The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-12-04
PREsIDEsT,s MESSAGE.
(continued From Third page.)


 number of years past on this accoun
 has been returned to the governmen
 as a result of the iabors of those em ployed In the particular service men
 tioned, and hope 1t will not be crip pied by insufficient appropriations,
 fully indorse the recommendatioi Of the secretary that adequate protee tion be provided for our forest reserves and that comprehensive forestry sys tenn be inaugurated. with such keeper and superintendents as are necessar! to protect the forests already reserve, should be provided. am of the opin ion that there should be an abandon ment of the policy sanctioned by pres ent laws under which the governmen for a small consideration Is rapdl, losing title to immense tracts of lant covered with timber which should b, properly reserved as permanen sources of timber supply. The sugges ton that change be made in the man ner of securing surveys of the public lands is especially worthy of consldera ton. am satisfied that these surveys should be made by a corps of compe tent surveyors under the immediat, control and direction of the commls sioner of the general land office.
 10, THE POOR INDIANS.
 Though the condition of the Indian, shows a steady and healthy progress their situation is not satisfactory a, all points. Some of them to whom al lotmentsof land have been made arc found to be unable or disinclined tc follow agricultural pursuits or to oth' erwise benefcially manage their land This Is especially true of the Chey' ennes and Arapahoes. who, as 1t ap. pears by reports 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 de. teriorated. They are not self-support. ing, and they live in camps and spend their time in idleness.
 I have always believed that allott- ments of reservation lands to Indians in severalty should be made sparlngly or at least slowly and with the ut- most caution.
 In these days when white agricul- turists and stock-raisers of experience and intelligence find their lot a hard one we ought not to expect Indians un- less far advanced in civilization and habits of industry, to support them- selves on the small tracts of land usu- ally allotted to them. If the self-sup- porting scheme by allotment fails the wretched pauperism of the allotees which results in worse than their orig inal condition of regulated depend- ence. It is evident that the evil conse- quences of ill-advised allotment are in- tensified in cases where the false step cannot be retraced on account of the purchase by the government of reser- vation lands remaining after allot- ments are made and the disposition of such remaining lands to settlers or purchasers from the government.
 I am convinced that the proper solu- tion of the Indian problem and the success of every step taken in that di- rection depend to a very large extent upon the intelligence and honesty Of the reservation agents and the interest they have in their work. An agent fitted for his place can do much to- ward preparing the Indians under his charge for citizenship and allotment of their lands, and his advice as to any matter concerning their welfareOwill not mislead. An unfit agent will make no effort to advance the Indians on his toward civilization or prep aration for allotment of lands in seve- ralty, and his opinion as to their con- dition in this and other regards is needless and valueless.
 The indications are that the detail of army officers as Indian agents will re- suit in improved management on the Whenever allotmEnts are made and any Indian on the res- ervation has previously settled upon B lot and cultivated it, or shown 8, dis position to improve it in any way, such lot should certainly be allotted to him, and this should be made plain ly obligatory by statute. In the light of experience, and considering the un- certainty of the Indian situation and It's exigencies in the future, I am not only disposed to be very cautious in allotments, but incline to agree with the secretary Of the interi- or In the opinion that when allotments Ire made the balance of reservation and remaining after allotment, in- stead of being bought by the govern nent from the Indians, and opened for settlement with such scandals and lnfatr practices as seem unavoidable, should remain for a time at least as common land or be sold by the gov- 'rnment on behalf of the Indians in an 'rderfy way and at fixed prices to be determined by its location and desira- ,ility, and that the proceeds, less ex- ,enses, should be. held in trust for the benefit of the Indian proprietors,
 The intelligent Indian school man. lgement of the past year has been fol- owed by gratifying results Efforts ave been made to advance the work n a sound and practical manner. Five institutes of Indian teachers have been leld during the year, and have proved cry beneficial through the views ex- and methods discussed partic. | larly applicable to Indian education Efforts are being made in the direc- lon of a gradual reduction of the nuns CT of Indian contract schools so that T a comparatively short time they nay give way altogether to govern 1ent schools, and 1t Is hoped that the hange may be 30 gradual as to be per-. ected without the greatexpense to the overnment or undue disregard of in-