withdrawal of Government aid from the last named schools, which are under private control. The subject has been much discussed in our conferences, in the public press, and in Congress. In the Indian appropriation bill for the current year it is provided that—

The Secretary of the Interior is hereby directed to inquire into and investigate the propriety of discontinuing contract schools, and whether, in his judgment, the same can be done without detriment to the education of the Indian children; and that he submit to Congress at the next session the result of such investigation, including an estimate of the additional cost, if any, of substituting Government schools for contract schools, together with such recommendations as he may deem proper.

What recommendation* will be made we do not know, but we trust that nothing will be done to the detriment of the education of the Indian children. A sudden withdrawal of all aid might compel the closing of many contract schools, depriving their pupils of facilities for education, while, if time is given to the mission boards and other organizations that conduct such schools to prepare for the change, and appeal to their constituents for means, they may be able to continue many, if not all their schools. We should regret to see them closed. We can not forget the great good they have done. They grew out of mission schools, and mission schools were first in the field doing earnest and useful work long before the Government began to educate Indian children. Nor can we forget that these societies have expended, during the last ten years, for the support of Indian schools and missions, more than three millions of dollars, and that they have rendered to the Government more than full recompense for the aid they have received. Nor again should it be forgotten that the contract schools are distinctively Christian schools, and for that reason we hope they will be continued, though Government aid be withheld, for it is manifest that the most pressing need of the Indians now is instruction, line upon line, in Christian truth and Christian morals. Law alone will not change his character and save him. Liberty will not save him, unless he learns to use liberty without abusing it. And if by larger appropriations the Government shall afford facilities for secular education to all Indian children, the religious bodies will find use for all their resources in direct missionary work. But there are yet large needs in the education system, which we can hardly hope to see immediately supplied. In some tribes there are no schools. In others, only a small percentage of the children have school privileges. Nearly 4,000 are unprovided for on the Navajo Reservation. So that for some years to come there will be room for all the work that mission schools can do.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

We hope for some relief and good results from the plan now successfully inaugurated, of placing Indian children in the public schools of the States and districts where they reside. During the last year 259 pupils have been provided for in this manner. The fee of $10 per quarter is a material help in the support of district schools, and the attendance of Indian children will cultivate a friendly feeling between the races. And for many Indians, scattered over the country like the Hualapais in California, separate schools can not be provided without too large an outlay. The public schools afford the only opportunity for their education. We shall be glad, therefore, to second by whatever influence we can exert, the purpose of the Commissioner and superintendent to "make every effort by pressure and persuasion to increase attendance of Indian

*The recommendation is a reduction of 20 per cent per annum.

pupils at public schools." It is a step toward the transference of the whole work of Indian education to the States, and making unnecessary specific Indian schools.

TEACHERS AND INSTITUTES.

The wisest theories of education, the most elaborate organization, and the most liberal expenditure of means will all fail of good results without competent executive agents. In the Indian school work the teachers are the executive agents. Their teaching and character will mold the minds and character of their pupils, with whom they are in constant contact. Their unconscious influence will often be greater than their direct instructions. Hence, we are pleased to observe the earnest care now exercised by Superintendent Hailman and the Civil Service Commission in the examination of applicants for positions in this service. And we were gratified to read in the report of the superintendent respecting the operations of the civil-service law that "in spite of the limitations it imposes upon the appointing officers, it exerts on the whole a most salutary influence upon the character of the service." We heartily agree with him in the "hope that in due course of time every position in the Indian school service will come within the provisions, or, at least, under the spirit of this law."

The teachers' institutes, or summer schools, can not fail to benefit the whole school work. The meeting of large numbers of teachers from distant and isolated stations, the friendly consultations, the comparison of experiences, the discussion of methods of discipline and instruction, and manual training, addresses and papers, and practical lessons by trained educators, must be productive of good results. And after spending a week or ten days together the teachers will go back to their fields inspired with new courage and hope.

AGENTS AND EMPLOYEES.

As the educational work depends almost entirely upon the ability and character of the teachers, so the civilization and progress of the Indians depend largely upon the faithfulness and capacity of the agents and employees. We have often urged that appointments to these positions be made on the ground of merit alone, and that removals be made only for good cause after a fair hearing. We therefore read with great satisfaction and gratitude in the late report of the honorable Secretary of the Interior the following earnest words:

If any army officer fills the place, he must do so with the enthusiasm of a soldier in line of battle. If a civilian fills the place, he is unfit for the task unless moved by an earnest, zealous, inspired purpose to accomplish the noble work of helping to elevate a weaker race. Something of the missionary spirit should be in the heart of every employee at an Indian agency or Indian school. I can not claim that the present administration has uniformly succeeded in selecting people of the character described, but it is the earnest purpose of the Indian Bureau and the Department to study the employees throughout the entire service, to make proficiency the sole standard of retention in office, and to make apparent capacity the sole ground for new appointments.

