History of Dakota Territory, volume III, Part 113

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1146

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"Our system of education must provide that the boy in the country can enter his district school, receive a certain amount of instruction of a quality as good as the city or village can give, pass to the next higher grade in the town, finish the course in that school, and, if he desires, enter the regular course of the nor- mal or college, doing all this without a slip or a break anywhere. Each school must have its appointed work and be prepared to do it; have a distinct field which it occupies to the exclusion of all others. The bringing of such a state of affairs into existence is a subject of some magnitude, calling for sacrifice and work on the part of us all, but it can be solved and because of its importance will be solved. * Our country schools need that the teachers have a feel- ing of permanence in their positions. This cannot be so under our present condi- tions. Our teachers should bear diplomas from professional schools possessing public confidence and genuine merit. I do not think the average young man or woman competent to instruct youth until he or she is at least eighteen years old. It needs something besides knowledge and muscular strength to teach school. There should be four grades of certificates-three for the country and one for the state, the latter being professional or for life. However, you may throw all the safeguards you think expedient around the examinations, yet 'sticks' will continue to teach. Our country schools need a liberal financial spirit on the part of their supporters-that is they need dollars put in teachers. I believe that we should have free text books, that every school should have adequate apparatus and that there should be school libraries."-( Prof. Ralph C. Enos, of Scotland, before the Teachers' Association, December, 1889.)

In his paper read before the educational association in December, 1889, Prof. O. H. Parker stated that thus far more than half the taxes that had been paid had been raised for school purposes. Under the territorial government there were no school lands. Sections 16 and 36 of each township could not be

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used for school purposes until after statehood. Thus the settlers in the territory were compelled to raise by taxation the money needed for their schools; but now in 1889, under statehood, all this land suddenly became available and under the constitution it could be sold at not less than ten dollars per acre. There were the two sections in each township, the endowment lands for the state institu- tions and 5 per cent of the sale of all public lands in the state. This was bound to produce in the end an immense revenue. At the start the new state had avail- able for sale or lease, it was estimated at this time by Mr. Parker, about one mil- lion one hundred and thirty-seven thousand seven hundred and fifty acres. This amount was available for the common schools and did not include the endownment lands.

At the close of the session, the association passed resolutions by unanimous vote to the following effect : Petitioning the Legislature to pass an act submitting to popular vote an amendment to the constitution forbidding the sale of any of the public school lands or any of the endowment lands granted to the educational institutions of the state, and to provide for the leasing of such lands; appoint- ing the following committee to represent the association "to the fullest extent possible during the coming session of the Legislature": Gen. W. H. H. Beadle, Judge Isaac Howe, Pres. Lewis McLouth, Brookings, Prof. W. A. Scott, Ver- million, and Prof. A. T. Free, Yankton; instructing such committee to publish the best ideas obtainable upon the methods and results of leasing the public school land; and pledging substantial help from the association to forward and sustain the movement.

At the close of the session, the State Council of Education assembled, there being present the following persons: W. M. Blackburn, Pierre; Lewis McLouth, Brookings; H. E. Kratz, Vermillion; A. M. Rowe, Huron; J. D. Stay, Yankton ; E. C. Patterson, Pierre; Professor Davis, Sioux Falls; H. J. Whipple, Sioux Falls; A. H. Adkinson, Mitchell; W. H. Dempster, Madison; State Supt. G. L. Pinkham; Miller A. Sheridan; Joseph Olivette, Yankton; A. McFarland, Madi- son ; C. M. Young, Tyndall; E. A. Dye, Mellette,; W. A. Scott, Vermillion; Miss J. M. J. Pryne, Mitchell; and Esther A. Clark, Yankton.

The school lands leasing law passed in 1890 provided for the creation of a board of school and public lands. One of the first acts of this board was to vote that all ieases for 1890 should be made for one year only. One important fea- ture of the law was that the governor, commissioner of school and public lands and state auditor should constitute the board of school and public lands. They were empowered to designate from time to time the lands to be leased; to regu- late the leasing list for public examination ahead of the date of leasing; to au- thorize the commissioner to control the leasing; to advertise the sale of leases for sixty days in the newspapers previous to the sale of the leases at public auction ; to describe the lands and conditions of lease and state the time and place where they would be sold; to offer for sale at public auction in front of the door of each county courthouse where the lands were leased the use of the property for one year; to authorize the county superintendent of schools to conduct the sale of leases in his county ; authorizing him to continue the sale from day to day until all tracts required were leased to the highest bidder ; to permit him to adjourn the leasing for three days at a time if necessary; to require the highest bidder to

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deposit with the county treasurer the amount of the annual rental; to make the receipt a warrant for the county superintendent to permit the lessee to take pos- session of the land. It provided further that "any lessee who shall use any tract leased by him for other than pasturage or meadow purposes, shall forfeit his lease, except in cases where and upon such land other crops may have been cul- tivated prior to the passage of this act."

