The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1894-12-08

fitle to immense tracts of Land covered
with timber Which should be propnrI,
reserved rs permanent sources Of timbe
supply. The suggestion that Il change b.
made in the manner of securing surveys o
the public lands is especially worthy %
consideration lam satisfied that the sur
vcys should be made by n corps of conn.
tent surveyors under the immediate con
troll and direction of the commissioner O
the general land office.
An exceedingly important recommends
ton Of the secretary relates to the name,
IN which contests and Irrigated cases grow
ing out OF efforts to obtain government
lands are determined. The entire testi
mony upon which these Controversies de
pend In all their stages is taken before tn,
local registers and receivers and yet Ties,
officers have no power to subpoena wit
Eessas or to enforce their attendance tx
testify. These C sas, numbering 3,091 OF
1,ooD annually, are sent by the local officer,
10 the commissioner of the general land
office for ais action. The cxigencies of hi.
other duties oblige him to act
upon the decisions of the regis
tiers and receivers without an oppor
thnity of thorough personal examinations
Nearly 1900 OF these cases are appealed an.
nullly Ircm the commissioner to the sec.
rotary. of the interior. Rurdened with
other important administrative duties his
determination of these appeals must be al
most p~arfi!nctory and based upon the ex.
animation of others, though this determi
natl II of the secretary operates as a final
adjudication upon rights of very great i'm
p%ortance. lconcur in the opinion that the
commissioner of the general land Office
should be reliev d from the duty of deeid.
ing Irrigated land cases, that auonpnrti-
san court should be created to pass on
such cases and that the decisions of this
court should be final, at least so far as the
decisions of the department are now final.
The proposed court might be given a,l-
thority to certify Il question of law In mat
tiers of specia! Importance, to the supreme
court OF the United States or the court of
appeals for the District OF Columbia for
decision. The creation OF such a tribunal
wonld expedite the disposal of eases and
insure decisions of q more satisfactory
character. The registers and receivers who
originally hear and decide these disputes
should be- invested with authority to com
pei witnesses to attend and testify before
them
Thc Indians.
Though the condition of the In.
i!nns shows n steady and a
healthy process, their situation is
not satisfactory, ut al! points.
Some of them to whom allot,nents {: land
hnyt been made are found TO be unable or
dislhclined to follow agricultural pursuits
or To otherwise beneticially manage their
lands. This is especially true of the
Cheyennes and Arapahoes who, as it mp
pears by report OF their agent, have in
many Instances never been located upon
their a,lotmcnts and in One cases do not
even know where their allotments are.
Their condition has detcriorated. They
are not self supporting and they live in
camps aud spend their time in idleness. |
have always believed that allotments of
reservation lands to Indians in se.eralty
should he made sparingly, or at least
slowly and with the utmost caution.
In these days when white agri%culturists
~ stock raiserS of experience and %iutelli-
gencs find their 10. q hard one, we ought
not to expect Indians, unless far advanced
i'll civilization and habits of industry, to
support themselves on the small tracts of
land usually allotted to them. IL the self
supporting scheme by allotment fniIs the
wretehtd pauparism of the ~alloteps which
results is worse than their original condi.
ton of regulated dependence. Ii is evil
dent the evil consequences of ill-advised
allotmcnts are intensified in cases where
the false step cannot be retreated on ar
count of the purchases by the government
OF the reservation lands remaining after
allotments arc made and the disposition OF
such remaining lands to settlers or IL
chaserS from the government.
am convinced that The proper solution
of the Indian problem and the success of
every step taken in that direction depend
TO a very large extent upon the intelli-
gence and honesty Of the reservation
agents and the interest they have in their
work. The indications are that the detail
of army officers as Indian agents will re
suit in improved management of the reser-
~vations. Whenever allot.nents are made
and any Indian on the reservation has pre-
rlously settled upon Il lot and cultivated
it, or shown any disposition to improve il
in any way, such lot should certainly lie
allotted to him ana this should be made
plainly obligatory of statute. In the light
OF experience. and considering the Lnoer-
tainty of the Indian situation and its ext
gencies in the future, | am not only dis
posed to be very cautious in making
~allotments, but | incline to agree with the
secretary of the interior in the opinion
that when allotnlentsare made the balance
of reservation land remaining after
allotment instead of being bought By tho
government from the Indians and opened
for settlement with such scandals and I'M,
fnir practices as seem unavoidable should
remain for a time ut least rs common land
or be sold by the government on behalf of
the Indians in an orderly way and ut fixed
prices to be determined By it's location and
desirahility and that the proceeds less OK
penses should be held in trust for the ben,
eft Of the Of the Indian proprietor. Tho
Intelligent Indian school management of
VIZ iiSl year jNS Dteu lOliOWeu DIV Htat1iV-
ing results. Efforts have been made to
advance the work in q sound and practical
manner. Five institutes OF Indian teachers
have been held during the year and have
proved very beneficial through the views
exchanged aud methods discussed particu-
larly applicable to Indian education. Eff
forts are being made in the direction of n
gradual reduction Of the number of Indian
contract schools, SO that in q short time
they may give way altogether to govern
ment schools, and it is hoped that the
change may be SO gradual as to be per
fected without too great expense to the
government or undue disregard of inve.t-
msiits made bv those who have established
ana are mainta>iing such contract
schools. The appropriation for the
current year ending June 80, 1895,
applicable to the ordinary expenses
of the Indian service amounts
to Sc, 33,Go3.1 Is, being less by. 1868. 240.e O. than
the sum appropriated on the same account
for the previous year.
Tho Pension Roll.
AT the close of the last fiscal year on the
Both day of June. 1894, there were $50, 1914
persons on our pension rolls. being a ne
increase of 3,532 over the number reported
at the end of the previous year. These
pensioners may be classified as follows;
Soldiers and sailors, survivors of all wars.
7754, 9GS: widows and relatives of DECEASED
soldiers, 2l5, l62;; army nurses In the war Of
the rebellion, 4i4. OF these pensioners
81, o39 are surviving soldiers of Indian and
other wars prior to the late civil war and
the widows and relatives of such soldiera
b remainder, numbering 937, 5o5, are re-.
ceivlng pensions on account of the war Of
the rebellion, and OF these 4SD,a44 are on
the rolls under the authority Of tile act OF
June ~, 1900, sometimes called the de-
pendent pension law. The total anoun:
expended for pensions during the wear was
sl3e, so4 i6l ,u5, leaving an unexpended bal
anee from the sum appropriated of sa5,-
Eo5. fl2.65. The sum necessary to meet
pension expenditures for the year ending
June 80, 1896, is estimated at $40 GOO, 0NJt'
The commissioner of pensions is Of the
opinion that tho year 1895, being
the thirtieth after tho clasa
the war Of the rebellion
mnst. according to all sensible human cal,
c!uiatiop, see the highest limit of the pom
sion roll, and that after that year it must
begin to decline. Tbs claims pending in
The bureau have decreased more than co.