The work of the development of the Indian is necessarily slow. Their peculiarities must be studied and understood, not as a whole, but as members of particular tribes, before those engaged in their supervision are fit for successful work. Permanency of service, therefore, is absolutely necessary to success. I believe it is possible to develop a competent, permanent, nonpartisan Indian service, and I hope before the end of another year that such progress will have been made in this direction that its realization will be assured.

We heartily indorse this hope, and shall rejoice to see it fulfilled. We also join with the Secretary and Commissioner in earnestly recom

mending a larger appropriation for the employment of field matrons. No branch of Indian education and training is more useful than this house-to-house visitation and instruction of Indian women in the arts of domestic economy, and we trust that the recommendation of the Department may receive favorable consideration.

NEW YORK INDIANS.

The appropriation bill for the current fiscal year provides:

That the Secretary of the Interior be, and hereby is, authorized to make a thorough investigation of the facts touching the so-called Ogden Land Company.

The alleged claim of this company to the lands of Seneca Indians has been a great hindrance to the progress of these Indians toward independent citizenship, and to the allotment of their lands in severalty. The measure now adopted is a hopeful step toward a settlement of the long-standing difficulties.

RECOMMENDATIONS.

We have no new policy to propose. Faithful administration and persistence in welldoing are all that is required. Some of the Indian agencies can soon be dispensed with; two have already been discontinued, but it will be many years before all can be closed. The talk of abolishing all agencies and the Indian Bureau is, in existing conditions, idle talk. We recommend extreme caution in this direction. When released from the authority and deprived of the oversight of the agent even the most advanced Indians will still need the advice and help of some competent and trusted friend. We suggest that when it is found advisable to close any group of agencies, like those on the Pacific Coast in Washington, some one of proved fidelity and experience be appointed to act for all as their best friend in matters of difficulty requiring help and counsel.

We recommend (1) a modification of the laws relating to the leasing and sale of allotted lands; (2) the placing of the entire Indian service under regulations of the civil-service law; (3) an increase of appropriations for education.

MERRILL E. GATES, Chairman.

E. WHITTLESEY, Secretary.

ALBERT K. SMILEY.

WM. H. LYON.

JOSEPH T. JACOBS.

WILLIAM D. WALKER.

PHILIP C. GARRETT.

DARWIN R. JAMES.
HENRY B. WHIPPLE.

The SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

APPENDIX.

REPORT OF THE PURCHASING COMMITTEE.

SIR: The purchasing committee of the Board of Indian Commissioners submits its report, as follows:

According to directions from the Indian Bureau, sealed proposals for the following annuity goods and supplies for the Indian service: Agricultural implements, wagons and wagon fixtures, harness, saddles and leather, household furniture, wooden and hollow ware, lamps, glass and tin ware, stoves, iron, nails, and hardware, paints and oils, beef, pork, bacon, lard, flour, wheat, corn, oats, barley, feed, and salt, were opened on May 15, at the Government warehouse, Nos. 130 and 132 West Washington street, Chicago, Ill., in the presence of Hon. D. M. Browning, Commissioner of Indian Affairs; P. C. Pollock, representing the honorable Secretary of the Interior, and five members of the Board of Indian Commissioners. A large number of bidders and several reporters were present. A great variety of samples was offered.

Mr. D. C. Cregier was appointed superintendent of the warehouse, and the following as inspectors to examine the samples offered, also to examine the goods when delivered to see that they were equal to the samples from which the awards were made:

E. L. Cooper, for agricultural implements, hardware, stoves and tinware, furniture, and miscellaneous articles; E. C. Hickey, for harness, leather, etc.; D. C. Cregier, jr., for paints, oil, and glass; E. Theile, for medical supplies; W. H. Crocker, for flour, corn and oatmeal, hominy, hard bread, and salt.

The inspection of samples and the awarding of contracts were completed May 30. On the 31st of May sealed proposals, as per advertisement from the Indian Bureau, for blankets, woolen and cotton goods, clothing, boots and shoes, hats and caps, notions, crockery, groceries, coffee, tea, sugar, rice, and beans were opened at the Government warehouse, Nos. 77 and 79 Wooster street, New York, in the presence of the honorable Commissioner of Indian Affairs and several members of the Board of Indian Commissioners, bidders, and reporters. The competition among bidders was greater than usual, the bids in Chicago and New York being about 600, and prices were very low. Inspectors were appointed by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, as follows:

H. D. Graves, for groceries and supplies; John H. Bradley, dry goods; A. T. Anderson, clothing; W. B. Hazleton, boots and shoes; John Weber, hats and caps; G. A. Ferguson, medical supplies; E. L. Cooper, crockery and sundries.

