The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1902-12-04


reasons there has been little interference with
such Enclosures in the past, but ample notice has
now been given the trespassers, and all the re-
| sources at the command Of the government will
hereafter be used to put stop to such trespassng
In view OF the capital importance Of these mat.
| tiers commend them to the earnest consideration
| Guilty In dealing with them from lack of thorough
knowledge of the subject recommend that pro-
vision be made for commission of experts spe-
| clally TO investigate and report upon the com
plcated questions involved y
especially urge upon the congress the need Of
credit as nation that Alaska, which has been
ours for thirty five years, should still have as poor
a. system OF laws as is the case. No country has
fisheries, furs, forests and also in land available
for certain kinds of farming and stock growing.
| IT, is territory, of great size and varied re-
sources. well fitted to support large permanent
| population. Alaska needs a. good land law and
such provisions for homesteads ard prescriptions
as Will encourage permanent settlement. We
| should shape legislation with a view not to the
exploiting and abandoning of the territory, but
| to the building up of homes therein. The land
| laws should be liberal in type, 10 hold out
| inducements to the actual settler whom we most
desire to see take possession OF the country The
| forests of Alaska should be protected and, as
| secondary but still important matter, the game
also, and at the same slime it is imperative that
the settlers should be allowed to cut timber, I'M.
oer proper regulations, for their own use. Laws
| should be enacted to protect the Alaskan salmon
| nsherles against the greed which would destroy
them They should beepreserved permanent
anu 1000 supply ln2lr management
and control should be turned over to the commits.
sion OF fish and fisheries. Alaska should have
IN 1ne congress 1t would be well if
investigate its needs on the ground
In dealing with the Indians our aim should be
| their ultimate absorption into the body of our
| and should be very slow. In portions of the In.
dian Territory the mixture of blood has gone on
at the same time with progress in wealth and
| varying degrees of purity of Indian blood who
are absolutely ndistingushable in point of social.
associates. There are other tribes Which have as
yet made no perceptible advance toward such
equality To try to force such tribes too fast is
the tribes live under widely different conditions
Where tribe has made considerable advance and
lives on fertile farming soil it is possible to alot
the members lands in severalty much as is the
case with white settlers. There other tribes
wnere such a course Is not desirable. On the
the Indians to lead pastoral rather than aericu.
tural lives and to permit them to settle in vii.
Lagos rather than to force them into isolation.
The large Indian schools situated remote from
any lndlan reservation do special and peculiar
work OF great Importance; but, excellent though
these are, an immense amount Of additional work
must be done the reservations themselves
Indians.
The first and most important step toward the
absorption of the Indian is to teach him to earn
his living, yet it is not necessarily to be assumed
that in each community all Indians must become
industries may properly be diversified, and those
who show special desire adaptability for indus.
trial or even commercial pursuits should be en-.
couraged so far as practicable to follow out each
his bent.
Every effort should be made to develop the In
dian along the lines of natural aptitude and to
encourage the existing native Industries peculiar
| TO certain tribes, such as the various kinds OF
basket weaving, canoe building, smith work and
blanket work. Above all, the Indian boys and
girls should be given confident command Of col.
!oquial English and should ordinarily be prepared
for vigorous struggle with the conditions under
which their people live rather than for immedi-
ate absorption into some more highly developed
community.
The officials who represent the government in
dealing with the Indians work under hard condi-
tons and also under conditions which render it
easy to do wrong and very difficult to detect
on the one hand and on the other hand par
ticularly high standard Of conduct should be de-
manded from them, and where misconduct can be
proved the punishment should be exemplary.
In no department of governmental work in re-
cent years has there been greater success than
e shoMhs ae to how the
GENTLY to help themselves There is no need OF
insisting upon its Importance, for the welfare Of
the farmer is fundamentally necessary to the
welfare; OF the republic as whole. In addition
to such work as quarantine against animal and
vegetable plaques, and warning against them when
dered to the farmer by the introduction of new
plants specially fitted for cultivation under the
peculiar conditions existing in different portions
of the country. New cereals have been established
in the semiarid west. For instance, the practi-
eabity OF producing the best types Of macaroni
ten inches or thereabout has been conclusively
demonstrated. Through the introduction of new
rices in Louisiana and Texas the production OF
rice in this country has been made to about equal
the home demand. In the southwest the possibil-
lty OF regrassng overstocked range lands has been
demonstrated; in the north many new forage
crops have been introduced, while in the east it
has been shown that some of choicest fruits
can be stored and shipped in such way as to
find a profitable market abroad.
L again recommend to the favorable considera-
ton Of the congress the plans of the Smithsonian
institution for making the museum under its
charge worthy of the nation and for preserving
at the national capital not only records of the
vanshins races of men, but of the animals of this
continent which, like the buffalo, will soon be-
come extinct unless specimens from which their
representatives may be renewed are sought in
their native regions and maintained there in
safety.
The District of Columbia is the only part OF
territory in which the national government
exercises local or municipal functions and where
in consequence the government has a free hand
in reference to certain types of social and eco
nomic legislation which must be essentially local
or municipal in their character. The government
and sanitary legislation affecting Washington is
of high character. The evils Of slum dwellings,,
tenement house districts or of the back aev
type, should never be permitted to grow up in
WASHINGTON The city should be a model in every
charitable and correctional systems of the Dis
trict should receive consideration at the hands Of
the congress to the end that they may embody
the results of the most advanced thought in these
fields. Moreover, while Washington is not great
industrial city, there is industrialism here,
and our labor legislation, while it would not be
important in itself, might be made model for
the rest of the nation. We should pass, for in
stance wise employers liability act for the Dis
trict Of Columbia, and we need such an act in
our navy yards Railroad companies in the Dis
trict ought to be required by law to block their
frogs.
The safety appliance law, for the better pro-
lection Of the lives and limbs of railway
ployees, which passed in 1893, went into full
effect on Aug. l, 1901. 1t has resulted in avert
ing thousands of casualties. Experience shows
however, the necessity of additional legislation
to perfect this law. A bill to provide for this
passed the senate at the last session. 1t is to be
hoped that some such measure may now be en-
acted into law.
There is growing tendency to provide for the
publication of masses of documents for which
there is public demand and for the printing Of
which there is real necessity. Large numbers
OF volumes are turned out by the government
printing presses for which there is justification.
Nothing should be printed by any of the depart
ments unless it contains something of permanent
value, and the congress could with advantage cut
down very materially on all the printing which
| it has now become customary to provide The