Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1898-11-03
THE indian COMMISSION
The Annual Report of the Dawes
Board in the Indian Territory
Made Public.
PROVISION NEEDED FOR EDUCATION.
White Residents In the Territory Cannot
Share In the Benefits OF the Indian
schoois-Provision for the Allotment of
Tribal Lands-Dihculty In Making q
Citizenship Roll of Freedmen.

citizenship Roll of Freedmen.
Washington, Oct. SO.-The annual
report of the Dawes Indian commits
sion, bringing the work of that body
in recognizing the Indian territory
up to date of early this week. was
made public to-day. It urges as the
main call for government aid, ''fraught
with disastrous consequences if de-
layed," the need of some provision by
the national government for educa-
tional purposes in the territory. While
the funds and resources of the several
tribes, properly managed, can prob
ably supply sufficient support foI
the schools of the citizen Indians, yet
the white residents cannot share in
them and must look elsewhere for the
means of educating their children.
The means resorted to in all the other
territories and out of which ample
school funds have been provided, do
not exist in the Indian territory, in
which the United States has not an
acre of public land or other property
beyond that in public uses. If the white
residents are to receive any aid from
the United States it must be
from the outside and by direct appro
priation. If they are left without any
such aid it will be a harsher treatment
than has been melted out to the resi-
dents of any other territory and will
be attended with the most disastrous
consequences. There are believed to
be between $50, 600 and 800. 900 white
reside nts in the territory to-day and
we'll nigh 80, 600 of them children of
school age. They are there to stay,
making homes for themselves
and destined to be part
of the body polite of a
state. While some of them living in
the towns are anxious TO educate their
children, and may be able to some ex-
tent to do so from their private means,
yet it is quite different with the poor
pioneers in the country, who consti-
tute by far the larger part of this
white population. They, however
anxious, cannot of themselves COM
mand the means or the opportunity to
educate their children. Consequently
a very large proportion of these $4,000
children of school ages. increasing in
number every year, are in danger OF
growing up in ignorance. to take upon
themselves the responsibilities of citi-
zenship This is not the fault but the
misfortune of these residents of the
territory. The evils that will come of
the indifference to this situation. can
not be measured.
Summing up the results of the years
work, the commission says: The In
dian laws in force in the territory and
the Indian courts which administered
them have given place. with few I'M
important exceptions. to laws CORE
spending to those of Arkansas on the
same subject matter and have been
made applicable to all persons in the
territory, without distinction of race.
United States courts are to admin
lister and United States officers
to enforce these laws. Provision
has been made for the allotment of all
the tribal lands of the territory equally
among all its citizens, attained, as to
nearly all Of them, upon terms agreed
to by the tribes by popular vote. II
the agreement with the Creeks be
ratified, as is expected, this will be
true of all except the Cherokees,
and as to them it has been
provided by statute. By the agree
ments and the Curtis act the
many thousands of white residents in
the towns, unable heretofore to OBJ
tain title to the land on which they
have built their home and some times
expensive business houses, can now
purchase at a fair appraisal these
lands. Whatever rights, civil or polit-
ical, are enjoyed by the citizen resi-
dent in any territory of the United
States, the same rights are now Sc
cured to the citizens Indian and largely
to the white resident also in the Indian
territory.
The report refers to the difficulty OF
making a citizenship roll of all the
freedmen claiming rights under the
treaties of 1866 with the respective
tribes and of all their descendants
born since the date of these treaties.
Neither the Choctaws nor Chickasaws
have ever kept a roll Of those made
freedmen by that nation nor kept any
trace of them since emancipation. the
tribes persisteutly ignoring them.