Mohave County miner and our mineral wealth., 1922-03-24
EOTAL ELIMINATION ..

EoTAL ELIMINATION RE BET
 At the illiteracy conference of the Western states, held under the aus pices of the illiteracy commission of the National Education association at the Fairmount hotel, in San Francisco, February 8 and 4, 1922, Mrs. Cora Wilson Stewart, chairman, presided. About 300 delegates were in attend ance, representing the Il Western states. These delegates were repre- sentative leaders and administrators in ducation and in civic, political and welfare organizations. An interest ing feature of the meeting was the interest manifested in the organiza- tionS for a complete elimination of illiteracy, no: only in the. states rep resented at this conference, but in every section of the United States. Apparently without any desire to as- sign special tasks to the educators and separate tasks to the women's clubs, fraternal and other organiza- tions, it seemed that each organiza- tion had this work so we'll in hand that each was wing with the other to do more for the elimination of Hitter acy in it's district than any other or ganization could do. Mrs. Cora Will son Stewart, chairman of the conven- tion, is the originator of the idea for Q complete elimination of illiteracy in this country, having instituted her great work in the mountains of Ken lucky in 1911, and later having car ried this campaign into every school district in the Blue Grass state in the form of moonlight schools. Her work had taken such hold that during the draft in the recent world war our country was astonded at the per centage of illiteracy in our army that was organized and sent overseas. Through the efforts of Mrs. Stewart after this discovery was made in the army. the National Education asso- citation was interested in her work, and today an organization is being effected throughout the United States for a fight on illiteracy. The confer ,ence in San Francisco was the first great meeting to be held, and Mrs Stewart is to carry her work in this line into every section of the country Jn a similar manner to the conference of the II Western states just closed. Mrs. Stewart has made some state campaigns for the elimination or H. literacy , and she has promised to come to Arizona within the next few months and assist in thorough for the effacement o1 illiteracy in this state. While AT zona stands about third among tne states in the entire Union in a we'll organized educational system, yet the number of illiterates, according to the last national census in Arlzona' IS astonishing in the extreme. ot the II Western states represented in this conference, Arizona was surpassed m literacy by nine Nearly 15 per cent of the population of this state were classed in the 1920 census as lihtei- ates. Several of the states represent, ed in this conference were reported with about 8 per cent of illlterates.
 The conference held in San Fran, cisco was a complete success ana great credit should be given Mrs. steu,art the chairman, and the ar ronoements committee in San Fran o;sco consisting of Arthur Fl. Cham- berlain, secretary of the llhteracy commission; State Superintendent Win c. Wood, of Sacramento; Mrs. Anna Godfrey, educational assistant in tho naturalization bureau, and Dr. N R. Wilson, of Berkeley, Cal. An zona was very we'll represented by Dr Frank c. Lockwood of the Uni yersity of Arizona, and Super'h'eho
 ent c. E. Rose of Tucson M
 New Mexico, our sister state on the east was very able represented py State Superintendent John V. ooh- way of Santa Fe. n
 An effort is being made by the three delegates from Arizona to se- cure the annual conference in rep mary 1923, of these Il Western stotss to he held in Phoenix. In the meantime, I trust that every daily and weekly newspaper in this state' as also all magazines and JournalS' will publish these resolutions in full so that every teacher in the state as well as clubwomen and members of
 organizations may read and digest