Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1902-12-08

proper teSQI0JlOlS, lOE LueII CIV II use
Laws should he enacted TO project the
Alaskan salmon fisheries against the greed
Which would destroy them. Ihey should
be preserved as permanent industry and
fOOu supply. their management ana con-
trOI sAOulu be turned over 10 the commits
sion Of tish and nSneries. ALASKA should
be We'll if a congressional committee could
visit Alaska and investigate its needs on
the ground.
OUR RED WARDS.
In dealing with the Indians our aim
should be their ultimate absorption into
the body OF our people. But III many cases
this absorption must and should be very
slow. In portions OF the indian Ier[itoFy
same time with progress IN wealth and
education, SO that there are plenty of men
With varying degrees OF Rn1ity oL ibd ian
in point of social, political and economic
ability from their white associates. There
are other tribes which have as yet made
no perceptible advance toward such equal
ity. 10 try to force such tribes too fast
is to prevent their going forward at al
ferent conditions, Where q tribe has made
considerable advance and lives on fertile
farming soil it is possible to allot the mem
bers lands in seyeralty much as is the case.
where such course is not desirable. On
the arid prairie lands the effort should be
to induce the Indians to lead pastoral
rather than agricultural lives, and to per-
NIT them to settle in villages rather than
to force them into isolation.
The large Indian schools situated remote.
from any Indian reservation do a spetiai
and peculiar work Of great Importance.
But, excellent though these are, an immense
amount of additional work must be done
on the reservations themselves among tn,
old, and above all among the young, In
dams. 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 either
tillers Of the soil or stock raisers. Their
industries may properly be diversified, and
those who show special desire or adapta-
bility 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 ana TO encourage the existing native
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
lOqutal English, and should ordinarily be
prepared for a vigorous struggle with the
conditions under which their people live,
rather than for immediate absorption into
some more highly developed community.
AGRICULTURAL AIDS.
In no department of governmental work
in recent years has there been greater sue
cess than III that of giving scientific aid
to the farming population, thereby show
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 a whole In
addition to such work as quarantine
against animal and vegetable plaques, and
warning against them when here intro
duced, much efficient help has been rem
dered to the farmer by the introduction OF
new plants specially fitted for cultivation
gnder the peculiar conditions existing IN
cereals have been established in the semi
arid west. For instance, the practicability
of producing the best types of macaroni
Of only ten inches or thereaDOutS has been
conclusively demonstrated. Through the
INTRODUCTION of new rices in Louisiana and
Texas the production Of rice in this coun-
try has been made to about equal the
home demand. In the southwest the pos
sibility of regrassing overstocked range
many new forage crops have been intro
duced, while in the east it has been shown
that some of our choices, fruits can be
stored and shipped in such way as to
find a profitable market abroad.
I again recommend to the favorable con-
sideration 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
races of men but Of the animals of this
continent which like the buffalo, will
soon become extinct unless specimens from
which their representatives may be re
and maintained there in safety.
A MODEL CAPITAL.
The District of Columbia is the only part
of our territory in which the national gov
eminent exercises local or municipal func-
tions and where in consequence the gov
eminent has free hand in reference t.
certain types of social and economic legis-
lation which must be essentially local or
municipal in their character. The govern
ment should see to it, for instance, that
the hygienic and sanitary legislation af-
fecting Washington is of high character.
The evils of slum dwellings, whether Id
the shape of crowded and cOngested tene-
ment-hOuse districts or OF the back-alley
type, should never be permitted to grow
model in every respect for all the cities of
the country The charitable and correc-
tional systems of the district should re-
ceive consideration at the hands Of the
congress to the end that they may embody
&c results Of the most advanced thought
in these fields. Moreover, while Washing
some industriaIism here, and our. labor
legislation, while it would not be import
ant in itself, might be made a model Tor
the rest of the nation. We. should pass,
for instance wise employer stability act
for the District of Columbia, and we need
such an act in our. navyyardsS. Railroad
companies in the district ought to be re-
quired by law to block their frogs
The safety-applance law. for the better
protection of the lives and limbs of rail
way employees, which was passed in 1882
went into full effect on August l. 1901. 1t
has resulted in averting thousands of cas-
ualties. Experience shows. however, the
necessity of additional legislation to per
feet 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 enacted into law.
A COSTLY PRINT SHOP,
There is a 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 Large numbers of volumes are
turned out by the government printing
presses for which there is no justification.
Nothing should be printed by any of the
departments unless it contains something
of permanent value, and the congress-
could with advantage cut down very ma
terially on all the printing which it has
now become customary to provide. The
excessive cost of government printing is
strong argument against the position Of
those who are inclined on abstract grounds
to advocate the governments doing any
work which can with propriety be left in
private hands.
Gratifying progress has been made dur
ing the year in the extension Of the merit
system of making appointments in the gov
eminent service Tt should he extended by
law to the District of Columbia 1t is
much to he desired that our consular sys-