The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1894-12-08

! the local officers to the commissions
Of the general land Office for his action
The exigencies of his other duties obligl
him TO act upon the decisions of tn,
registers and receivers without an op
portunity of thorough personal exam
ination. Nearly two thousand of thes,
cases are appealed annually from tn,
commissioner to the secretary of the
interior. Burdened with other impor
tant administrative duties, his determi
nation of these appeals must be al.
most perfunctory and based upon the
examination of others, though this de.
! termination of the secretary operates as
a final adjudication upon rights of very
great Importance. 1 concur in the opin-
ion that the commissioner Of the gen.
eral land Office should be relieved
from the duty of deciding litigated land
cases. that a non-partisan 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 authori-
tn TO certify questions of law in matters
Of special Importance to the supreme
court of the United States or the court
Of appeals for the district Of Column
bia for decision. The creation of such
a tribunal would expedite the dis
posal Of cases and insure decisions Of a
more satisfactory character The reg
listers and receivers who originally hear
and decide these disputes should be in
vested with authority to compel wit
nesses to attend and testify before
them.
CONDITION OF INDIANS.
Though the condition of the Indians
shows a steady and healthy progress.
their situation is not satisfactory at all
points. Some of them, to whom allot-
ments Of land have been made, are
found to be unable or disinclined to fol-
low agricultural pursuits or to other
wise bcueficially manage their land.
This is especially true of the Chey-
ennes and Arapahoes, who, as it an
pears by the report of their agent, have
in many instances never been located
upon their allotments and in some
cases do not even know where their al
lotmentS are. Their condition has
deteriorated. They are not selfsupport-
ing and they live in camps and spend
their time in idleness. l have always
believed that allotments of reservation
lands to Indians in severalty should be
made sparingly, or at least, slowly and
with the utmost caution. In these DAYS.
when the white agriculturists and
stock-raisers of experience and intelli-
gence find their lot hard one. we ought
not to expect the Indians, unless far
advanced in civilization and habits of
industry to support themselves on the
small tracts of land usually allotted
to them. If the sulfsupporting scheme
by allotment fails, the wretched paup-
erism of the allottees makes results
worse than their original condition of
regulated dependence. 1t is evident
that the evil consequences of ill-advised
allotment are intensified in cases where
the false step can not be retracted on
account of the purchase by the govern
ment Of reservation lands remaining
after allotments are made and the
of such remaining lands to
settlers or purchasers from the govern
ment. am convinced that the proper
solution of the Indian problem and the
success of every step taken in that
direction depends to a very large extent
lpon the intelligence and honesty of
reservation agents and the interest they
nave in their work. An agent fitted for
his place can do much towards prepar- |
ng the Indians under his charge for |
and allotment of their |
ands and his advice as to any matter
their welfare will not mis-
cad. An unfit agent will make no |
Mort to advance the Indians on his |
reservation toward civilization or prep !
lration for allotment of lands in sew i
rally and his opinion as to their con- |
lition in this and other regards is heed |
ess and valueless.
ELEVENTH CENSUS.
The completion of the eleventh census
5 now in charge of the commissioner Of
abor The total disbursements on ac-
cunt of the work for the fiscal year
nding June 80, 1894. amounted to So
IS, 676.S1. At the close of the year the
lumber of persons employed in the cen
US office was $40. At present there are
bout 400. The whole number of vol
mes necessary to comprehend the
leventh census will be 25, and they will
ontain 22,27O printed pages. with the
ssurance as confidently made, that be-
ore the close Of the present calendar
ear the material still incomplete will
e practically in hand and the census
an certainly be closed by the 4th of
larch, 1895. After that the revision
nd proof reading necessary to bring
ut the volumes will still be required.
he text of the census volumes has been
mited far as possible to the analysis
statistics presented. The method
hich is in accordance with law, has
aused more or less friction, and in
)me instances individual disappoint-
lent, for when the commissioner of Ia
or took charge of the work he found