The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-03-11

The university graduates are ahead Of
! any importations into my county.
j. f. TOLTON.
The gentlemen spoken to praised il
the highest terms the teachers whom
they knew who had received thei
| training in the normal department 0
the University. There was not soil
tary complaint against them. The
Tribune statement is utterly without
! foundation. Even the remarks of Nh
Tolton were perverted for purpose.
There are twenty teachers now il
this city who we're normal students a
the University They all entered be
fore 1892. They nearly all received
their full training before that time
There has been no complaint against
them. There are old University nor
NAL students acting as teachers in diff
Iferent parts of the territory; severa
ARE principals; some are county super
lintendents; few are teaching in de-
InominationaI colleges; a number of oul
present legislators are of that class; SC
are many prominent lawyers and bust
ness men. The benefits of that train
ling are seen all over the territory
Those whom we refer to were norma
students years before the time stated
to be the period beyond which the
whole normal business was "a fraud. .
Prior to 1881 the appropriation to the
University was but $1,000 a year. In
1886 it was increased to $4,000 Most
of the time until 1892 the amount did
not exceed $12, 900 per annum. With the
increase of means the facilities were
increased. But at no time was the re-
mark that normal students were en-
tered without preparation in the COM
mon rudiments justified by the facts.
In 1892 the amount appropriated was
$4,000 for the two years. Now it is
proposed to cut it down one half. The
Tribune claims that there. was no
proficiency in the normal depart
ment before that time-which, as
we have shown is totally untrue, but
it must be evident that the enlarge
ment of the faculty and the engage
ment of efficient professors was rem
dered possible by the increase of the
appropriation. Where then is the logic
of cutting it down now?
AS to normal graduates the term is
almost a misnomer. There have been
only about dozen degrees issued alto
gether to graduates from the Univer-
sity. 1t takes a six years course to OBJ
tain a degree and that means full
University education which compares
with an average University course else
where A three years normal course
entities the student to certificate, not
degree.
1t is unwise to attempt to cripple the
chief educational establishment of
Utah. 1t is shameful to misrepresent
it for the purpose of preventing its
proper support. 1ASIS may pc H0lSSI
of opinion as to the pro-
priety of keeping up large appropria-
lions for educational purposes. There
is nothing to justify malicious and in
territorial misrepresentation of an in
stitution that under adverse circum-
stances trained so many efficient teach
ers, who rank today with the best inn
ported preceptors from eastern normal
Institutes.
The attempts which are made to be-
little our home trained teachers is far
worse than the sights sometimes cast
upon home products and manufae-
turers, and they are still less deserved.
The normal department of the Univer-
sity is a splendid feature Of that in
stitution and always has been, and
there is not a particle of proof to sup
port the sneers and slurs that have
been cast at it for the purpose of pre-
venting its proper support from the
public funds.