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Show GOVERNOR DERN AND COMMISSION, TO LOCATE STATE SCHOOL, VISIT BEAVER economic: advantages in SELECTING ACADEMY GROUNDS ARE CLEARLY POINTED OUT BY ABE MURDOCH . f INSPECT LOCATION Governor Dern and a parly of ten other persons, consisting of the commission com-mission appointed by the stale to select the site for the new state truining school, together with a few advisors, visted Beaver Tuesday and inspected the Murdock Academy buildings and grounds. During their stay in Beaver, they were guests of the Beaver Lions Club at a luncheon held at the Low Hotel. Four members of the Milford Lions Club went over to Beaver to attend the gathering and were also the guests of the Beaver Beav-er Lions. The inspecting party was quite interested in-terested hi the facts and igures given them concerning the academy location, and the inspection of the grounds was a complete one which covered every detail. They seemed to be quite impressed with the location. Grant Tolton presided at the luncheon lunch-eon meeting and introduced the guests to the assemblage. Besides the Governor, there were Chairman Skeen, of the commission; Doctor Allen, Superintendent of the Ver- ! mont training school for feeble-mind-1 el; Mrs. Allen; Doctor Calder, form-j erly superintendent of the state hospital at Provo; Mr. Brown, state superintendent of building and construction; con-struction; and Mrs. Lyman, and Messrs. Booth and Clyde, other members mem-bers of the commission. Urges Murdock Academy Abe Murdock, of Beaver, presented present-ed before the guests the facts and figures of the Murdock Academy. This was done in such an impressive way and the economy to the state was pointed out so distinctly that it was the impression prevalent that Utah could not afford to select any other location for the school. Mr. Murdock began by tracing the history his-tory of Fort Cameron, and related how its buildings and grounds became be-came part of Murdock Academy, and took up to the time of the abandonment abandon-ment of the school. He described the grounds, which he said consisted of 240 acres, 8G of which were at present under cultivation, culti-vation, and all of which except possibly pos-sibly 20 acres could be put to crops. There are 50 acres in alfalfa, 20 in grain; and orchard of 10 acres; and a ten-acre campus. Cottonwood trees adorn the site and the Beaver river flows through the ground. A perpetual perpetu-al water right assures abundance of culinary and irrigating water. A thousand acres adjoin, which Mr. Murdock said might be bought in parcels. The academy has been unoccupied un-occupied for eight or ten years. The costs to the state, Mr. Murdock Mur-dock said, would total $10C,500.00. Of this amount, ?25,000 would be for tfie purchase of the 240 acres and buildings, and the balance for remodeling and improvements. The building alone cost about $200,000.00 when it was built. The town would supply electric power and the main building has two heating plants. Mr. Murdock made it' plain that the distance from the center of population should not be made to force an issue with the commission, as rapid transportation in this day eliminated distance from being so much of a factor. The fact that the location was not near to a metropolitan metro-politan center would make for better morale "and (discipline among the students, he said. Governor Dern's Remarks Following these remarks, the Governor Gov-ernor was called on and responded. He stated that the commission was in Beaver merely to listen and would not be able to comment at this time. He did intimate that the amount of acreage available for potential needs, and a permanent and adequate supply sup-ply of water would be important considerations con-siderations governing the. commission in its choice. He emphasized the immediate im-mediate need of a state training school for feeble-minded but said that Utah's very tardiness would serve as an advantage in being guided guid-ed by' the successes or failures of other states in building and conducting conduct-ing similar institutions, A vital problem prob-lem now affecting Utah's state institution, in-stitution, he said, was the shortage of land. Feeble-mindedness, he said, was a state problem and was the chief cause of the three problems of crime, pauperism and prostitution. In the decision of the commission, he said that the desires of any one community communi-ty should not be controlling, but that the choice should be one which best met the needs of the whole state. The inspecting party had just come from Nephi and American Fork; they planned to visit Manti and Brigham City to complete the examination of possible locations. |