Our Government: Local, State, and National: Idaho Edition Part 28

The amount of land set aside for the use of the State educational inst.i.tutions is as follows: State University, including School of Science and Agricultural College, 286,000 acres; Lewiston Normal, 50,000 acres; Albion Normal, 50,000 acres; Academy of Idaho, 40,000 acres; Industrial Reform School, 40,000 acres.

The State University at Moscow stands at the head of the educational inst.i.tutions of the State. There are three princ.i.p.al departments in the university. In the Department of Letters and Sciences the courses lead to degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Music. In the Department of Agriculture the course leads to a degree of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. In connection with the Agricultural Course is kept a model farm of one hundred acres and an experiment station in which laboratories are provided for soil physics, chemistry, entomology, and botany. In the Department of Applied Science courses are given in civil engineering, mining engineering, and in electrical and mechanical engineering.

The University was established at Moscow by special act of the Territorial Legislature in 1889, and since that date it has had a splendid growth. It is well equipped in apparatus necessary for the pursuit of the courses given.

The State Normal Schools.--As an evidence of the fact that the framers of our State government had in mind a liberal education for the youth of our State 100,000 acres of public land was set apart for the maintenance of normal schools, with the provision that none of this land must be sold for less than ten dollars per acre.

The second State Legislature established in 1893 two State Normal Schools, one at Lewiston and one at Albion. The purpose of these schools, as set forth in the acts which created them, is to educate and train teachers in the art of teaching and governing in the public schools of the State.

Idaho, although one of the youngest states in the Union, ranks high in her educational facilities, and the Normal Training Schools have been very influential in bringing about these results.

The Lewiston State Normal is empowered to grant certificates to its students to teach in Idaho. These certificates are:

A. Elementary Certificates, good for one year.

B. Secondary Certificates, good for five years.

C. Diplomas, good for life.

Until recently the Albion State Normal School has issued only three-year certificates on graduation, and life diplomas only after twelve months'

successful teaching. On April 24, 1907, the Board of Trustees of the Albion State Normal pa.s.sed a resolution, providing that the regular course be lengthened to five years, and that life diplomas may be granted to graduates who have taught successfully for five months.

Academy of Idaho.--The Academy of Idaho is located at Pocatello. The purpose of this school, as set forth in Section 980 of the School Laws of Idaho, is to teach those subjects usually taught in academic and business courses and to give instructions pertaining to a good common school education.

Each department is well equipped with the latest devices for furthering the work of the pupils. The students have free access to the large library and reading room of the inst.i.tution.

The requirements for admission to the Academy of Idaho are much the same as those of the normal schools; the applicant must show either by certificate or examination that he is able to follow successfully the course which he elects. No tuition is charged residents of Idaho, and pupils from other states are admitted to all the privileges of the Academy by payment of a reasonable tuition.

The Industrial Reform School--The Industrial Reform School was established in 1903 at St. Anthony, Fremont County. The purpose of this school, as set forth in the act which created it, is "for the care, protection, training, and education of delinquent, dependent, and neglected children, and, [to] provide for the care, control, and discharge of juvenile offenders." In addition to the income received from the 40,000 acres of land set aside for its maintenance, the inst.i.tution is supported by regular appropriations by the State Legislature.

A farm of two hundred acres, maintained in connection with the school, is equipped with necessary agricultural implements, vehicles, horses, cattle, hogs, poultry, etc.

The Idaho Industrial Training School is not a place of punishment, but a school in which the physical, mental, and moral education of the child is systematically looked after. It is the plan to have the children leave the inst.i.tution with a good common school education, with good habits, and in fact with every requisite for good citizenship.

Idaho Insane Asylum.--The Idaho Insane Asylum is located at the city of Blackfoot on a tract of land comprising twenty-one hundred acres. A large part of this farm is under cultivation and forms an important source of supplies for the inst.i.tution. In connection with the farm is maintained a large dairy herd, horses, sheep, hogs, and poultry.

A well-kept garden of thirty acres furnishes all the vegetables needed by the inmates and employees of the inst.i.tution. Most of the work done in connection with the farm, garden, dairy, etc., is done by the inmates. The climate, the water supply, and the general surroundings are especially healthful, as is shown by the medical superintendent, who says, in his report of 1906: "There is not a single case of that bane of asylum existence--tuberculosis--among them. This is undoubtedly due to the climatic conditions here rather than anything else."

A branch asylum was located at Orifino in 1905.

Idaho State Penitentiary.--The Idaho State Penitentiary is located at Boise and is the only penal inst.i.tution in the State. There are twenty-five buildings in all that are used by and belong to the inst.i.tution, nearly all of which have been erected since Idaho became a state. These buildings are located on a tract of five hundred and twenty acres of land just east of the city. About eighty acres of land under cultivation are under the management of the inst.i.tution and all the labor is done by the convicts. The penitentiary maintains a most excellent library which is free to all the prisoners.

The prisoners are governed largely on the theory that "Nothing so begets vice as idleness." During the last few years the convict labor has been engaged on the farm, in quarrying rock for the buildings of the inst.i.tution, in erecting a new cell house and a woman's ward, and in digging and walling up a large well which has given an abundant supply of pure water. Thus the inst.i.tution is put as far as possible on a self-sustaining basis.

Soldiers' Home.--The Soldiers' Home was established by the State Legislature in 1893 and located on a tract of forty acres of land about three miles west of Boise in Ada County. The purpose of the inst.i.tution, as suggested by its name, is to provide a comfortable home for the honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, and marines who served in the Mexican, the Civil, or the Spanish-American wars; or for any member of the State National Guard disabled while on duty.

The home here provided for the old veterans is surrounded by all conveniences necessary to make their declining years pleasant and comfortable. The rooms are heated by steam and lighted with electricity, and they have a bountiful supply of wholesome food. A hospital is maintained in connection with the inst.i.tution, and the inmates have the constant care of a skilled physician if necessary.

It is the aim of the inst.i.tution to be as nearly self-supporting as possible; regular appropriations for its maintenance are received from the State and National Governments in about equal proportions.