The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-01-31
THE PUBLIC PULSE.
Communications under this head are pub.
hshed on al. proper subjects at the RESPONSE
blllty of the writer

Communications under this head are pub.
ushed on al. proper subjects at the RESPONSE
blllty of the writer.
School OF Mines.
To the Editor OF The HERALD:
In response to many inquiries re-
speeding the desirabihty Of establishing a
school of mines or mining school in Utah,
the amount OF money required to establish
and conduct such school, and also the rela-
tive standing of q school of mining, a
respectfully offer the following, hoping
That you may lind room for IL in the
columns OF your paper:
AT the outset wish to state that in nv
opinion mining school for Utah should
be established this year; the amount to be
appropriated by the legislature must de-
pend upon the financial resources of Utah.
but, 1t should be at least as large as that
TO be appropriated for the agricultural
celIege; ana tue mining school should be in
| relationship with the state university. In
support C1 this statement | refer to the po-
slllon OF similar institutions in some other
states and territories. While, perhaps,
none OF them are quite perfect, We cannot
a1Iord 10 close our eyes to the work done
elsewhere and thus deprive ourselves of
the benefits to be derived from the expert
ence OF able and practical educators I'm
less otherwise specified, we generally un-
derstand the terms college, school and de-
partment in university to mean the same
tnlng. A university comprises many
colleges, schools or departments In the
State university, Of California, the college
OF mining is one OF eleven which are upon
equal footing, all possessing the advant-
ages Of being closely united in the use and
up-building OF large and suitable labora-
tories, museums and libraries. In the
matters OF economy and efficiency the ed-
Vantages are very great. The colleges are
as follows:
college of Letters, including ancient
and modern classics and political science.
2-College of Agriculture.
3-College of Mechanics.
4-CUllege of Mining.
5-College of Civil Engineering.
6-College of Chemistry.
Astronomical Department
S-College of Law.
9-College of Medicine.
10-College of Dentistry.
1-College of Pharmacy
1t will here be noticed that mining and
agriculture are treated as equals 1t may
also be seen that owing to the location of
all the colleges close 10 one another, and
the direct bearing of chemistry on the work
OF all, this subject has been recognized uas
distinct college. Civil engineering and
mechanics are also separate colleges
In the State University of Minnesota tn
school of mining and metallurgy is a part
of the university. So is the college of agri
culture; and SO are the college of mechanic
arts, the college of dentistry, the college Of
pharmacy, the college OF medicine and sur
gerry, the college of homeopathic medicine
and surgery, and that of law.
In the State University of Wisconsin the
college of mechanics, engine ring and min
ing, forms one of five colleges, that are
upon equal footing, The college of agri-
culture is also one of these five colleges.
The school of mines and the school of
agriculture constitute two schools of equal
rank in the State University Or Wyoming,
as they do also in the Ohio State univer-
sity, aud the University of Arizona
In California the entrance requirements
for mining and agricultural students are
the same. In Minnesota the requirements
Tor admission to the school of mining are
higher than those for admission TO the COL
lege Of agriculture. In Wisconsin, where
excellent work is being carried on in the
mining studies, the requirements for
entrance to the college of engineering and
mining are higher than the entrance re-
Quirements of the college of agriculture in
the same university. The director of the
Michigan mining school says in his last
published report that Michigan state az
ricultural college starts on d lower plane
than the mining school. Further, IT'S
graduates have always entered into the
first year OF the course OF the Michigan
mining school," The requirements for ad-
mission to the first year of the
MINING DEPARTMENT OF DEsERET UNIvER-
sITY
are more than one full year higher than
the requirements for admission to the
freshman, or first year, of Utah agricul-
tural college.
The mining school forms part of the
Illinois state university, North Dakota
state university, Lehigh university, Wash
ington university, Columbia college and
other universities. THIS Is generally the
case where the university is located in or
near a mining district. OF course
the relative importance of mining
and agricultural schools depends
largely on the character of the
state. II the state is almost
exclusively agricultural, as, for example,
Nebraska, the agricultural school is of
prime Importance. The colleges Of agri-
culture and mechanics exist in Nebraska
state university under the title Indus
trial college," On the other hand the Mas
sachusetts Institute of Technology, which
probably does the best mining and engi-
neering work on this continent, is far in
advance Of the Massachusetts Agricultural
college, as the following figures serve to
Indicate:
Value of buildings and grounds of Mas
sachusetts institute OF technology. ----S6SS 900
Total income of same for 1889 ... 267 275
Total number or students OF same S2S
Value OF buildings and gro nds of Mas
sachusetts agricultural Iollege------- 233 $40
TOTAL inc me Tor 1853 -------- p, 373
Total number of students of agricultural
college,. 100
But, in all fairness, it must be conceded
that Utah is at least as much of mining
country as it Is an agricultural one. Agri-
culture is assuredly most useful and hon
orable pursuit, and its study should by all
means be encouraged. The question for
the people Of Utah to determine is, what
portion of aid and announcement should
be given 10 the study of the subjects init
suits Of this region! And what
should be given to the study OF agriculture?
Are the mining interests of Utah of equal
Importance with the agricultural interests +?
If they are, why not make equal provision
for the establishment and maintenance of a
school or college of mining! The Utah
Agricultural college was established by act
of legislature some years ago. and at the
last session it was granted an appropriation
of S4S, 600, in addition to the $50, COO received
from Congress. The mining school has not
yet been established by the legislature, and
of course nothing has been granted for it.
To convey general idea of