Arizona silver belt., 1898-02-24
THE INDIAN PROBLEM,

] of which nine,tenths of the people of the United States have not even the rcmotest idea or interest in, and ia dismissed with the thought that tho government is the guardian of the Indians interests and it's long exper- fence in dealing with the problem hest uualiRes it to work out solution. However, it does not require very extensive knowledge of the history of the Indian race and the present condi- ton of the various tribes to convince even the most optimistic, or most indif- ferent citizen that the governments efforts, if such wo may call them. to improve the condition of the Indians, to teach them the white mans language and handicraft, and incrlcate Tn them habits of thrift, have resulted for the most part in humilating failure, and it is question if the majority of the 250, 900 Indians in the United States today are not sunk deeper in degration and vice than they were in their pristine barbarism.
 The mistake of the government is that it has continued, from generation to generation, to treat the Indians as mendicants and incompetents, incapable of working out their own deliverance, and, therefore, destined to remain per manent pensioners on the federal bountry. The reservation system is responsible for the evils attendant upon the Indian problem and stands us au insuperable barrier to their advance ment. It is not possible to conceive of the elevation of the Indian to the plane of civilization and selfreliance as long as they are herded like so many cattle and their bare necessities scantily satiiied.
 There are over 3s,000 Indians in Arizona, occupying eleven reservations aggregating Ii, ,09s, 597 acres, which is greater than the combined areas of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Jersey. Of this vast domain set aside for the Indians only one acre in about 5000 was reported as cultivated ir 1896, and it is safe to assume that not one half of the acreage so reported was actually seeded. Ari' zona is no exception in this respect to any other State having au Indian popn- lation. There arc tifty-two reservations in the United States, great disfgurine blotches which evidence our govern ment's incapacity to deal intelligently with the Indian question.
 Why are they not wiped out? Be cause there is too much money involved in carrying on the present system, and the interests benefited by this polluting system wield decisive influence in maintaining it. The amoiint of money appropriated annually by the Indian appropriation act is over S7,000,0 and in 1896 was sS, 763, 75l 24, and s very large portion of this enormon' sum goes into the pockets of officials and contractors, and from which the  Indians derive very little advantage. During the debate in the House on the Indian appropriation bill Delegate Mark Smith played to the gallery in q speech opposing further appropriations to the Carlisle and Hampton schools, argning that the education of Western Indians in the Esst Is mistaken policy, and that they should be in structcd at schools maintained on the reservations. Mir. Smith was of course talking for effect, to impress his COZ. stituents with the belief that he was working strictly for their interest in endeavoring to have larger share of the money appropriated for Indian education expended in Arizona. Mr. Smith, if he is as we'll informed of the relative merits of Indian schools in Arizona and the Carlisle institute, ahould know that the money expended for maintaining schools on tho reserva- tions is thrown away; that the Indians derive no lasting benefit from snch in struction, for the reason that sdyan- tages which should accrue therefrom are destroyed by the demoi alizing in fluences of reservation life. They go from the school to the tepe, back into barbarian, with all it's attendant saper- stition, vice and bsggary. There can be no civilization on an IDaian resor. vation, no advancement. The Apaches today are less warlike and. therefore, less of menace to Southeastern Ari- zona than they were fifteen years ago, but it is because they are broken iu spirit and sunk deeper in misery and depravity. The Carlisle school has done more for tho elevation of the In dian than auy other agency, and while it's good results are limited by the capacity of the institution it neverthe- less is of the greatest value as pointing the way to the true solution of the In- dian problem.
 The first step necessary to the ac- complishment of that desired end is to obol;sh +ho roaoryat;ono onJ afl.t lan1s