Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1902-12-04

that his brother, the homesteader. is al.
lowed to use of arabic land one nun,
dred and sixty acres of fairly rich ana
well watered soil, or a much smaller
amount of irrigated land, may keep
family in plenty, whereas no one could
get living from 100 acres of dry pasture
land capable of supporting at the out
side only one head of cattle TO every ten
acres In the past great tracts of the
public domain have been fenced in by
persons having no title thereto, in direct
defiance of the law forbidding the main
tenance or construction of any such un.
lawful inclosure OF public land For va
ference with such Enclosures in the past,
but ample notice has now been given
the trespassers. and all the resources at
the command of the government will
hereafter be used to put stop to such
trespassing.
Alaska Legislation Asked For.
1 especially urge upon the congress the
need of wise legislation for Alaska. 1t
is not to our credit as nation that
Alaska, which has been ours for 30 years.
should still have as poor system of
more valuable possession-in mineral
wealth, in fisheries, furs, forests, and
also in land available for certain kinds
of farming and stock growing. 1t is
territory of great size and varied re-
sources, well fitted to support large
permanent population. Alaska needs.
homesteads and preemptions as will en-
courage permanent settlement We
should shape legislation with 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, so as to hold out inducements
to the actual settler whom we most de-
sire to see take possession of the coun-
try. The forests of Alaska should be
protected, and as secondary but still
important matter, the game also, and at
settlers should be allowed to cut tim
be, 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
permanent industry and food supply.
Their management and control should be
turned over to the commission of fish
and fisheries. Alaska should have dele
gate in the congress. 1t would be Wen
If a congressional committee could visit
Alaska and investigate its needs on the
ground.
The Indians.
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 abso-
iutely indistinguishable in point of social.
political and economical ability from
their white associates. There are other
tribes winch nave dS yet UlduC Ub per
ceptible advance toward such equality.
To try to force such tribes too fast is to
prevent their going forward at all. More
over the tribes live under widely differ
ent conditions Where a tribe has made
considerable advance and lives on fertile
farming soil it is possible to allot the
the case with the white settlers There
are other tribes where such course is not
desirable On the arid prairie lands the
effort should be to induce the Indians to
than Agricultural
lives, and to permit them to settle in
villages rather than to force them into
The large INDIAN schools situated remote
from any Indian reservation do a special
and peculiar work of great importance
But, excellent though these are an i'm
done on the reservations themselves among
the ole, and above all among the young,
The first and most important step toward
the absorption of the~1ndian Is to teach
him TO earn his living; yet 1t Is not neces-
sarily to be assumed that In each commune
ity all Indians must become either tillers
of the soil or stock raisers. Their indus tries
may properly be diversified. and those VINO
dustria1 or even commercial pursuits
should be encouraged so far as practicable
to follow out each his own bents .,
Every effort should be made to develop
the Indian along the lines of natural apti-
tude ana to encourage the existing native
industries peculiar to certain tribes, sueh
canoe building, smith work, and blanket
work Above all, the Indian boys and glris
should be given confident command Of co.,
loquial English, and should ordinarily pc
prepared for a vigorous struggle with the 1
conditions un6er 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 un-
der hard conditions, and also under condl,
tions which render it easy to 90 wrong and
very difficult to detect wrong. Consequent
ly they should@be amply paid on the one
hand, and on the other hand par parteuiarray r
high standard of conduct should be de-
marded from them, and where misconduct
can be proved the punishment should be
exemplary.
Scientific Aid to Farmers.
In no department of governmental work
in recent years has there been greater sue
cess than in that of giving sclentihc ald TO
them how most efficiently to help them
selves. There is no need of insisting upon
its importance, for the welfare OF the
farmer is Fundamentally necessary to the
welfare of the republic whole. In ad-
6ition to such work as quarantine against
animal and vegetable plaques, and war
much efficient help has been rendered to the
farmer by the introduction of new plants
specially fitted for cultivation unGer the
peculiar conditions existing IN diHereht
portions of the country. New cereals have
been established in the semi-arid west.
For instance, the pracucability OF produc-
-
regions of an annual rainfall of only ten
inches or tnereabouts has beer conclusive
" demonstrated. Through the introcuc-
ton of new rces in Louisiana and Texas
the production Of rice in this country mas
been made to about equal the home de-
mand IN the Seutnwest 6ne posEsrpe.i'yS 1e Ssg oI
been demonstrated; in the north many new
forage crops have been INTRODUCED, While
in the east 1t has been shown that some OF
our choicest fruits can be stored and
shipped in such way as to find profita bic
market abroad.
The District of Columbia is the only part
of our territory in which the national gov
ernment exercises local or municipal func-
tons ana where in consequence the gov
errment has a free hand in reference to
certain types of social and economic iegis-
lation which must be essentially local or
municipal in their character. The govern
ment should see TO 1t. for instance, that the
hygienic and sanitary legislation affecting
Washington is of a high character. The
evils of SUM dwellings, whether in the
house districts or of the back-alley type,
shoulG never be permitted 70 grow up IN
Washington. The, city should be model
country. The charitable and correctional
systems of the. district should receive cor
sderation at the hands of the congress to
of the most advanced thought in these
fields. Moreover, while Washington is not
triaIism 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 instance.
wise employer STABILITY act for the Dis
trict of Columbia, and we need such an act
in our navy-yards Railroad companies in
the district ought to be required by law 10
block their frogs.
Protection for Railway Employees.
The safety-appliance law, for the better
protection of the lives and limbs of rail-
way employees, which was passed in 1888
went into full effect on August ]. 1901. 1t
has resulted in averting thousands of
casualties. 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.
Gratifying progress has been made DUR
ing the year IN the extension OF the
merit system of making appointments
in the government service. It should be
extended by law to the District OF Co,
lumbia. 1t is much to be desired thai