Much of the time of the Legislature of 1890 was spent on the vastly important educational bill, to secure the passage of which and to insure its value the leading educators from all parts of the state were present. General Beadle and State Superintendent Pinkham met the educational committees of both houses con- tinuously for many days. This new school law was modeled much after that of Indiana. It provided for a county board of education to consist of one member from each township, whose duty was the supervision of the schools in each town- ship, the levying of school tax and the determination of the school terms estab- lished by the votes of the people. In addition there was to be a director for each school. It was further provided that the county board of education should meet to consult once a year, and that young men and women who had reached the age of seventeen years and possessed good moral character could be employed as teachers if they could pass the required examination. The bill made education compulsory. All children over six years of age were required to attend, and par- ents were fined if they violated this provision of the law. This bill was aimed almost wholly to benefit the schools of the rural districts and did not apply gen- erally to those in the towns and villages. The law was favorable to the township system and therefore roused the criticism and opposition of the friends of the district system.

In January, 1890, the board of regents of education chosen under the consti- tution consisted of nine members who were required to take control of the edu- cational institutions of the state and appoint for each a board of five trustees to have immediate management of such institutions. The regents thus had charge of the State University, Agricultural College, School of Mines and the normal schools. They had an important duty before them and therefore set about their task with much care and concern. First of all it was necessary for them to become familiar with the nature and objects of each institution and then to appoint trustees who were qualified to shape the destiny of each along the lines intended by law. This was no easy task and in the end proved more complex and intricate than could be accomplished successfully and satisfactorily under the law.

Early in 1900 the State Educational Board began the task of preparing a list of school lands for leasing. After this list had been prepared tracts were adver- tised for lease in the different counties and such leases were sold at public auction at the doors of the courthouse. The right to appraise the land and sell it for what it was actually worth, enabled the school authorities to secure a much better price than $10 per acre in many portions of the southeastern part of the state. No land could be sold before January 7, 1891, and not more than one-third of the total could be sold during the first five years. Thus the school authorities began conjointly both to sell school lands and to lease tracts of school lands. There was a board of appraisal for each county, but in the end it was found that

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the board quite often appraised the school land at much too low a figure in order to secure, no doubt, its sale to friends for less than the appraised valuation. All sales were conducted through the authority of the commissioner of school and public lands and were sold or leased to the highest bidder.

The School of Mines at Rapid City prepared during the summer of 1890 to open with pupils the following fall. Full courses of study were chosen. It was a reorganization and was closed temporarily until October in order to secure a satisfactory faculty and thus start right. The new board of trustees decided to do their utmost to make it the best technical school in the United States.

During 1890 many teachers' institutes were held throughout the state par- ticularly in the southeastern part. One was held in Clay County mainly under the leadership of professors of the university. Instruction was given in teaching, history, physiology, biology, English language, geography, etc.

On December 29, 1890, the annual meeting of the South Dakota Educational Association opened at Sioux Falls. There were in attendance about one hundred and fifty educators from all parts of the state. State Superintendent Pinkham was present, and Prof. H. E. Kratz, of Vermillion, president of the association, presided. There were present among others, Professors Enos, of Scotland, Kyle, of Brookings, Newington, of Watertown, Young, of Tyndall, Frazee, of Lead, and Free, of Yankton. Hon. H. H. Keith, president of the Commercial Club, welcomed the educators to the city. Professor Kratz responded on behalf of the association. The first principal address was delivered by State Supt. G. L. Pinkham on the subject "Our Educational Outlook." He insisted that the higher educational institutions must be kept running regardless of the condition of state finances, and declared that any other course would be a calamity. Other sub- jects discussed were "Better Schools," "Renewed Zeal," "New Ideas" and "En- larged Acquaintance." It was noted that there were in attendance many city superintendents notably from Huron, Aberdeen, Yankton, Mitchell, Lead, Ver- million, Watertown and Sioux Falls. President Beadle and three of his assistants were present from the Madison Normal. President McLouth and Professor Kerr, of the Agricultural College, were present and prominent. Doctor Brush and Professor Stout, of Mitchell College, were in attendance. President Grosse and Professor Kratz, of the State University, were also active at this notable meeting. Many interesting and valuable papers were read, and the discussion of the subjects immediately afterward was extremely instructive. The address of President Grosse was conspicuous for its elevated tone and its advocacy of higher education. Present also was Dr. C. M. Woodward, of the Manual Train- ing School of St. Louis. His address was greatly appreciated by the teachers. State Superintendent Pinkham stated that the educational outlook in South Dakota was not encouraging. He declared that the lack of unity in the different fragments of the school system, the control of a large part of the country schools by district officers rather than township boards, the election of county and state superintendents by popular election and not by appointment because of fitness, the financial condition of the state which threatened the curtailment and possibly the life of some of the state institutions of learning, the possibility that the school law of the state would be further complicated rather than simplified, were all menacing and ominous signs. He declared with emphasis that in some places

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the common schools were retrograding because competent and efficient teachers could not be secured. "What would be the result," he asked, "if city superintend- ents were selected by popular elections the same as county superintendents are?" As a matter of fact, he said the whole country should be drawn on for the prin- cipals of these important institutions.

