Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-12-04

''~'''''hei acre remained unad ed '' ei''o
:. frotection OF Public Innss-
RON, "ppeaTs thnt tn, appropriation for the cr-
projection Of ;n,i OF SPECIAL service for this
.nereon = much less than those for pra;'s.i
Years and Inadequate for an e.icie,tP nors,
tHan has been appropriated dnr;na % money
o. gears past on this account has been ratmrned
tbcs,. am,5 US a result of the labors OF
i !, and hope il will not be crinnied mn "a,
.msuihcieht appropriation. | fully enSprsa ny
prsIe. ton IN n OF the sec,eia that ade .uit,
forest reserves and tia. Tor our
sscs Seo, forestry system be inausuratedd
sary TO protect the forests air.adv re,.,
s,houid be provided. am of the on;nion th Gu
sanc,is snoli1 DC an abandonment OF the Motley
the government for u very small cons;i.r Mt tis,
Ian, fdaplauy losing title to imma nse tracts OF
,'.Lu covered with timber which shonld ha
properly reserved us permanent snrrans D e
TIMBER supply. 'ouioo' VI
m ame suggestion that change be made in the
~ n''i,nr ., securing surveys OF the DuhIic hands
esPec'aIy worthy of consideration / am
s'. sIicd mat these rvcys should he made n,.
i,rr,aSH. VI comfttent Surveyors under the.
. u,a1e control and direction of the
commissioner of the general land affcn
~, IN exceedingly important Re on,mendatlon Of
.ne secretary reates to the manner in Wb;cr
contests and Ii ligated cases GROWING omt 80
e .,lits To 0utain government land are deter.
mn Inc entire testimony upon which
II IL
taken lore tine 10 al registers and rac.si,,ar
ana yet these officers have no power to snhn,t,
1e wtinesser or to enforce their attendance
70 os,tf. these cases. numbering three or
Tour Thousand annually. are $ mt by the local
ai 70 tne G. fniniss oner of the general land
Once Tor his act on. The cyipepcrs Of III
other duties oblige him to act upon The i.c;s
loils oi the registers and receivers without a,
SppoIrtuil.y OF thorough personal examination
."Iliy Two Elousand oI these case, are an
pea'ed annually from the commissioner ~ tho
s..rrre'ary OF the interior. Burdened with
o'her lmpoi tant administrative duties his d.
termination OF these appeals must he .,t,,,s.,
pcriuhctoiy IA d based upon the examiu,rinn
.. ON rs though this determination of tn. sec
rrtNy operates as final adjudication unoo
rights of very great Importance
concur III the opinion that the commissioner
% % .ne general land Office should be relieved
ION 'iie duty OF deciding Irrigated land cases
ana that the d.c ons of thrs cnnrt
should lie final, at least so far AS the
Inc proposed court might be given AUTHORITY
10 certify questions of law in matters III
e ~ la importance to the supreme court OF
.he Sn.ea States or the court of appeals for
the District of Columbia for decision The
creation ct such n tribunal oud expetliate tine
disposal OF eases and insure decisions of a more
satisfactory character The register, and "a
celNers who originally hear and decide th, dis
pntes should be invested with authority to
conpel witnesses to attend and testify b,.fore
them. i'
Indians Farmers.
Ihough the con dition of the Indians shows a
steady and healthy progress. their situation i,
to whom allotments of Land have been made
are Iound To be unable or disnclincj To follow
n.rlcmlturai pursuits or otherwise beneficially
uiana:,e their land. This is especially true OF
the Cheyennes and Arapahoes who, as il an.
pears by reports of their agent have in many
instances never been located upon their nIiof
ments, ana IL some cases do not even know
where their alio.ments are. Their condition
mas deter,orated. They are not self-supportiny
idlenc-s. l have always believed that aiiot.
