Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-07-24
INDIAN EDUCATION.
A Lively Debate on That Subject in
the Senate.
UNCONVENTIONAL SCHOOLS.
Bankruptcy Bill Amendments Con-
sidered in the House.
UNCONVENTIONAL SCHOOLS.
MUCH TIME CONSUMED IN READING.
SENATE.

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lutionary soldier David WIlkinson).
FREE COINAGE OF SILVER
Mr.. Morgan introduced bill to fix the limit
OF value and to provide for the free coinage Of
silver. and it was read and referred to the COM
mittee on finance.
1t recites that the market value Of silver bull
lion is rapidly approaching the value of gold
on the standard relation fixed by the laws of
the United States, and that there is no pro-
vision OF law for the coinage of standard silver
dollars or for the purchase of silver bullion by
the government when the value of silver bull
hon exceeded one dollar for 371I grains of
pure silver. 1t therefore provides that the unit
OF value in the United States shall be the dol
lar OF 4l212 grains of standard silver or 25 $40
grains of gold; that those coins shall be legal
tender for all debts. public and private and
that any owner OF silver or gold bullion may
deposit it at any mint to be formed into dollars
or bars for his benefit and without charge.
de called the special attention of the finance
committee to the bill which, he said. was the
same as had already received a majority Of
seventeen in the Senate. He had introduced
1t because he was convinced that, in the rapid
advance OF the price of silver bullion in the
markets Of the world, the time was not far dis
tant to say the least of it, when silver and
gold bullion would be on par with each other
When that time did arrive the law, as il now
stood, would not permit the government to
buy silver bullion II there was any shade of ap-
probation IN its price beyond the price of gold
and there was no provision of law for the coin
age OF any silver except that purchased before
silver had reached that point In view Of what
appeared to be In the air, as well as on land
and on sea, in regard to the immediate future
OF the country, he thought that it would be
well enough to make some provision so that
silver or gold bullion would not be withdrawn
from the United States by other interested
governments and boarded up in their great
IL
WARNING.
The United States might then find itself in a
very unpleasant predicament- in one
OF Its great elements of strength at a time
when 1t needed it most. The United States had
Its India locked up in it's bosom-negroes In
dlans and the poorer classes-for whom silver
currency should be provided Great Britain
provided for her India by laying up silver and
permitting Its coinage in those provinces. The
United States would have use for all the silver
coin which could possibly be put through the
mint. In case of collision or hostilities be-
tween the United States and a foreign power
the United States would find itself very much
disarmed In one of the essential powers OF its
war ar-maklng capacity if it permitted its bullion
to be taken abroad
BILLS PASSED.
The following bills were taken from the cal
endar and passed: House bill to authorize the
construction OF bridge across the Savannah
river with an amendment) Senate bill au-
thorlzlng the city of Albany, in Oregon to con-
struct bridge across the willamette river.
Senate bill to provide an American register for
the steamer Marmion
THE INDIAN APPROPRIATION BILL.
The Senate resumed consideration Of the
indian appropriation bill-the pending uues-
ton being upon the insertion of an item of
$1,000 for the prosecution of suit in North
Carolina to enforce certain rights of the Chero.
kee Indians in that state
Mr.. Dawes, after consultation with Mr.. Ram
som, modified the amendment SO as merely to
appropriate $1,000 to pay the legal EXPENSES
already incurred in the suit and it was agreed
to. o
INDIAN SCHOOLS
Inc next amendment to provoke discussion
was one increasing an appropriation of SlOO. 900
for the support of Indian schools to SI5O OOO
the construction of a school buildinp
at Blackfeet agency, Mont
Mr. Vest opposed the amendment. as the in
PRODUCTION OF a system intended to abolish de-
education among the Indians
He spoke of an official visit which he had made
10 an lndlan agency seven or eight years ago
ana OF his observation of the work of the Cath |
ollc church in educating the Indians. A school
o Ouiidlng winch had been erected there by the |
Catholic church was then standing unoccupied
because the agent would not permit the Jesuits |
10 teach any OF the Indian children His opin-
IONS on the subject were fixed The Jesuits
had succeeded better than any other people
living In the education of the Indians What |
ever prejudice Of that was the proper word0 he |
might have against the Society of Jesus he mad
to say that much as an educated Protestant
CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES.
MIR. Davis also opposed the amendment and
spoke OF the efforts of the Catholic mission |
aries at the Blackfeet agency These good
people, he said, had applied to those philan- |
throplc ladies, the Misses Drexel of Pbiladel- |
phia, and had obtained $40, 900, which they had |
in school building re- |
to '0pse'ea bs told These sc, %ep ae1, ,sss
there was to be a government school mt on /
that reservation In competition with them, but |
that they were to have no contract whatever |
Tor the education of the Indians as had been |
plainly implied in the correspondence between |
sons In authority in the enterprise.
Mr.. Dawes suggested that the discussion |
would more properly take place on some sub
sequent amendments.
Mr.. Vest explained his position to be that IL
the Catholics were doing better in educating
the Indians than other denominations he WAS
in favor of the Catholics, and that if the Pres
BY yterians or the Baptists were doing better ne
was in favor Of them. But he was convinced
that the Catholics were far more efficient
AHnouB tHo luuidHs tudu any Protestant de-
nomination could be. No other denomination
could take their place, because the Indians.
like all other people emerging from barbarism.
had received religious impressions that were
permanent He did not care whether il might
be called religion or superstition.
THE INDIANS WERE CATHOLICS
and would remain Catholics. There were tribes
which had received from some peculiar per-
,onal influences q direction toward a particuIar
Protestant denomination. He knew a tribe in
Montana nearly all of whose members had a
distinct leaning to the Baptist church through
/ personal regard for one or two men who had
zone among them lived with them and adopted
heir traditions to certain extent; and there
we're some English missionaries in Alaska
Who seemed to have been created for that yerv
work.
The discussion was continued by Mr. Teller
who also spoke Of the Catholics as the most
educators Of the Indiana. and nv
Mr.. Jones (Ark.) }, who gave figures to show the
great difference in expense between the gov
schools for Indians and those carried
IN by the religious denomination. He ridi-
,uled the idea put forward by the Commissioned
IF Indian affairs as to the necessity of hi0her
education for Indian children 20 a. 10 make
hem
"LEADHRs OF THOUGHT"
md said that il was much more important for
Ehsm to learn how to carry ON farms. Luild
houses and raise cattle. The cheap contract
MI. Jones argued, ought TO be main