The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1902-12-04

reasons there has been little interference With
such enclosures in the past, but ample notice has
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 considerations
OF the congress, and IL the congress finds Diff.
Guilty In dealing with them from laAk OF thorough
knowledge OF the subject recommend that pro-
vision be made for O commission OF experts spec
cially to investigate and report upon the COM
plcated questions involved.
| especially urge upon the congress the need OF
wise legisiation fer Alaska. 1t is not to our
credit CD nation that Alaska, which has been
for thirty Eve years. should still have as poor
q system OF laws as Is the case. No country has
q valuable possession in mineral wealth. in
fisheries, furs, forests and also in land available
for certain kinds Of farming and stock growing.
It Is territory tory Of great size , and varied re.
population. Alaska needs good land law and
such provisions for homesteads and prescriptions
should as T ,hsns wth yew no tss
exploiting and abandoning OF the territory, but
to the building up OF homes therein. The land
laws should be liberal In type, 80 as to hold OUT
desire to zee take possession OF the country. The
forests OF Alaska should be protected. and. as a
also. and at the same time it is imperative that
the settlers should be allowed to cut timber, Cn-
der 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 permanent
industry and food supply. Their management
and control should be turned to the commits
sion of fish and fisheries Alaska should have a
delegate in the congress. 1t would be well IL a
congressional committee could visit Alaska and
investigate Its needs on the ground.
In dealing with the Indians our aim should be
their ultimate absorption into the body OF our
people, but In many this absorption must
and should be very GLOW. In portions Of the In
dian Territory the mixture OF blood has gone on
at the same time with progress In wealth and
education, 50 that there are plenty OF men With
are absolutely ndistnguishable in point OF social,
political and economic ability from their white
associates There are other tribes which have as
yet made pcrceptible 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 conditions.
Where a tribe has made considerable advance and
lives on fertile farming soil 1t Is possible to aot
the members lands in severalty much as Is the
case with white settlers. There are other tribes
where such is not desirable. On the
arid prairie lands the effort should be to induce
the Indians to lead pastoral rather than agricul-
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 Indian reservation do special and peculiar
work OF great Importance; but, excellent though
these are, immense amount~of additional work
must be done the reservations themselves
among the old. and. above all. among the young
Indiana
The frst and most important step toward the
absorption OF the Indian is to teach him TO earn
bis living, yet 1t Is not necessarily to be assumed
either tillers Of the soil stock raissrs. Tleir
industries may properly be diversified and those
who show special desire or adaptabiity for indus
trial o. even commercial pursuits should be en-
eouraSsd 90 far practicable to follow out each
his own bent
Every effort should be made to develop the In,
dian along the lines OF natural aptitude and to
encourage the existing native industries pecu,iar
to certain tribes, such 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
loauial English and should ordinarily be prepared
psops wit" rse ne Ssn o1 s
ate absorption into some more highly developed
community.
The officials who represent the government IN
dealing with the Indians work under hard condiI
lions and also under conditions which render it
easy to DO wrong and very difficult to detect
wrong Consequently they should be amply paid
the one hand, and on the other hand q par
ticularly high standard of conduct should be de-
msndsd from them, and where misconduct be
proved the punishment should be exemplary.
In no department of governmental work in re-
cent years has there been greater success than
In that OF giving scientific aid to the farming
population. thereby showing them how most eff
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 a 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 rem
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 ssrniarid west. For instance, the practi-
cabtlty Of producing the best types Of rnacaroni
wheats In regions OF an annual rainfall of only
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 possible
ty OF rseTasslng overstocked range lands has been
demonstrated; in the north many new forage
crops have been introduced. while in the east it
of OUR 1ao S.
can be stored and shipped in such way as to
find prositable market abroad.
l again recommend to the favorable eonsidera-
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
vanishing 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
or territory in which the national government
exerctSes local or municipal functions and where
In consequence the government has a free hand
in reference to certain types OF social and ecoI
norlic legislation which must be essentially local
or municipal In their character. The government
should see to it, for instance, that the hygienic
and sanitary legislation affecting Washington Is
Of high character. The evils of slum dyyellingsl
whethaT in the shape Of crowded and congested
tenement house districts of the back alley
type, should never be permitted to grow up IN
respect for ell the cities Of the country The
charitable and correctional systems OF the Dis
trict should receive consideration at the hands of
the congress to the end that they may ernbody
the results OF the most advanced thought in these
zelda Moreover, while Washington is not a great
industrial city there is industrialisnl here,
AID 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
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 em1
ployees. which passed in 1898 went into fulI
effect on Aug. /. 1901. 1t has resulted in ayert-
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 II is to be-
hoped that 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 no public demand and for the printing Oh
which there is real necessity. Large numbers
of volumes turned out by the government
printing presses for which there is no justiacaton
Nothing should be printed by any of the depart1
ments unless it contains something of permanent
value, and the congress could with advantage cut
down very materially all the printing which
1t has now become customary to provide Tbs
excessive cost OF government printing Is strong
argument against the position Of those. Who are
inclined on abstract grounds to advocate the gov4
prnmeut's doing yyoyk v.-h;o