Mr. H. D. Graves was appointed superintendent of the warehouse.

The examination of samples and awarding contracts in New York required the attention of the board three weeks. The chairman of your committee made frequent calls at the warehouse after June 30, during the examination and shipment of goods, and was informed by the superintendent that only one invoice of goods had been rejected by the inspectors as not being equal to the sample from which the award was made, a small invoice of hosiery, which was promptly replaced by the contractor, to the satisfaction of the inspector. The superintendent reports that 29,089 packages of goods, weighing 4,139,583 pounds, were shipped from the New York warehouse during the year 1894.

Hon. MERRILL E. GATES,

President Board of Indian Commissioners.

WILLIAM H. LYON,

Chairman Purchasing Committee.

REPORT OF E. WHITTLESEY.

WASHINGTON, D. C., March 1, 1894.

SIR: I have the honor to report that on the 20th ultimo I was present at the opening of bids in Chicago, Ill., for live stock and agricultural implements. Eightynine proposals were opened and read in the presence of many contractors by the

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honorable Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and after due consideration and inspection, contracts were awarded for about 10,000 head of live stock and for wagons, harness, plows, and other implements, the contract price for the whole amounting to over $400,000.

All present seemed to be satisfied that the business was conducted with entire fairness and impartiality.

Very respectfully,

Hon. MERRILL E. GATES, Chairman.

E. WHITTLESEY, Secretary.

WASHINGTON, D. C., April 25, 1894.

SIR: I have the honor to report that pursuant to your request I have visited the Eastern Cherokee training school at Cherokee, N. C. The superintendent, Mr. Thomas W. Potter, has had previous experience in the Territory of Oklahoma and a year's training at Carlisle. He found the Cherokee school in a demoralized condition on account of changes of superintendent and teachers, but by earnest work and aided by a corps of competent teachers he is bringing it up to its former prosperity under Mr. and Mrs. H. W. Spray. The number of pupils in attendance is 80, all that the appropriation provides for and all that the buildings can accommodate. Larger facilities are much needed. This is the only school for 400 children of school age. Of course many who would attend must be rejected for want of room and means of support. The buildings are all old and going fast to decay. A new and larger schoolhouse is needed, and a dormitory for boys, the buildings now occupied being utterly unfit for use. A storeroom should also be provided without delay. All the supplies are now carried up two flights of stairs into the attic over the girls' dormitory, a building not constructed to safely sustain such weight.

Besides the regular schoolroom work, in which I found the children bright and interested, industrial training is carried on as far as means allow. The girls are taught cooking and sewing and laundry work, and the boys various mechanical arts, and especially farming, all working one-half of each day. I found them planting the spring crops.

The tone of contentment and cheerfulness among the pupils and the excellent character of the employees give promise of a useful and prosperous school.

Respectfully,

Hon. MERRILL E. GATES, Chairman.

E. WHITTLESEY, Secretary.

REPORT OF COMMISSIONER ALBERT K. SMILEY OF A VISIT TO THE MISSION INDIANS MADE IN THE SPRING OF 1894.

At the request of the United States Board of Indian Commissioners, I visited the principal reservations of the Mission Indians of southern California in the spring of 1894. I was very desirous of visiting these Indians, as I was chairman of the commission which set aside all the reservations for the Mission Indians in the spring and autumn of 1891. The other members of the commission were Judge J. B. Moore, of Michigan, and Prof. C. C. Painter, of Washington.

The law of Congress which created the commission makes it the duty of the Indian Bureau, upon the acceptance of the report of the commission by the President and Secretary of the Interior, to issue patents to each tribe for their lands, which are to be inalienable for twenty-five years. Whenever, in the judgment of the Secretary, the Indians at any reservation are far advanced enough to hold lands in severalty, an allotting agent may be appointed to divide the lands.

I find that less than half of the reservations have as yet been patented, delays being occasioned in some instances by imperfect surveys. It is desirable that all the patents should be issued as soon as possible, and that more of the reservations should be allotted in severalty.

The first reservation visited was San Jacinto, formerly called Saboba, which I reached Wednesday afternoon, the 4th of April, 1894. I found a new schoolhouse had been erected in a new location, not so attractive as the old place, which had shade trees near the house. The school was in session, under the charge of Miss Mary L. Noble, who has held her position for eight years. She is an energetic and faithful teacher, and has her pupils well in hand. When addressed, the scholars answer promptly and distinctly, with head erect and eyes fastened on the teacher. Many of the older boys were at home taking care of the stock, while the men were away sheep-shearing. One of the progressive Indians had taken a contract to shear 25,000 sheep. An Indian can shear from 30 to 45 sheep a day, and receives 5 cents a sheep, besides board.