Page:History of Public School Education in Arizona.djvu/140

134 source is increasing from year to year and bids fair in the future to become in itself so important that it will go far toward maintaining the school system.

The trend of progress may be shown by statistics from 1880 to date, which in the case of this State cover practically the whole field of its history.

These tables when interpreted mean that there was an absolute increase in the number of illiterates in the State at each census from 1880 to 1910, inclusive; that this increase was nearly 13 per cent when measured in per cents, and in actual numbers was 21,465 greater in 1900 than in 1890; that only in the decade beginning with 1900 did the Territory recover its equilibrium, for in 1910 the total illiteracy had been reduced by 8.1 per cent, but the per cent is still greater than in 1880 and the State yet has a great work before it.

That while the number of white illiterates is now three times as great as in 1880, in percentage it is a little less than one-half as great; that while the number of illiterate foreigners was greater in 1910 than in 1880 by 10,259, in per cents it is less than 5 per cent greater than in 1880 and is 11 per cent less than 1890; that Negro illiterates have decreased steadily both in number and per cents; that while the number of illiterates between 10 and 20 years of age has increased from 1,659 to 7,146, the per cent has decreased from 24.7 to 18 per cent.

While these figures taken by themselves would seem to indicate that in some respects the State is doing little more than holding its own, it will be noticed that when 1900 and 1910 are compared the progress of the last decade becomes clearly visible, and most of the best work of the State has even been done since the last census was taken. The progress of the young State, as compared with the Territorial period, may be briefly summarized as follows:

With the better articulation that has obtained in recent years the educational institutions have developed rapidly, and the normal schools and university are now in a fair way to supply the State