Arizona republican., 1899-12-29
TEACHERS INSTITUTE
Gathering of Arizona Educators at
 Tucson.

| The special train bearing more than one hundred teachers of Maricopa county to the joint sessions of the Ter ritorial Teachers association and southern counties institute at Tucson, arrived Tuesday afternoon at 1:30. Owing to the splendid manner in which the train was started off by General Freight and Passenger Agent Bicknell and Conductor s. M. Harris of the T. ] & P road, the teachers had a most pleasant trip. At Red Rock the excur- sionists made use of a few minutes stop to get off the train and inspect the pumping plant and the big over | land traction engine which the own CTS of the Ray mine are endeavoring to put in use for transportation pug poses. The engine is similar to the ordinary threshing engines, except that it is much larger. The Ray people have two of them, but have not yet demonstrated them to be a success in | trans-desert transportation.
 Ample room was found at the differ ent hotels of Tucson and after dinner the visiting teachers went to the M. E. church, where the institute was supposed to be in session. The morn | ing session had been postponed, how ever to await the arrival of the wis l itors from the north, and wisely, too, for it proved on registration that Maricopa county had as many repre- sentatives as all the other counties. | The meeting was called to order by John T. Hughes, county superintend- ent of Pima county. Superintendent Fulton of Maricopa county was re quested to take the chair, but that gentleman raised the point that the 1 law provided that the superintendent of the county in which the institute is held should preside. The programme was commenced by an address of vel come by Hon. L. c. Hughes of Tue son. MT. Hughes welcomed the teach | CTS. He was glad that Tucson had within it's limits the educators of the territory. He recounted the history of education in Arizona and mentioned ! the pioneers in the work. The old pueblo gave birth to the educational movement and the first teachers in stitute held in the territory, and for
 
 come again the 200 teachers that com posed the present institute which showed such growth of the weakling born a quarter of a century ago. W. W. McNeff responded for Mari copa and in his address observed that it was Maricopa county's vote that had given Tucson the institute and he was glad of it, for he had tasted of the hos pitality of Tucson. He thanked Tue son in advance for that same hospital | ity, which he knew would be again extended.
 s. P. McCrea of Bisbee responded for Cochise. MT. McCrea told the as | semblage, among other things, that Cochise was progressing in education. The town of Bisbee employed eight teachers; it was the only city in the | territory which every year held school ten months, and although Prescott might dispute his word the schools of Bisbee ranked third in size in the ter ritory.
 After an instrumental duet by Elsie l Siewert and Elsie Zelweger, Dr. Alex Craig gave a talk to the teachers. Dr. Craig was repeatedly applauded. He believed in the teachers. They had a great responsibility resting on them and the commonwealth looked to them for a great deal. The future of the nation depended on the future of it's l individuals and the future of the in dividuals was, he believed, for the great part in the hands of the edu- cators of the land. Because the edu- cators occupied such a responsible po- sition he wished them raised in popular regard to the pre-eminence to which they belonged, and then he prayed that they would fill that position as they should. Place the salary where it would command the best talent and public money could be spent with an apparently lavish hand to no better i purpose. None need worry about state hood. The thing to accomplish was | through it's public educational institu- 1 tions to make Arizona so worthy of statehood that the Vestment would be the seeker and not the territory Yet he did not know; he was a new conner, and as he faced the 200 earnest people before him he could not but believe that Arizona was doing that very thing.
 The afternoon programme was taken up without any intermission.
 Primary number work was illus trated with a class by Mrs. Abbie Denier. The work brought forth con- siderable discussion which presaged q | lively time when general discussion would be taken up. A banjo and gui- tar duet was rendered by the Misses Cowan, who responded to an encore. A paper on primary English was read by Miss Maud North of Tucson