity of attending to their various religious duties conscientiously. Great care is used to make the atmosphere of the school harmonize with the ideals of the Church. Most of the schools have missionary classes in which young men who take this course become acquainted with the doctrines of the Church, and so far as possible they are given practice to prepare them for their actual labors in the mission. In teaching the other branches — science, history, literature, etc. — care is taken to establish a natural correlation with theological work and forestall an unbelief in the gospel. In fact, the course of training in the Church schools is so devised as to call into frequent action the mental, spiritual, and physical attributes of the students, and to develop them as best we can into well-balanced, consistent manhood and womanhood.

ANCIENT CLIFF DWELLINGS, SAN JUAN COUNTY, UTAH

The "Mormon" Finance System

BY CHARLES W. NIBLEY, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

The system of revenue of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is of itself something remarkable. It is a free