The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-10-12
Care OF The INDIANS.
Commissioner Morgan's Report
to the Interior Department.
he Recommends That the Indians
be Made Self.Supporting.

General T. J. Morgan. Commissioner Of
Indian Affairs, has submitted to the Secre.
tary Of the luter:or his fourth annual re.
port. .Tne plan Of detailing army officers
to take charge Of Indian agencies is dis
cussed and disapproved. After careful con.
sidera.ion OF the subject OF law and courts
for the Indians, the Commissioner concludes
that it Is not desirable to formulate any
elaborate special system. The rules for the
Indian courts have been carefully revised.
giving to them larger jurisdiction and
placing them on higher plane. It is
thought that these will serve for ell prac.
tical purposes until the process Of allotment
mas been completed.
The report discusses the question, What
is an Indian2 and opposes the application Of
the common law principle that the offspring
Of free persons follow the condition OF the
father in determining the status OF the chill.
dren born Of a white man, a citizsn of the
United States, and an Indian woman. his
wife. The Commissioner does not think that
"obildren of such parents are, therefore, by
birth not Indians, but citizsn' OF ths United
States" ''The law Of descent" no says
must be determined, not after Roman or
English precedent, but in accordance With
Indian usage and our American admins
trative sanction"
There are now in operation. or soon to bs
opened. twenty large training schools for
Indians situated in civilized communities ra-
mote from the Indian reservations. Three
wears ago there were eight such institutions.
When completed the total capacity Of the
twenty will be about 5000 pupils. The total
enrollAlent Of pupils in all thu schools, Gov
ernment and contract, for the year ending
June 80, 1892, was nearly "a, 600, an increase
%hra
more than twenty-five per cent. Four years
more at this rate of progress will sea practi-
cally all Indian children gathered into
schools.
Rapid progress has been made during the
year in allotting lands to Indians. care
ful survey Of the entire work accomplished,
In progress, and yet remaining to bs done
shows that the allotment OF land to all the
Indians to whom application Of the severalty
law would be for their interest can be CON-
pleted within ths next three or four years,
with the possible exception OF the Sioux In
dams. Reports from Iudien agents regard
ing the effects of aliosmeats upon the In
dams are, on the whole, favorable. =
A system has been established on the In.
dian reservations Of opening and construct
ing roads and highways similar to those in
use among civilized communities. The sun
of 5000, 900 Is being expended on the Grow
reservation in Montana in the development
OF q system Of irrigation, AMI more than
$50. 900 is being expended for the same pur'
pose on other reservations. An irr1gaunS
canal is building through the Fort Hall res
ervation. Ten thousand head OF stock cattle
have been purchased and distributed among
the Sioux Indians who are takiug lively
interest In stock raising.
Tables are given showing that nearly 2O3O
Indians receive regular stated wages from
the Government for services performed, and
that, including those employed at irregular
labor. an aggregate sum Of nearly N0l, OOJ q
year Is paid out for Indian labor. Most ol
the money is being ss we'll expended by thta
Indians as It would be by any other class Of
people. ....
The Commissioner recommends the grad
ual reduction OF rations until the Govern
ment ceases to issue to the Indians anything
in the way Of food or .otning, and substi'
tutes for such issues cash payments for
whatever may be done. He also recon-
msuds that the reservation Of the Navajoss
be carefully surveyed. and that steps be i'm:
mediatAly taken to construct system OF
irrigation that shall render the reservation
capable OF supporting properly the large
body Of N,vajoes who make 1t their home.
There has been decrease in the annual
cost of Indian administration, except Ia tie
items of che purchase Of lands from the In
dams and In the matter OF education.
There has been q steady increase 10
the amount of money appropriated for
schools, but the Commissioner insists,
with great earnestness. that this sum should
be still further largely add rapidly in
creased. The Commissioner recommends
the entire enforcement Of Indian affairs
from party politics the enlargement OF the
auth ority everywhere Of the Commissions.
and the building UP every where in the In
dian service of the merit system.