Arizona weekly citizen., 1883-04-28
LETTER FROM HERM0sILL0.
ii. slow Growth-The New College b"i'u- ing.
 HFRMOsILLO, SONORA,

April l, lNo0- }
 ED. CITIZEN: Having oy thls tune ,retty well taken ID the whole elty, proceed to give you the most striking features thereof To one who has been to see the continual lm- Ill Tucson for the past ten ears. 1t Is a matter of great surprise To .iud the capital of Sonora, s-ltn lew eA- ,eutlons. in the same statu quo ln when | left her thirteen years age. l oO ho' think that more than twenty prlVate bulIiIngs have been erected since thoh' Th,. commercial establishments are ID I'm. Very same places, Of tue very saule size as they were then and the ohI! difference can see ls that the exterior of the stores look somewhat touched up and fresher. It IS about the dHerehce between a man III hls everyday clothes and the same man ID hls Sunday oulut' | Somewhat more has been done III the | hne of the public buildings and streets The street lehdInl from the Palace ho- | tel to tine Alameda (cuttonVoOd groNeJ has been planted with orange trees on both sides the whole length and lo"AS l very pretty; IL Is kept clean, and thanks to the water pipes established durlng the administration OfGOverIOr CallOs Ortil Is being constantly sprlnkIed when makes a cool and pleasant walk ot II even during the heat of tine day Inc large brick building adIolnng the pltZ'' which Mr Ortiz intended Co be State College, Is progressing very sio"ly slhee that gentleman's shameful eNpulsloh' but the plaza, the real ornament Ot he[- mosillo, wlll long remain blooming witness to that gentleman's progressive spirit and cuitu 6. IL covers s square of aoout four acres, Is beautifully lad out in flower beds, with walks hned all the way with rUSes Ot every hue and odor and surrounded by splendld orange and lime trees CommOdlous seats are provided along the walks at regular intervals and when the military band dispeuses its really credltaoie music in the evening 1t presents alto gether a splendid and hveiy appearance, for here every body prOmenadr It Is Ou a small scale the BOIs Oe BOulOgDe of Paris or the Hyde Park of London.
 Here the ladies of tine city enjoy the cool evening ar and l may say without nattary that there are many among them who would pass for beauties ID the whole world. yea exquisite beauties; but am sorry to say that the habit Ji painting (beg your pardon, ladlesD has taken such deep root and Is -actlced C. such an extraordinary extent among these lovely creatures who few years ago one loved to look upon as gmldless children of nature. Of dark night this public place of recreation looks somewhat gloomy, and the streets are uncomforta5ly dark. The lamp posts are few and far between, rhe oil used Is l of the worst possible quality and the | glass of the lanterns bears vvld testl- mony of long prOtracted neglect.
 In the "InstltutO SouOreuse' l found | more proof of Mir. Ortiz earnest endeav- | ors to promote the welfare of Sonora. | This Is the college building at present, and in 1t I found to my great surprise | all the instruments necessary to demon ! strate by experiments the wonders or | the physical sciences, such AS gHlvanlc | batteries and other implements for the | production of electricity, ar pump, ! vlals of all kinds and sizes, a complete | collection of chemicals, tubes, blow pipes etc. A splendid collection of stutf- ed birds and animals for occular demon stratiOn of natural history, une eOLec- tion of herbarIum specimens and 0eautl- ful!y coloreI plates for instruction III botany with magnificent microscope l and a superb lot of maps Of all countries | finished Tn the best style. In fact every | thing is of the very best, partly of Amer lcan, partly of French manufacture.
 All these things which could moi
 have cost less than SD,OOO NIT. Ortiz intended for the use of the college ht
 was building, and which will perhaps
 never be finished. The professors from
 the City of Mexico with whom he had
 contracted for number of years, have
 departed receiving cOmparauyeiy
 small sum from the present government in order to cancel their con
 tract. The "IustItutO SunOrensO" ls ID
 a sad, sad plight. All the beautiful
 things brought for the instruction oi Sonora's youth lay idle and will prob ] ably suffer severely from the tooth o
 ume and e mplete neglect One teacher
 after the other must he dismissed tol
 want of funds; the interior of the above
 mentioned Institute was, at the time O
 my visit. in such a filthy condition as tC
 endauger the very health of tine pupils
 and upon my mentioning the danger ol
 such condition of affairs being eml
 nently productive of epidemic diseases
 was told that 'such case occurring
 the city would establish a sanitary com
 mission"
 The other few schools are, with per
 haps one or two exceptions, m the sam'
 sad plight. As to the proficiency of the pupils l will only say that here the
 average boy of fifteen years of az,
 would rank m Tucson with the average
 boy of eleven, this proportion K stll
 more detferentlal in the girls schu0l | They do not believe nere iu teachlnl
 both sexes together and there IS a very
 good reason for 1t. As long as the nor
 Hls of the community are m the saC
 state in which l find them, as long a.
 the parents fail to give better example 3 and as long as the daily cOnv9rsatlOn al the family table remains as obscene d' 1t is, It k better to keep girls apart; Il Is not safe to trust them with boys whC have DO other idea of the female sex bu' that they are created for the lust of men and put that idea into practice, aye. al , l3 years of age.
 ] While speaking of schools l should mention the drawing school of Mr . Albertoni: this fine gentleman has about
 seventy pupils and receives S3O pei
 month from the government for teachlnl
 the young mind how to draw. Cnfor
 tunately the hour selected for tha
 study IS at o'clock p. ID. which every , body knows is by no means propltioui
 for that branch of art. Mir. Alberton
 says that few of his pupils show muct
 natural talent but the volatile mind anC
 native carelessness, laziness and play
 fulness of most of the boys give very little hope of any creditable success He complains bitterly of the utter laci
 of interest the parents show m tn'
 education of their children and the Yer! , foolish manner in which they sustain their offspring against their teacher | o1p,,at -arf.IIy SpRTEs