Show REMARKS bev present GEORGE A smith delivered w in the them nem new salt lake my aty monday i morning Ino abtil 81 8 1872 1870 REPORTED BY B X D W EVANS EVAMS I 1 AU air gratified in the enjoyment of the privilege of continuing our conference and rejoice in the instructions and testimonies of the elders which have been given dur ing the two days past there are a few subjects I 1 feet anxious to lay jay before the brethren and sisters I 1 should be glad had I 1 strength and opportunity to explain many things more minutely I 1 feel that god is with us but that a great and fearful responsibility rests upon our heads in order that we may be prepared to enjoy ejot the blessings of our high and holy calling we should be diligent humble faithful and constantly unite our powers of mind to magnify our priesthood one great ro which rests upon us is the education of our children the proper forming of their minds and understand ings not only in the ordinary branches of education but in the principles of our holy religion I 1 understand from the reports of mr robert bobert L campbell superintendent of bf common schools for the territory that there are about thirty thousand school children in the territory between the ages of of four and SIX sixteen sixie leen LeOU en rhe nho rho the accompanying statistical table shows that ahat there are school districts in the terri tory twenty rive nive of which have faded to re port there are schools anda tea teacher teachers chers cherb the the school population reported la Is 2873 01 ol 01 which per eurol enrol enrolled tedi ledi witti with an actual attendance of 6 percent per cent schools generally are sustained by tuition lees leeg which range iram inam two and a half dollars to eight dollars per quarter of cf St Prin of cf kahoot for uta Terr Terri eary earv 1872 our golden neighbors neigh bors bora here in nevada who have for several years enjoyed all the benefits alid arid blessings accruing to common schools from a state government have about four thousand if I 1 am rightly informed and 10 doubt with the means which they possess they are enabled to get up tip excellent schools it appears to be a portion of the policy of the national government never to do anything for schools in a territory when a territory becomes a state the policy of congress in years past and it will probably continue to be so in years to come has been to extend liberal privileges and immunities muni ties in the donation of lands and of the per cents from the sales or of public lands within the state for educational purposes the support of common schools and universities matias this parsimonious policy to wards territories may be an enlightened lino ono and it may not having lived in a territory most of my ilfe life lif 1 11 I 1 may not be considered a V toper proper marud judge 9 1 suffice it to say however that so far as legislation for education is concerned or any encourage ment or assistance extended from the united states to the people of the territories their children must be raised in absolute ignorance the result Is that whatever progress Is made or Im improvement attained in these directions in the territories is due entirely to the energy enterprise so and enlightenment lighten ment of the inhabitants the hardy pioneers who break the ground make the roads fight the indians indiana and create the state the report of the superintendent of common schools for this territory goes to show not only that there are about thirty thousand school children but that they have attended school a greater portion of the time than is sometimes reported in the new states and in some ortho of the older ones where they have all the advantages granted py by the general government this speaks well for the pioneers of utah it Is a proud record and one of which the latter day saints may justly boast it is true that most of our oar schools are simply primary schools but from what I 1 have seen while visiting a good many of them I 1 know they are vastly superior to schools which I 1 attended more or less in my earlier years in other states and Terrt territories tories I 1 lam am proud of these facts but at the sam bama time there is a groat great deal in our system that is not by any means up to the mark all that has k been done has been done voluntarily the school laws of utah terri tenil territory tory authorise districts to establish free schools if they choose to do so by a two thirds vote or of the inhabitants of the district and a number of districts have adopted this system with satisfactory results otherwise the schools are aro by the tuition fees of the pupils with the exception that taxes are generally levied on the property in the school districts to assist to build school I 1 houses and to supply a portion of the ex benses and extend some little aid to the morg more indigent that all may have the eriv liege of going to school A general free school system has not been inaugurated pana fand and ana any man who will coolly deliberately and wisely consider the condition assoil 1 ati tins cius and changeable lature ot of the government of our oar territory will see the wis wig dam dom of not entering upon such a cyst system until lit it can au be doua dono under the regulations aud and g privileges leges which a state government won would