Professor Grosse spoke at length on "Unity of the Educational Systems." He declared that not a single city school in the state furnished an adequate edu- cation for entrance to college and that additional instruction was needed by such scholars to prepare them for the freshman class. This remark caused a sensation among the city superintendents present, the most of whom believed their courses were sufficient for a college freshman. As a matter of fact several of the cities had already followed the course prescribed by the colleges for freshman examina- tions. At this time Aberdeen, Huron, Sioux Falls and perhaps a few other cities had a four years' high school course, which was presumed to be sufficient to warrant entrance into the freshman class of the university. Yankton had a high school course of three years and Mitchell a high school course of two years. The Yankton High School had a four-year course until Yankton College started and was then cut down to three years to save cost and to give the preparatory department of Yankton College an opportunity to advance.

Perhaps the address of Doctor Woodward, who was called the "father of manual training" in the United States, was the most important event at this annual meeting. He spoke at length on the details of organizing a school for manual training. He stated that manual training schools were not trade schools where young men were taught a trade, nor a factory where various articles were manufactured, but was a school to train every faculty of the mind and many of the powers of the body, where the young boy was put to school, the only product sought being the symmetrical development of the young man. There were five lines of work in the course of study at his institution: (1) Science, (2) mathematics, (3) language, (4) drawing, (5) shop work. The St. Louis Manual Training School was established about 1880 and was the only one then in existence. By 1890 there were fifty in the United States. Everything con- nected therewith was practical. It cost about one thousand dollars to build a shop that would accommodate seventy-five boys. This address was very valu- able and instructive to the teachers present. The session ended with great enthu- siasm on the part of the teachers in spite of the imperfections of the South Dakota system and the lack of cohesion and unity in the schools of the state. Previous meetings of the association had been held as follows: 1887, Huron; 1888, Redfield; 1889, Yankton; and this one of 1890 at Sioux Falls. It was de- cided to hold the session of 1891 at Madison.

In 1890 there were in the state 73,766 school children between the ages of seven and twenty years. Under the new law of the state, the school age was changed to from two to twenty years. By November, 1891, according to the figures of the school land commissioner, the number of school children in the state was 86,676.

In the spring of 1891 Major Ruth, commissioner of school and public lands, offered for sale school lands in the counties of Yankton, Clay, Union, Lincoln and part of Minnehaha ; also a few tracts in Turner, Bon Homme, Hutchinson,

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Hanson, Moody, Brookings, Kingsbury, Codington, Grant and Roberts counties. In all, 130 sections, or 83,200 acres, were offered for not less than ten dollars per acre. In accordance with the reports of the appraisal board, all lands that were not sold were offered for lease for the period of five years. The sales were to begin at Yankton on March 24th, and then in succession occur in the other counties.

Late in January, 1891, the city superintendents of schools and the principals of graded schools held a meeting at Huron and passed resolutions to the follow- ing effect: Recommending the enactment of a law for the appointment of a committee to select text books to be used in the public schools of the state and to be associated with the state superintendent; providing that the directors asso- ciated with county superintendents should select such books as they wished from those adopted by the state committee, but could not change them in less than five years ; providing that free text books could be chosen; announcing that the high schools were already fitting students for colleges and universities; deciding that the preparatory departments of the state educational institutions, with a few exceptions, be suspended; maintaining that the normal schools should be sup- ported; specifying that the public school at the county seat should be a graded school to be used as a higher step for the rural schools; providing that boards of education should be elected from city wards where wards had been established, declaring that the schools of the state should be removed wholly from politics, and requiring that the State Board of Regents should have entire charge and control of the state public schools.

At the sale of school lands held in Yankton in the spring of 1891, the lands offered brought an average of not less than twenty dollars an acre, and a few tracts reached as high as fifty dollars an acre. This gave great encouragement to the educational authorities.

By April 29, 1891, there had been received for the two years ending at the time, from the sale of school lands, a total of about $631,528.20, of which $164,- 271.50 was paid into the state treasury. The remainder consisted of deferred payments. The total number of acres sold to secure this amount was 44,933-57. The average price was thus a little over $14 an acre. These sales were conducted by State Commissioner Ruth and were mainly disposed of in the counties in the southeastern part of the state.

