The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-12-05

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spent in this way would accomplish more
imam any $4,000 spent in any school that we
support. These good women, thus en-
pioyed, go from house to house among the
indians, helping to instruct and to civilize
the indian women, too old now to enter
school, but still young enough to learn
something of womanly responsibility. They
nelp to place some of the comforts of civii-
cation in the Indian home. Their work in
nuences all of the tribe, and it prepares
places for the school children when they
return to their parents, somewhat similar
to the conditions existing at the schools"
An appendix to the report publishes in
full the report of the commissioners to the
| five civilized tribes The secretary calls
attention to the duty which rests upon the
| United States to preserve law and order
| throughout the Indian Territory and insists
| II the right to do so cannot be obtained by
| agreement with the tribes. it must be
| ENFORCED AS A DUTY.
without regard to the wishes of those who
| control the tribes. He does not specially
| recommend the organization of new terri
| tory but does urge that the courts in Ar
kansas should be abandoned and the juris-
diction of the United States courts be ex-
| tended over the territory without regard
| to citizenship This would give oppor-
tunity for the members of the various tribes
VINO feel that they are deprived of their
| Just quota of lands to petition the United
States courts for allotments in severalty of
| the portions to which they are respectively
entitled BY resort to such means, those
Indians who wish their lands in severalty
could obtain them and thus gradually, at
least. the holding of lands in common,
would pass away and they would be held
| by individuals"
Referring to the sale of liquor to the
| Indians, the secretary condemns in strong
| terms the establishment of saloons upon
| the line of Indian reservations and calls
attention to the decision of Judge B. Film
ger, of the district of Oregon, to the effect
that the sale of liquor to an Indian who
has received his land in severalty is not in
violation of the law because by allotment
| he has become citizen. eff this decision
| is right, it presents another argument
| against too speedy allotment Of lands in
| severalty to Indians.
Secretary Smith next takes up the general
| land office, the bureau only second in i'm
portance to the Indian office. He recon-
mends change in the system of surveying
and the establishment of d land court in
! the interior department. The present sys-
tenn of surveying the public lands is crti-
csed a slow and defective mode of
| procedure. Reference is made to the amend
ment of the civil service bill proposed at
the last session, asking authority for the
| geological bureau to survey such lands as
might be recommended by the commissioner
| of the general land office as a substitute
| for the present system. 1t was believed
| that the plan would prove
| ECONOMICAL AND SATISFACTORY
| and that it could be enlarged until it in
| cuded the. entire work of the surveyors
and dispensed with the Office of surveyor
| general. 1t is urged that if this surveying
could be done by the government employees
| it would save much time now consumed in
| making contracts with deputy surveyors,
| in re-eXamining their work and in handling
| the returns in the offices of the surveyors
| general. The land to be surveyed would
| be designated by the &C -nmssioner and the
work would be promptly done.
| If it was not deemed advisable to sepa
| rate the surveying of the public lands from
| the general land office, then competent sur
| veyors could be selected through the civil
| service commission and attached to the
| general land office ard the work entrusted
| to them. Such course would bring more
satisfactory results, and save both time
| and money.
The great Importance of the special SER
| vice division of the general land office is
! urged. 1t is shown that the money which
| it recommends from cash forfeited in en-
| tries which have been Cancelled through the
| action of the special agents, and from the
prosecution of timber trespasses have been,
| in past years, very much larger than the
| cost of the service. The small amounts of
| recent appropriations have very greatly
| helped the work in the bureau in this di-
| recton 1t is the desire of the present ad-
| ministration to vigorously protect the pub
| lie interests represented by the public lands
| of the United States, and it is believed that
| competent force can more than return
| into the treasury the expenses insured by
| their employment.
! Referring to the
| PROTECTION OF FOREST RESERVES,
| the secretary says:
| ION account of the small appropriati ton
| for special agents it has thus far been i'm
| possible to detail any of them for the pro-
| lection of the forest reserves which have
| from time to time been created. Practi-
| cally this great extent of reserve land is
| no more protected by the government than
| are the unreserved lands of the United
| States. The sole difference being that they
| are not subject to entry or other disposal
! under the public land laws
Congress is urged to make sufficient ap
| preparations to employ al least one super
| intendent each reserve, and upon the
larger reserves to provide a sufficient force
| of agents to prevent public property from
| being wantonly destroyed 1t is also point
| ed out that lack of special agents has
| prevented investigation of proposed forest
| reserves which would otherwise have been
| made. The Importance of laying a foun-
| dation for wise, comprehensive forestry
| system to be applied to timber upon the
| public lands and the forest reservat ions is
| again urged upon congress. The bill re-
ported upon this subject by the committee
| on public lands through it's chairman, Mr.
| McRae, is commended.
| Closing this subject the secretary says:
'The passage of some such measure
| NOuu Uc d SuDSldHtto otiluC III tHC uil c.
ton of preparing for a forestry system
! which would preserve to the people of
| this country a great product now plenti-
| full. but from the want of intelligent
care being rapidly wasted and deplen-
| ished The present organization of the
department is under system whereby
contested land eases are first heard be-
fore the registers and receivers and then
before the commissioner of the general
land Office and finally appealed to the de-
csion of the secretary. The Importance
of giving to the register and receiver
the power to compel the attendance of
| witnesses, inasmuch the testimony
taken by these officers furnishes the
basis of the final adjudication of facts
is mentioned and legislation to that end
| is recommended. 1t is also shown that
| between 5000 and 1900 contested cases
| reach the commissioner and that while
theoretically he decides them, practically
they are decided by large force of law
clerks The
PHYSICAL IMPOSSIBILITY
for the commissioner to examine person
ally, with any degree of care, all these
cases is represented. The many purely
administrative duties of his Office re.
ouire large portion of his time. He
| should be free from the necessity of de-
| siding litgated cases when he has mo-
the time for their consideration"
| Nearly 1000 of these cases each veal
reach the secretary's office. There they
are examined in the office OF the assist
oft ,ttornay general who is aided nv