History and government of New Mexico . composed of the governor, superintend-ent of public instruction, and the presidents of the Uni-versity, the Agricultural College, and St. Michaels board was given wide powers for the organizationand control of the entire school system and the adoptionof a uniform system of textbooks. The first step toward the organization of the new systemwas taken when Governor Prince appointed Amado Chaves,a graduate of St. Michaels College, as first Territorialsuperintendent of public instruction — an appointmentwhich at once disarmed any possible suspicio
History and government of New Mexico . composed of the governor, superintend-ent of public instruction, and the presidents of the Uni-versity, the Agricultural College, and St. Michaels board was given wide powers for the organizationand control of the entire school system and the adoptionof a uniform system of textbooks. The first step toward the organization of the new systemwas taken when Governor Prince appointed Amado Chaves,a graduate of St. Michaels College, as first Territorialsuperintendent of public instruction — an appointmentwhich at once disarmed any possible suspicion that thepublic school system might be an American scheme for EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT SINCE 1850 223 training children away from the Catholic Church; for was both Spanish in blood and Catholic in Public Education at Public Expense. — Perhapsthe newest feature of this new school law was the pro-vision for supporting the schools by public taxation. Thepayment of the poll tax was now made a qualification for. Main Building, New Mexico Normal University voting — a provision which proved so unpopular that itwas repealed at the next session of the legislature (1893).These new schools were to be not only public, but freeand supported at public expense. The old monthly tuitionfee was gone. New Mexico was emerging from forty yearsof wandering in the wilderness of ignorance and ready tobegin to apply the sound maxim that in a democracy everydollar of wealth is under a first mortgage for the education 224 THE HISTORY OF NEW MEXICO of all the children of all the people. That is their birth-right. 263. An Era of Rapid Progress. — The superintendentsreport for the first year under the system (1891-1892)showed over five hundred public schools with 23,000 pupilsenrolled. Adding to this the sixty private schools with4,000 students and the enrollment in the Territorial insti-tutions brings the total for the year up to more than 27,000. Until the end of the centur
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