IDAHO
629
IDAHO
race or colour. No books or tlocuments of a political
or denominational character may be used. Education
is compulsory for at least three years between the
ages of six and eighteen years.
Besides the public schools there is the state uni- versity at M0.SC0W, opened in 1S92, which confers the degrees of master and ijachelor in arts, science, agri- culture, and the degree of Isachclor in music, do- mestic science, law, forestry, and veterinary surgery, civil engineering, mining engineering, electric and mechanical engineering. The faculty numbers fifty, and the student body about 540. There are normal schools at Albion and Lewiston, the academy of Idaho at Pocatello, and a school for deaf, dumb, and blind at Boise, all maintained by the state. In addition to these schools there are one Presbyterian, one Seven Day Adventist, and four Mormon schools and colleges, while there are seven Catholic acad- emies and five Catholic parochial schools. In 190S there were 2,052 teachers in the public schools, and 70,000 pupils enrolled; the total expenditure for common schools was in that year over .?!, 700,000. It is a notable fact that the new immigrants and settlers organize school districts and erect splendid schools, even before the erection of permanent business and residential structures.
History. — The first white man known to have visited Idaho was Chevalier De La Verandaye, Governor of Quebec; sixty-two years later the great overland expedition of Lewis and Clark, sent out by President Jefferson, traversed the state. During the next fifty years, however, Idaho was known only to the hunters and missionaries, the only settlements being fur-trading posts and missions. In ISGO placer gold was discovered in Oro Fino, and this discovery was followed by a rush to the state of miners from other Western camps; rich placer deposits were dis- covered on Salmon and Boise Rivers, and in 1863 there were over 25,000 miners in the famous Boise basin alone. Other placer deposits were discovered by adventuresome eager pioneers, but most of the latter left the state after the gold excitement had sub- sided, leaving a few settlers, who, attracted by the mild climate and wonderful soil, established them- selves on ranches. These early settlers were of Ameri- can stock, hardy, brave, and accustomed to the hardships of pioneer days, and were mostly literate men. The influx of population was not rapid until 1900, when the reports of new mineral discoveries and a wider knowledge of the vast timber and agricultural resoiu'ces and the wonderful climate spread to the Eastern States. The gigantic irrigation projects im- der the Government construction and the provisions of the Carey Act attracted a large number of immi- grants, particularly from the Dakotas, Iowa, Ne- braska, and the Middle Western States; the necessity for possession of some capital in order to obtain irri- gated lands secured the immigration to Idaho of a generally well-to-do class of intelligent Americans. There is but a very small percentage of foreign ]5opu- lation in the state. Idaho was admitted as the forty- fourth state of the Union on 3 July, 1890, having previously adopted its constitution in November, 1889. The main event in the political history of Idaho was the disfranchisement of the Mormons in 1883, but their disclaimer of polygamy in 1897 led to the restoration of citizenship to a large number of their body. In times past this religious organization had, and even now retains, great political influence in the state.
In 1892 and 1899 great strikes occurred among the lead miners of Northern Idaho; United States troops were called out to quell the riots, and imprisoned over 400 miners in the famous "Bull Pen". In 1907 Frank Steunenberg, the governor during the miners' riots, was assassinated. The officers of the Western Federation of Miners were taken from the State of
Colorado, charged with his murder, but after a lengthy
trial were acquitted. In 1896 the constitution of the
state was so amended as to permit woman suffrage.
The women are not greatly interested in political par-
ties, but the influence of the women voters has been
sajutary, and has resultcfl in passing many morally
uplifting laws, in the reform and Ijetterment of politi-
cal conditions, and in securing equitable property
right laws for married women. The offices of state
and county superintendents of public instruction have
almost without exception since their enfranchisement
been filled by women, ani.1 generally most capably
filled ; however, few women have occupied seats in the
legislature, although other county and state offices
have been filled by them.
Religious Factors. — The membership of the Mormon Church in the state is 40,905. Catholics num- ber 14,450, Presbyterians 3,839, Methodists 3,706, Christian 3,500, Baptist 2,670, Episcopalians 2,000, Congregational 1,373. The first Catholic mission in the state was founded in 1842 among the Coeur d'Alene Indians by Father Nicholas Point, 8. J., and Brother Charles Stuet, S.J., although this trilie had been vis- ited by Father De Smet, S.J., at a still earlier date. These Indians are among the finest specimens of the aboriginal American, and became intelligent and de- vout Catholics, handing down to the present genera- tion a lively faith and a thrift and industry almost unique in the annals of the American Indian.
On 3 March, 1858, Pope Pius IX constituted the Territory of Idaho as a vicariate Apostolic under the Right Rev. Louis Lootens, titular Bishop of Castabala. In 1885 the Right Rev. Alphonsus Joseph Glorieux succeeded him, having been consecrated titular Bishop of Apollonia at Baltimore; eight years later the State of Idaho was made an episcopal see, with Bishop Glorieux as first Bishop of the Diocese of Boise. To estimate the Catholic population of the state is diffi- cult, because of the wonderful immigration from the Eastern and Middle Western States since 1903. In 1907 there were 11,000 whites and 4,000 Indians, but this is considerably below the present true enu- meration. The white Catholics are principally of Irish and German ancestry, Spain, France, Poland, and Canada being also represented. Since 1902 about 3,000 Spaniards from the Basque and Pyrenees prov- inces have immigrated to the southern part of the state, finding employment in the sheep industry. Catholics prominent in the state's history are Judge John Clark of the Idaho supreme court, Henry Heit- feld. Senator of the LInited States, Congressman James Gunn, Miss Perineal French, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Joseph Perrault, Territorial Comp- troller, and Joseph Fallon, Commissioner of Immigra- tion.
The first place of worship of any denomination erected in Idaho was a ('atholic church, dedicated by Father Mesplie in 1867 in Idaho City, the territorial capital; Catholics also erected the first church in the present capital, Boise.
Idaho is ecclesiastically under the charge of Right Reverend A. J. Glorieux, Bishop of Boise, and about 35 priests, mostly secular, but including the Jesuits, Marists, and Benedictines. Parochial schools, acade- mies, and hospitals to the numlier of seventeen are in charge of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, of St. Joseph, of the Visitation of Charity, of Providence, of St. Benedict, of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Ursulines.
The order of the Knights of Columbus instituted the pioneer Council at Boise in May, 1904, with twenty- seven members; in May, 190S, the order had increased to eight councils, with a membership of about 600.
Laws. — The prejudice and feeling against the Mor- mon Church were largely responsible for the extensive reference to religion and religious worship in the Idaho State Constitution, the preamble of which reads: " We,
