Gilpin observer., 1901-08-08
Would Abolish Indian Agencies.

If the ideas of Indian Commissioner
Jones could be followed out explicitly,
and under practically the same corps
Of officials as are now on his staff, it is
claimed that within ten years the In
dian reservation would be thing of
the past, and Indian civilization would
become n fixed certainty. Commission
er Jones, like most of the officials Of
the Indian Bureau, believe that the
reservation system is one of the great
est drawbacks to the advancement of
the younger generation of Indians, and
consequently he is making every effort
to break up the agencies in every part
Of the United States.
The idea along which he is working
is to educate the young Indian so that
they will become self-supporting.
When they have acquired this knowl-
edge, they should be forced to make
practical application of it. The best
way to do this is to allot to each Indian
n certain tract of land, which shall be
his own, and which, under no circum-
stances he shall be allowed to sell or
lease. At the same time the govern
ment will of course suspend payments
or annuities to the Indians, and they
will be forced to live by their own Ia
Dor and their own skill.
In many instances this very thing
has been done, and is now being done
on the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache
lands in Oklahoma. But in the past
an error has been made in allowing In
dams to take contiguous allotments.
1t is thought the best results along the
lines Of civilization would be obtained
by giving the Indians every alternate
quarter section, so that white men will
take up the intervening tracts. In this
way the Indians will be surrounded on
every side by white neighbors, will alb
sorb the ideas of the whites, learn their
language, and in every way be deprived
of continuous association with other
Indians.
One fact seems to be generally under
stood In regard to the education of the
Indians. and that is that rs long as
they are given n school education, but
are allowed to go back TO the reserva-
ton and associate with uneducated
members of their tribe, they will grad
ully, but surely, go back to their old
ideas, and their education will have
been wasted.
From the white mans point of view,
there Is an incentive for making allot-
ments OF land to the Indians, and open.
ing the residue to settlers. II Is claim
ed that no Indian has need OF more
than 100 acres OF land, and that all
lands in excess OF this amount for each
Indian on n reservation, Is waste
Under the allotment system the white
men will be allowed to go In and make
some practical use of this vast area of
Indian land. 1t Is true much of the
reservation land Is arid, but the ingress
of white settlers will he followed by
the construction OF lrrlEating bitches.
and In this way, as well. Indians will
be benefited by cooperation.
Wherever II IL possible the Indian
bureau Is abolishlng the Indian agen-
cles. and placing school supcrlntend.
cnts I'm charge. thus making education
paramount. This Is the first step to-
wards the final allotment of the lands
and the breaking of reservations.
Several such changes were made this
past year, ana others VIII follow this
season. In each Instance the surplus
lands Will eventually he open to entry.
although the complete change must be
wrought gradually. Under the present
plan, however, there Is no reason why
the complete renovation shall not have
been effected In the next decade.
A.ltu., Is,ppti Aastatn,.