Salt Lake Telegram | 1925-05-12 | Page 2 | Masonic Council Praises School System in Utah

Masonic Council Praises School System in Utah Facts Complimentary to State Published in Bulletin of Southern Scottish Rite Organization Educational statistics give Utah Utahan tah an enviable rank among the the several several several sev sev- eral states in the union and its school system now stands in the front rank This is the view v of ot the supreme council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of or Free Fre FreeMasonry FreeMasonry Masonry 1 of ot the southern Jurisdiction tion in the United States Says the bulletin copy of ot which was re receIved received received re- re by the state school office Tuesday Desert and beehive are two Interesting sobriquets attached to the state of Utah and from a barren barren bar bar- ren rca waste in 1834 to a leading commonwealth commonwealth com corn in 1925 tells the story of the Mormon state Preeminent among her assets is the educational system gradually developed The Th first pioneers reached Utah in Jul July 1847 and school was held the first winter despite the manifold difficulties dif dif- attendant upon the foundIng founding roundIng found found- Ing of ot a settlement in an isolated desert region Salt Lake City o one of ot the beauty beauy beau- beau ty y spots spots' of ot the far west was Incorporated in incorporated incorporated In- In in 1849 and its charter contained provisions for the establishment establishment of the common or elementary elementary elemen elemen- tary ary schools The first university to be founded west of the Missouri river was planned the following year ear when the first legislative as- as convened Today educational statistics gl give ghe e Utah an enviable rank In all the various compilations ns such as illiteracy number of ot college students students students stu stu- dents length of bt term money expended expended ex ex- and the like Jike the Beehive state stands with the foremost For Instance the figures showing the percentage of ot illiteracy give Utah the he exceedingly low rate of 19 per cent ent Enforcement of the compulsory sory ory school attendance law is carried car- car ned led to a high degree of ot efficiency the he state ranking fourth among the commonwealths with per cent of ot her children between the ages of 7 and 14 attending school In the matter of ot public expense Utah is again above the normal 56 per cent of or the public revenue goes Into educational channels as compared compared compared com com- pared with the average of or 34 per ent cent This tate state is surpassed only b ay by California in the length of ot term her iier school year being twenty days longer than the average In 1897 Utah ranked twentieth In n the proportion of college stu- stu lents to her total population having haying hav- hav ing ng a status of ot one in one hundred ind md seventy By 1920 she had to third place behind Oreon Oreon Ore- Ore son on on and Iowa with a relative proportion pro- pro portion of or one college student for lOl ivery ery one hundred and thirty seven