Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1902-12-11

the territory of the United states avnllahle
for rural free delivery service. There are
now awaiting the action Of the department
petitions and applications for the establish
ment OF 1918 additional routes. This
shows concluslvely the want which the es-
Establishment OF the service has met and
the need OF further extending II as rapidly
as possible. II is justified both by the
financial results nnd by the practical bene-
fits to our rural population; II brings the
men who i've on the soil into close rela-
lions with the active business world: IL
keeps the farmer In daily touch with the
force; Vt enhances the value OF farm prop
erty, makes farm life far pleasanter and
less Isolated, and viii do much to check
the undesirable current from country to
city
II Is TO be hoped that the Congress viii
make liberal Appropriations for the con-
tinunncc OF the service nlrendy established
and for Its further extension.
Irrigation of Arid Western Lands.
Few subjects OF more importance have
been taken up by the Congress In recent
years than the inauguration OF the system
OF natonaly.alded Irrigation for the arid
regions OF the far West. A good beginning
therein has been made Now that this pol
Icy OF national irrigation has been adopted,
the need OF thorough and scientific forest
protection Will grow more rapidly than ever
throughout the publc.land States
SO Tar as they are available for agricui-
ture, aud to whatever extent they may be
reclaimed under the national irrigation law,
the remaining public lands should he held
rigidly for the home builder. the settler
! who lives on Ills land and for no one else.
| In their actual use the desert land law. the
timber and stone law. aud the communication
clause OF the homestead law have been
SO perverted from the Intention with which
they were enacted to permit the nc
| QUESTION of large areas OF the public do
main Tor other than actual settlers and
! me consequent prevention OF settlement.
| Moreover the approaching exhaustion OF
the public ranges has OF late led to much
discussion as to the best manner Of nsing
nd In Ia t.l..
suitable chiefly or only for grnzlng The
sound and steady development Of the West
depends upon the building up OF homes
therein. Much OF our prosperity as n nation
has been due to the operation OF the home
| stead law. On the other hand. we should
| recognize the fact that In the grazing re-
| glon the man who corresponds To the home
| steader may he unable 10 settle permanent
| ~ " only allowed to use the same amount
OF pasture land that his brother the home
steader liz allowed to use Of arabic land.
Aiaslka's Need of Better LAWS.
especially urge upon the Congress tho
need OF wise legislation for Alaska. IL
Is not TO our credit rs nation that Alaska,
! which has been ours for thlrty-nve years
should still have us poor a system of laws
| as IL the case. No country has n more
valuable posscssion-ln mineral wealth, in
| hsheries, furs, forests, and also In land
available for certain kinds of farming and
! stock-growing: 1t Is a territory of great
| size ana varied resources. wen fitted to
SUPPORT large permanent population. Alas
!
Ions for homestends and prescriptions as
| VIII encourage permanent settlement.
How to Deal with the Indian.
In dealing with the Indians our alm
should be their ultimate absorption into
| the body OF our people. But In many cases
this absorption must and should he very
| slow. In portions OF the Indian Territory
the mixture Of blood has gone on at tho
same time with progress In wealth and
education. so that there are plenty Of men
WIN, Win varying degrees OF purity OF Indian
niood VINO are absolutely indistlngushabls
ability from their white associates. There
are other tribes which have as yet made
no perrep,ibie advance toward such equal
ity. 10 try to force such tribes too fast ID
TO prevent their going forward at ALL
me trst and most important step toward
the absorption a, Of the Indian is to teach
snriiy to be assumed that In each COM
muhity all Indians must become either till
ers OF the soil or ock-raisers Their in.
dustrles may properly be diversified, and
those who show special desire or adapta-
Dillty for Industrial or even commercial
practicable to follow out each his own bent
Every effort should he made to develop
the indian along the lines OF natural apti-
tude. aud 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
loqulal English. and should ordinarily be
prepared Tor vigorous struggle with the
conditions under which their people live,
rather than for immediate absorption into
some more highly developed community.
science Brought to Farmers Aid.
In no department Of government work In
recent years has there been greater success
than Ia that of giving scientific aid to the
farming population, thereby showing them
how most efficiently to help themselves.
portance, for the welfare of the farmer 10
fundamentally necessary to the welfare OF
the republic as u whole. In addition to
such work as quarantine against animal
and vegetable plaques. and warning against
them when here Introduced, much efficient
help has been rendered to the farmer by
the Introduction OF new plants specially
lifted for cultivation under the peculiar con-
ditions existing IN different portions OF the
country.
The District OF Columbia Is the only part
of our territory In which the national gov
eminent exercises local or municipal func-
lions, and where In consequence the gov
eminent has free hand In reference to
certain types OF social and economic egis-
iation which must be essentially local or
municipal In their character. The govern
ment should see to It, for instance, that
the hyglenic- and sanitary legislation affect
ing Washington Is of a high character. The
evils of slum dwellings, whether In shape
of crowded and congested tenement house
districts or OF the back alley type, should
never be permitted TO grow up In Wash
lngton. The city should be model In
every respect for all the cities of the coun-
The safety-appllance law. for the better
protection OF the lives and limbs of rail-
way employees, which was passed In 1898,
went into full effect on Aug. l, 1901. II
has resulted In averting thousands of casu-
allies. Experience shows. however, the
necessity OF additional legislation to per
feet this law.
Useless Public Documents.
There Is growing tendency TO provide
: for the publication Of masses OF documents
for which there Is no public demand and
for the printing of which there is no real
necessity. Nothing should be printed by
any Of the departments unless II contains
something Of permanent value. and the Com
gress could with advantage cut down very
materially on all the printing which IT has
now become customary to provide.
Gratifying progress has been made dur
, ing the year In the extension OF the merit
system Of making appointments In the gov
, ernment service 1t should he extended by
law to the District Of Columbia II il
much to be desired that our consular system
be established by law on basis provid ng
, for appointment and promotion only In con-
sequence of proved fitness