bring at least thatis that la my judg ment meat on the subject though we have advocates for the establishment of a general free school system now I 1 want to say in relation to this that perhaps there are counties where such a system might be a adopted 0 ted with ith advantage but if it were adopted adolte rene gene generally raily rally throughout the territory it aou would have to contend with difficulties difficult les ies and dangers which I 1 would wish to avoid As I 1 am ani not here hare to deliver a political s I 1 shall not of course undertake to explain what these are I 1 will simply refer you to certain little difficult difficulties lon ion that have occurred in neighboring states in relation to the handling of school funds and other important items which show the delicacy of these matters unless they are in the nanda bands of the most cost reliable men who are absolutely responsible to the tue people by whom they are appointed and elected I 1 feel satisfied notwithstanding this good record that there is a very groat great necessity for the minds minda of many people to be stirred up in relation to the education or of their children the building of good healthy well ventilated schoolhouses school houses and the sending of the children to school providing suitable books and seat I 1 remember once in a new now country going into a schoolhouse I 1 and finding nind find ang the children packed almost like herrings in a box some soine on the floor some on seats little uttie fellows with short legs sitting on high benches and all breathing air that perhaps might not inaptly be compared to that of oatha the black hole hoie of 0 calcutta A couple of men ignorant even of the most simple principles of ventilation ti were laboring to teach these children and I 1 have sometimes taken the liberty to carry a carpen carpenters tees saw into a school to saw off the legs of the benches to make them a proper bight to correspond with the length of the ehll ehli childrens drene legs for I 1 do des plse pise the idea of putting small children upon a high bench and large children upon a low one I 1 aru arn am atu very tery fond of seeing straight erect well formed boys and girls and in three months month a little inattention on the part of teachers trustees and school superintendents in matters of this kind will crook the necks crook the backs weaken weaker the stomachs produce deformity lay a foundation for consumption and shorten the childrens lives ilves ten years I 1 suggest to the brethren from froth all parts of the territory ory orv go into your schoolrooms school rooms measure the childrens legs if you please and the benches and see how they correspond see whether the basit sit up straight or humped up a as it if they were trying to imitate the back of a camel or dromedary and sive sivo perti cular oular attention to the manner in which the schoolrooms school rooms are ventilated do not deprive the little fellows of the most ne essary and the cheapest of all ele men meu ments ts atmos pharic bir air in its purity and thereby sow in their byi syi systems stems items the seeds seed of premature death there are many perso persona come into the territory who do not spek the english language I 1 think more institutions should be got up in all the to en ens courage the learning of our oar tongue I 1 know young people generally learn it pretty quick but bat a as the laws and most of the public speeches are made nade in the english language V it is important even in in welsh danish swedish norwegian german and french settlements that tho 06 language in which law and justice are admin adain and in which public meetings are generally conducted should be well and properly understood it occurs not only with some of the foreign emigration but with some other persons that they fail to appreciate the a alty it lidren of education and of sending their i eh children to school good and wholesome 1 influences exercised through teachers elders anti and bishops should bo be brought to bear on all this class of people to show them the importance of educating thele their children there are elders who seem wil ling and jand roady ready to take missions to the most distant distanti foreign countries but when they are invited to go into a school room to teach a school they will say well I 1 can make more money at something else I 1 would rather be land speculating go a lumber lumbering lag lar or setup sed set up merchandising izing 11 icet me say ray to you yon brethren that there is no calling in which a missionary carl caa do more good either man wan or woman than to it a common school if he na or she is qualified to doso boso do so we are vory very well weli aware that it is but little use to whip mormon children you undertake under teke to thrash anything into etta rito rita them and you will most surely thrash it out ont of them it was never any use to undertake to drive or coerce latter day saints they never nover could be coerced in their religious faith or practice it is not their nature and the mountain almour aly air our children breathe inspires them with the idea that they are not to be whipped like dogs doga to make them learn the manner in whick it must munt be ble done is by moral suasion i superior intellect wisdom prudence anh ana and good