Page:History of Public School Education in Arizona.djvu/22

16 As a matter of fact, however, the conditions were much better than the above would indicate. The few families living here and there on individual ranches may be ignored educationally, for they were lucky if they escaped with their lives. But most of the settlers lived in small towns or villages, in communities that were convenient to farming or mining operations, and with them the beginnings of a public-school system were possible. As McCrea points out, in several of the mining camps there were enough Mexican children to start a school, but there were no buildings, books, or teachers. Half the population spoke no English; few of the children had ever seen a school; and while the more intelligent of both races were anxious for schools, the great mass of the people were not only indifferent, but sometimes even hostile.

Perhaps what these people needed most was educational leadership. This they did not have. Gov. Goodwin went out of office after one year; Gov. McCormick was more interested in exploiting the natural resources; and it was not until the time of Gov. Safford that the schools might feel that their educational Moses had arisen.

Of the law of 1868, of the work of Gov. McCormick, and of the schools and school prospects in general, McCrea says:

The administration of the new school law rested on the slow-moving boards of supervisors, and on a county superintendent of schools elected by the people, but whose compensation was in the supervisors’ hands. The schools were to be supported entirely by local taxes, which were limited in amount, and must be raised by the people of the respective districts. I do not know whence this school law was obtained, but it was entirely unsuited to a people who had no training in local self-government. The people of Arizona have not even yet learned the valuable lesson of partially supporting their schools by local taxes, and rarely levy special taxes upon districts except to meet the expense of erecting new school buildings.

While there was enough authority in the law to provide schools, there was as yet nothing to create a strong desire for them. Gov. McCormick had done much to advance the material interests of the Territory, but founding schools was not his forte. What the people most needed was an educational leader, and he was soon to be supplied. * * * The Federal Census of 1870 supplies the background of the seemingly hopeless picture. The large foreign element, mainly Mexican, would lead us to expect a startling illiteracy. Few children attended any kind of school. The professions were hardly represented at all. The Territory had but one newspaper—The Arizona Miner—at Prescott, with a circulation of 280 copies; though a second paper, the Arizona Citizen, was founded at Tucson that year. No Protestant Church had yet been founded, though there had been some missionary effort. The Catholic Church was strong, and was soon able to begin founding parochial schools and convents. The situation from an educational standpoint was bad enough. The only redeeming feature was the fact that the Territory had no debt, and the counties but a slight one. Some property had been accumulated by the limited