mehts OF reservation lands TO Indians in
least slowly and with the utmost caution
In these days, when white agriculturists and
s s. ., raise OF experience ami intelligence
hrd their lota hard one. we ought not TO ex-
pect Indians, uni IS far advanced in civiliza
non and habits of industry, to support them
selves or the small tracts OF land usually aIot-
ted To them. II the self supporting scheme by
aliottmen fails the wrctchcd pauperism of the
ailottec. which results is worse tnan their or.
iglnai condition of regulated Dependence. Ii i
exlu. mt that the evil Consequences of illadv sed
allotment are intensified III cases where the
hrst step CAMPO; be rotraced ON cunt of the
purchas. by the government of reserv ii
lands remaining aft 7 allo tmcnts are made
and the disposition Of such remaining lands to
an, ~, rpm the government
the Indian problem and the SUI ctss OF every
step taken III that direction. depend to a large
extent upon the Intelligence and honesty Of
TN reservation agents and the interest tney
have Ill their work. An agent fitted for his
Piaee can DO much toward preparing the In
dams under his charge for citizenship and al
lotment of their lands. and his advice as to any
matter concern ny their welfare will not mis-
lead An unit agent will make no effort to ad
vance the Indians On his reservation toward
ei'ihzati9n or preparation for allot ment
o1ina nha rs 20 IN ,,o;r sev, rally, and his
other regards is needless and valuelcss
The indications are that the detail of army
officers as Indian agents will result III lmprov "a
management on the reservations. Whenever
alotments are made and any Indian the
reservation has previously settled upon a lot
and cultivated 1t. or shown a disposition to i'm
prove II in any way, such lot should certainly
I've allotted to him, ard this should be made
plainly obligatory by statute.
Caution in Making AlIOtments-
In the light of experience. and considering
the uncertainty OF the Indian situation and its
cXIgcncies in tEe future. am not only disposed
to be very cautious in making allotments, but
incline to agree with the secretary of the in
terror in the opinion that when allotments arc
made the balance of reservation land remaining
government from the Indians and opened TO- set
t!ement with such scandals and unfair prac-
tices as seem unavoidable, should remain for
a time at least rs common land or be sold by
the government on behalf of the Indians in an
orderly way and at fixed prices to he deter
mined by its location and desirabiiity. and that
the proceeds, !, IS expenses should be held III
trust for the benefit of the Indian proprietors
The intelligent Indian school management of
the past year has teen followed by the mos,
gratifying suits. Efforts have been made to
advance The worl, m a sound and practical
have been held during the year AMI have
proved very beneficial through the views ex
changed ana nethOuS discussed particularly
applicable to Indian education Efforts are
DeIng made in the direction Of n gradual reduc-
ton of the number of Indian contract schools.
that IN a comparatively short time they may
give way altogether to government schools and
II is hoped that the changed may be SO gradual
as TO be perfected without too great expense to
the government or undue disregard OF invest
ments made by those WHO have establishments
and are maintaining such contract schools.
The appropriation for the current year ending
June - 1895, applicable to the ordinary eS-
penses of the lnuian service amounts to So,.S,-
u.s. IT, being less by S6632i0.Gi than the sum
appropriated on the same account for the pre-
yIous year.
Pensioners on the Rolls.
At the close of the last fiscal year, on the 5Dth
day of June, 1884,, there were a69.5A persons on
our pension rolls, being a net increase of 3,S2
over the number reported at the end of the
previous year. These pensioners may be CLASH
lied AZ follows: Soldiers and sailors. survivors
of all wars. g. is; widows elatives of de-
ceased soldiers, Ia, H.: army nurses in the war
of the rebellion, Ala. OF the pensioners 3 GSJ
are SURVIVING. soldiers of Indian and other
wars prior to the late civil war, and the
widows and relatives of such soldiers.
The remainder numbering Gs, 5t5, are receiv-
ing pensions on account of the war OF the rebel
lion and of the 1884 are on the rolls under
the authority OF the act of June -. 1922, some
times called the dependent pension law. The
total amount expended for pensions during the
year was Sl59, s0i iGl.0', leaving an uIexpended