The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-08-22
INDIANS AND FIL1piNos.
We Shall Compel the Tagat to be q
Good Indian.


We Shall Compel the Tagat to be a
Good Indian.
Indianapolis News: In the current
number OF the Atlantic Monthly ex-sen-
ator Dawes, of Massachusetts, who in
and out Of Congress has been stead
fast friend Of the Indians for quarter
of century, and who has often visited
and inspected the reservations, says
that the Indian policy OF the United
States is a success. The Indians, in
stead Of being exterminated. are I'm
creaslng, and Mr., Dawes says that they
are the only important race Of abor-
iglnes in close contact with the white
race Of whom this can be said. The
Indian. he declares, refuses to fade out,
but multiplied under the sheitertng care
OF reservation life. And as the reserva-
ton Is slipping away from him, there
Is only one Rlternative-he must either
be endured as a lawless savage, a con-
slant menace to civilized life, or he
must be fitted to become part OF that
life and be absorbed by 1t.
The work Of fitting him was begun
In 1877, with an appropriation Of $2O, 900.
This sum has been increased until this
year the appropriation Is 32,6Ss,SsO. The
result Of these years Of care Is that the
Indians are becoming rapidly civilized.
There are $4,000 Indian children IN
school: there are 55,467 Indians owning
individual farms. aggregatlng 670S,62S
acres, and 1,0Se,5sS RcreS have been
fenced in. There are among the In
dams 2s,55l church communicates. In
total numbers, Mr.. Dawes says, there
are now probably as many Indians in
the United States--a total Of 10000
as when the country was first discov-
cred. And this estimate Is probably
correct. It Ia well known that the early
notions about the number OF Indians
was caused by mistake Of the French
dIscoVerers and settlers concerning the
many names which one tribe bore.
Sometimes a score Of names would indi-
cate the same band. The Frenchmen
Of those days thought the names stood
for different tribes, and so through long
years the error in the estimate lived.
And It may be seen, In view OF the
clearer light Of history. that our be-
lated but effective effort to ciVilize the
Indians Is all that has saved them.
When the white men discovered TINS
continent the Indians were disappear
ing. They we're living Ia a state OF war
OF determination one upon the other.
The Iroquols, well defined as the In
dian OF Indians" at that time possessed
OF a passion OF war and sacrifice, Is q
type OF the state in which the Indians
existed. With all the wrongs that we
have done the Indians, It seems proved
that by our labor and better treatment
we have saved them from extermina-
ton.
Of the Philippines. There Is much the
same question in the Philippines that
there was in this country at the time
OF It's early settlement. 1t Is question
OF the prevalence OF civilization. Our
duty is the same in both cases. saw
aRery or anarchy must be carbed. and
II will be curbed when we shall restore
order and the peaceful processes OF
trade and commerce In the philippines.
We have the model and the experience
in our recent treatment Of the Indians
for treatment Of the Tagais and other
tribes OF the islands. We shall bring
peace, not merely to the worlds inter-
est In the Philippines, but peace to
the islands and the inhabitants Thereon
that they have never known. We shall
suppress predatory warfare; we shall
compel the Tagal to come Into the res.
ervatIon and be good Indian; We sha!!
take him and his children, and all OF
them, educate them, cfvfiize them ana
give them a chance to be what they
ought to be IN the world.