In the spring of 1891, S. H. Bowman, deputy commissioner of school lands, was required to begin the selection of the indemnity school lands due the state owing to the selections of school tracts by the Indians. This step was the inaugu- ration of the movement to select all the school indemnity and endowment lands, a total of about seven hundred and fifty thousand acres, estimated at this time. Commissioner Ruth authorized Mr. Bowman to make the selection, owing to his long experience with the school land and educational situation in South Dakota. Mr. Bowman found little of consequence remaining east of the Missouri River, and under the law he could not yet select tracts from the Sioux Reservation. Accordingly he went to the Black Hills region for the purpose of securing about three hundred and fifty thousand acres.

In June, 1891, Yankton College was exceedingly prosperous. During the previous year there were enrolled 225 students, several of whom were graduated

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in June. The institution had good buildings, occupied a commanding position, and attracted much attention to the Northwest at this time. The male students boarded at private houses and the ladies boarded and roomed at Ladies' Hall. The faculty members were young, up to date, able and enthusiastic. The standard of study was high. It was estimated that $150 a year would take a student through this institution. The college owned a fine telescope at this date, but it had not yet been mounted.

In November, 1891, the board of school and public lands had on hand $180,- 000 which they decided to invest in township and city school bonds and to divide the amount among the counties in proportion to the population. This sum was offered to counties at 6 per cent interest. The state board appointed in each county the auditor, school superintendent and board of commissioners, as a spe- cial board to have charge of the investment of this money in their respective counties. Each county was held responsible under the law for the money loaned it by the state board. This fact caused the county commissioners in many coun- ties to refuse to act as a member of this county board. In the end the county superintendent became the custodian and manager of the funds loaned to each county.

By December 1, 1891, Commissioner Ruth and Deputy Commissioner Bow- man had completed the inspection of all the public school lands in the state that had already been selected, had chosen in addition about five hundred thousand acres of the approximate seven hundred and fifty thousand acres allowed under the special endowments, and had already filed upon 400,000 acres of which about two hundred thousand were in the Black Hills and about two hundred thousand in the counties of Hand, Hyde, Codington, Day, Potter, Edmunds, McPherson, Walworth and Campbell. It was planned by the commissioner to select the other 250,000 acres within a short time. They hoped to get about forty thousand acres of the valuable lake-bed lands in Lake, Kingsbury, and Miner counties.

In 1891 Thomas H. Ruth was state superintendent. He took a different view from that of General Beadle concerning the school lands. He believed it no more than fair that a portion of the school land should be sold from time to time in order to raise means to carry on schools for the pioneer children. However, he agreed with General Beadle that comparatively little should be sold, but that the real policy of the state should be to lease the school lands instead of to sell them. It was a difficult thing to make the mass of people believe that it was best not to sell the school land, but to wait for higher prices. Naturally, the farmer desired to educate his own children rather than tie up the money for the benefit of subsequent generations. The school tax was heavy, the settlers were poor, and they needed and wanted the money then. However, the leasing system steadily gained in favor, and the provisions concerning school and public lands contained in the constitution of 1889 were recognized and observed. The school authorities of the state pointed to Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota as examples of selling the land and using the funds to conduct the early schools instead of saving the land and raising the fund by taxation. Even R. F. Petti- grew in Congress expressed the belief at this time that $2.50 per acre was suffi- cient but General Beadle declared that such an amount was no better than none. This was one of the critical periods in the history of the state school lands and funds. Many persons throughout the whole state agreed with Mr. Pettigrew

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that $2.50 an acre was sufficient. There thus arose another general examination and discussion of the subject. General Beadle stoutly defended the $10 consti- tutional clause and maintained that the policy as a whole should be leasing and not selling. In the end his views triumphed. Thus at this time the question was at last settled permanently, because the majority of the citizens sided with Gen- eral Beadle. His fight at this time had more to do with giving him the title of "father of the schools" than did his advocacy of the $10 clause at the time the constitution was adopted. In all the school meetings the opinions concerning school lands and funds were discussed warmly, the $10 clause of the constitu- tion receiving its full share of attention. General Beadle was now given credit for the enactment of that clause in the constitution. The school lands aggregated a total of about three million acres. Therefore in the end the state would surely have a school fund of not less than thirty million dollars. In addition the state was given 5 per cent of the sale of all public lands within its limits to be devoted to schools. This meant in the end, unless a serious mistake should be made, an enormous school fund for South Dakota. At this time the school lands of the state varied greatly in value. One section near Huron was worth in 1889 about one hundred thousand dollars. School lands could not be pre-empted. Over five hundred thousand acres were given as endowments to the educational insti- tutions of the state-to the university, agricultural college, school of mines, reform school, normal schools, etc.

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History of Dakota Territory, volume III, Part 113

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920 Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1146

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1146