straightforward management in terming forming the pupil by cul tiva ting his manly qualities chii principle should be car ear carried out in all our schools in my boyhood discipline war was enforced by the application or of the blue beech switch the blue beech does doea not grow browin in this country but many school schoolmasters m masters asters in former times in new now york and new en engh engs laud tand land and were provided with these tough limber switches rudl rudi andi addi have aseen them used among the scholars with fer for fui ful effect aud bud incases incises in cases caseb where 1 I am satis fled nned the pupil was less at fault than the preceptor I 1 know they say solomon do de dared if you you yon spare the tho rod you will spoil thee the bild blid my opinion Is that the use of tile the rod is ia very frequently the result of a want or of understanding on the tho part of a spoiled parent or teacher in guiding directing and controlling the feelings fee linga and affections of children though of course the use of the rod in some cases might be necessary but bub bubli bulli I 1 have seen children abused when they ought not to have been because king solomon is believed to have made that remark which if ho he did in nine cases out of ten rea ref referred to mental rather than physical correction I 1 will however allow other men who have taught school as a profession go ro fes sion to ommer offer their suggestions on t these subjects but I 1 will say that I 1 have known professor dusenberry teach a hundred scholars the wildest roughest boys we had in a frontier town and never lay a stick on one of them he has done it term after term and the children liked and re ren reo specter him and would mind him and I 1 here there was nothing on the face of the earth that seemed to hurt their feelings more than to feel that they had lost the confidence of their preceptor this was simply the re suit of cultivating reasoning powers in the minds of the children and I 1 am happy to say there are many such teachers now in utah I 1 will say a few words in relation to normal schools As I 1 said before we have bad nothing to encourage primary schools but what we ourselves with our bone sinew energy and enterprise have done se so seit it 41 is with lne the more advanced branches the deseret university has made efforts to establish graded schools tor for the education ot of teachers this has been done by small appropriations from the legislative assembly and salt lake city and county but the great mass of the work has hag been done by individual enterprise there are many at the present time in utah who have been thus educated who devote the winter meason and mandof many of them the sum bum summerton merto teach ing schools the energy of superintendent campbell in introducing suitable bult ault able abie books and apparatus and to improve condition the of our schools has been commendable and the ti dorlag nagos bran branch c h of ti the of deseret at P provo one at st 9 george and beveral several others other established tb hd I 1 in the territory rr altory for the education of teachers have had their good effects but their effects are limited compared with what they might be and Y am sorry borry to say that several of our young men have been under the necessity of going to universities in other parts of the world to obtain an education which it is desirable we should have the facilities to give them here brethren and sisters take this matter to your hearts for it is one of the great nals mals missions of the latter day saints to do all in their power to educate the rising generation and to teach them the principles of ernal eternal truth I 1 have had the pleasure of visiting a good mary sunday schools from time to time from a very early period after they were established in this territory and i 1 can speak highly ot of their influence and the b befits they have produced I 1 visited a bible class while in st george composed of young gentlemen and ladie ladle sand gand I 1 found that they were as well instructed in relation to the principles of the go gospel apol as laid down in the bible and in the revelations of the lord as a very large portion of the elders I 1 was very glad to see it I 1 visited sunday schools when I 1 could in the course of my travels and I 1 was gratified to see the progress that has been made I 1 want to stir up parents to the nee necessity easily of fitting u up and encouraging their children to attend sunday school I 1 also want to encourage them to attend themselves and act as teachers and for fur the young men and young women wherever they can or those whose family engagements are such that they can attend to it to volunteer and contribute their exertions in carrying on sunday schools A great many elders have devoted much time to this use useful and important subject tt and have labored to teach encourage and strengthen sunday schools last summer two weeks ous to the celebrated methodist ca camp in 1 1 meeting that was held in this city dr vincent a methodist minister and two others connected with sunday schools by their own request nest addressed in this tabernacle about four sunday school enit enil dren they told me they had visited the sunday school in tho the ward and had bad addressed the scholars there and they said |