Duncan Arizonian., 1912-08-21
FORT GRANT
PROPERTY OF
STATE.
TO BE INDUSTRIAL
SCHOOL SITE

dOV0Il lOI I1ulC TOCOlV0Q a TEL
egram from Senator Marcus A.
Smith, stating that President
Taft had affixed his signature
to a bill granting the Arizona
state land commission authority
to select 1000 acres of the Fort
Grant military reservation for
the uses of the state industrial
School, in lieu of like acreage
from the lands given by cong
ress in the enabling act, for the
benefit of the school. This means
that at no distant day the indus
trial school will be moved from
Benson to Fort Grant.
1t may be taken for granted
that the state land commission
will have the foresight to select
a portion of the reservation of
the abandoned post, now well e.
quipped with buildings that it is
believed will serve admirably
for the present purposes of the
school. They will probably need
some repair and some remodling
to adapt them to school uses but
that will not require a large out
lay, and there are plenty of them
to accommodate many more than
the present number of students
in the school.
Then there will be ample room
for any buildings it may be de-
sireable to erect later. There is
also room for manual training
and perhaps the conditions will
permit of some agricultural in
dustries in connection with the
school, though in respect to that
there could be better locations in
some of the rich valleys of the
Estate. The fact that the school
is some distance from the rail
road will be a little inconvenient
but perhaps it will be more than
offset by sequestration from in
fluences that are undesirable for
the students of that institution
and giving them safely a greater
measure of liberty than they now
enjoy.
AS soon as it was found new
site could not be we'll provided
for the school by the legislature
this year, the governor took up
the matter of securing the Fort
Grant site with Representative
Hayden and the Arizona senat-
ors. They have all worked dill
gently on the bill and it is graf
flying that it has been put thro-
ugh congress so quickly.
In this connection it is timely
to consider the possible use of
the property at Benson that will
presumably be abandoned before
a great while. The suggestion
has been made that it may be ut
ilized as a school for the deaf and
mute, and it would seem that the
idea has merit. The building is
rapidly deteriorating it is said,
but is in such condition that it
can be overhauled and repaired
for a reasonable outlay, so that
it will be sericable and safe, even
if not handsome structure.
The greatest objection to doing
that while it was utilized for an
industrial school, was that it was
not a good location for such a
school and that if it were, it is
already overcrowded and could
not serve that institution long.
The only objection that has
been made to utilizing the prop
erty for a school for the deaf is
a ruling of the attorney gener-
ais office that under the terms
of the appropriation for the school
for the deaf, it must be located
at the university. The universi-
ty is itself rather crowded for
room but it is planned now to To-
catethe school there temporarily
at least. 1t would seem that the
objection is purely one of legal
technicality and that it would be
quite easily overcome as soon as