The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-12-03

territory, but to the building up of
liberal In type, 80 as to hold out induce
ments to the actual settler whom we
most desire to see take possession Of the
country. The forests of Alaska should
be protected. and as a secondary but still
important matter, the game also, and at
the same time 1t is imperative that the
settlers should be allowed to cut tim
Der, under proper regulations, for their
own use. Laws should be enacted to
protect the Alaskan salmon fisheries
against the greed which would destroy
them. They should be preserved as a
permanent industry and food supply.
Their management and control should
be turned over to the commission of fish
and fisheries. Alaska should have del
egate In the congress. 1t would be well
If congressional committee could visit
Alaska and investigate its needs on the
ground.
INDIAN LEGISLATION.
In dealing with the Indians our aim
should be their ultimate absorption into
the body of our people. But in many
cases this absorption must and should
be very slow. In portions of the Indian
Territory the mixture of blood has gone
on at the same time with progress in
wealth and education so that there are
plenty of men with varying degrees of
purity of Indian blood who are absolutely
indistinguishable in point of social, politi-
cal, and economic ability from their white
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 to prevent their
going forward at all. Moreover, the
tribes live under widely different condi-
TONS Where a tribe has made consider
able advance and lives on fertile farming
soil 1t is possible to allot the members
lands in severalty much as is the case
with white settlers. There are other
tribes where such a course is not desir-
able. On the arid prairie lands the eff
fort should be to induce the Indians to
lead pastoral rather than agricultural
lives, and to permit them to settle in VII
lagos rather than to force them into
Isolation.
The large Indian schools situated re-
mote from any Indian reservation do a
special and peculiar work OF great i'm
portance. But excellent though these
are, an immense amount of additional
work must be done ON the reservations
themselves among the old, and above
all among the young, Indians.
The first and most important step to-
teach him to earn his living; yet it is not
necessarily to be assumed that in each
, community all Indians must become
either tillers of the soil or stock raisers
Their industries may properly be divers-
fled, and those who show special desire
or adaptabilty for industrial or even
commercial pursuits should be encouraged
so far as practicable to follow out each
his own bent
Every effort should be made to develop
the Indian along the lines of natural apti-
tude, and to encourage the existing ma
tive industries peculiar to certain tribes,
such as the various kinds OF basket
weaving canoe buildings, smith work
and blanket work. Above all, the Indian
boys and girls shoul be given confident
command of colloquial English, and
should ordinarily be prepared for vigor-
Gus struggle with the conditions under
which their people live, rather than for
immediate absorption into some more
highly developed community.
The officials who represent the govern
ment in dealing with the Indians work
under hard Conditions. ard also under