The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-06-12
GET INDIAN SCHOOL
Washington County About to
Overcome All Opposition.
HAS BEEN WARM STRIFE
ENMITY MANIFESTED BY THE
GRAND JUNCTION SCHOOL.

Washington county. in the southern
part of this state, is to have its gov
eminent Indian school, in spite of the
opposition of the friends of the Indian
school at Grand Junction, Colo, and
they win have it where they know that
it will do the most good, accessible to
the Indians and not in some out-of-the-
way place where it would be crippled.
It is now two years since Senator Jo-
seph L. Rawlins and Congressman w.
H. King, after hard work, succeeded
in getting an appropriation of $4,000
from the federal government for an
Indian school to be located in Wash
ington county.
Naturally there was a strife between
different localities for the location of
the school, but the people of the county
generally agreed that il should be To-
Gated either at st. George, on the
Washington field, adjoining the
grounds of the state horticultural ex-
pertinent station or at Middleton.
Those who were opposed to the school
have been trying to kill it in two diff
ferent ways. One of these was to pre-
vent the establishment of the school
altogether; the other was to have ii 10
Gated in some place where it would be
sure to prove a failure.
Miss Works Actions.
Among this latter class the people of
Washington county place Miss Laura
=. Work, the present Indian teacher.
She has conducted an Indian school III
that community for the past three
years, and although she has been ham,
bpered as to means and limited in her
facilities, she has won the reputation
of being a successful Indian teacher,
and has done great good. But the
friends of the Washington school feel
| that Miss Work is under the influence
of those at the head of affairs in the
Grand Junction school, and is trying to
play into their hands. She sends In
dian children to the Colorado school
whenever she can.
The Washington county people con-
slider one thing as definitely settled, so
far as Indian schools are concerned,
and that is that the school must be To-
Gated among the Indians in order to
be q success; that the children and
their parents must he permitted TO visit
! back and forth, and not be kept separ-
ate They assert that the Grand juno
ton school is a failure because it has
ignored this fact-the young Indians
look upon themselves as prisoners, and
run off whenever po5Sible.
One Successful School.
On the other hand, the great success
of the Indian school at Phoenix, AriZ.,
is pointed TO as the result of following
the right principle in this particular re-
gard. The Arizona school is said to be
the most successful Indian school in
the country, and a great measure of
its success is attributed by close stu
dents of the Indian nature to the fact
that the children and their parents are
permitted TO visit back and forth with
the greatest possible freedom, and re-
strictiOns are removed wherever pos
Sible.
There is one other point that is in
sisted upon by the friends OF the Utah
school, and that is that it must be alb
solutely nOn-sectarian. Those who are
best posted on the nature of the In
dams for whom this school is intended,
are firm in the opinion that if any at
tempt is made to make the institution
sectarian in any sense of the term, the
result Will be disastrous. The local re-
ligious conditions where the school is
to be established give emphasis to this
fact.
Grand Junction a Rival.
1t is natural for the Washington
county people to look upon the Grand
j junction ScDOOl as q rival. Iney feel
that the influence that is being exerted
against them emanates very largely
from the Colorado school, and they
naturally look with suspicion upon all
who are playing into the hands OF the
rival school, either for sectarian or
other purposes. Four times in the past
two years since the appropriation was
made a representative of the govern
ment has investigated matters in
Washington county. There is another
agent there now, n Mr.. Dixon, who
comes from Colorado, and the fact that
he comes from Colorado does not give
the Utah people assurance that his re-
port viii be unbiased.
There are many Indian children Of
school age in Washington county and
! close by, who stand in need of proper
| training. There are the tribes of She
bits, the Kibabits and the Piutes there,
and the Moapes are in Nevada close
by, so that the government was fully
J justified in locating the school in Wash
/ ingtOn county, and there is no good
reason for further delay in getting it
/ permanently established. Those who
! have been watching the Course of af-
] fairs closely from the start are conf
/ dent that the matter viii be settled
now, and that Mr.. Dixon is here for
/ that purpose.