The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-12-05

reserves. The senseless slaghter or
game, which can by judicious protec-
ton be permanently preserved On our
national reserves for lie people as a
whole, hOuld be stopped at once. II is,
for instance, a serioLS count against
our national good sense to permit the
present practice of butchering off such
a stately and beautiful Feature as the
elk for its antlers or tusks.
Public Lands.
So far as they are available for ag-
riculture, and TO whatever extent they
may be reclaimed under the national ir-
rigation law. the remaining public lands
should be held rigidly for the home
builder, the settler who lives on his
land, and for no one else. In their
! actual use the deSert-ldEd law. the tim
Der and stone law, ana the
ton clause Of the homestead law q V
been so perverted from the intention
with which they were enacted as 70
permit the acquisition OF large areas
of the public domain Tor others than
actual settlers II the consequent pre-
ventiOn Of settlement. Moreover. the
approaching exhaustion Of the public
ranges has of late led to much discus
sin as 10 tn best manner Of using these
| public lands in the west which are
suitable chiefly or only FOR grazing. The
sound and steady development of the
west depends upon the building up of
homes therein. Much f our prosperity
as q nation has been due 10 the OPERA
ton Of the homestead law. On the
| other hand. we should recognize the
fact that in the grazing region the man
who corresponds to the EOmesteader
may be unable to settle per!l anently if
only allowed to use the same amount
Of pasture and that his brother, the
hOmeSteader is allowed TO use of ara
BILE land. one hundred and sixty acres
& II - -- go q --sH -.
q much smaller amouat CT irrigated
land, may keep a family n plenty,
whereas no one could get q living from
one hundred and sixty acres Of dry pas
ture land capable of supporting at the
/ outside only 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 iOrbidding
the maintenance or construction of any
such unlawful Enclosure Ct public land.
For various reasons there has been lit
tie Interference with such Enclosures in
the past, but ample notice has now been
given the t~respasscrs, n al the re-
sources at the command Of the govern
ment will hereafter De used to put a
stop To such trespassins.
In view of the capital Importance of
these matters. l commend them to the
earnest consideration of the congress,
n if the congress finds difficulty ! n
dealing with them from LACK Of thor
Ough knowledge of the subject. L recon-
mend that provision be made Tor Il COM
mission of experts specially 20 investi-
gate and repOr upon the complicated
questions involved.
Alaska.
l especially urge upon the congress
the need Of wise Legislation for Alaska.
1t is not to our credit as Il LatiOn hat
Alaska, which has been Ours for thirty
five years. hOuld still haVe as poor q
system of laws as Is the case. No
unit has a more ~ValuaDle possession
in mineral wealth, III fIsh51 les, furs,
forests, and also in land available for
certain kinds of farming and stock
growing. 1t is a territory of great size
and varied resources, we'll fitted to sup
port q large permanent population.
| Alaska needs a good land Law and such
provisions for lOmesteadS and pre-
emptions as will encourage Permanent
settlement. We should shape Iegisla-
ton with Il view not 10 the exploiting
and abandoning of the territory, but to
the building up of homes ril-rein. The
land laws SHOULD be liberal IN type. SO
as to hold out Inducements to the ac-
tual settler whom we most desire to sec
take possession of the mt The
forests of Alaska should be protected,
and, as a secondary but still important
matter, the game also, and at the same
time it is imperative that lie settlers
| should be allowed to CIt timOer, 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 Il permanent in
dustry n food supply. Their manage
ment and control should be turned over
TO the commission of fish and fisheries.
1nGLn should Ia Na y ialA-..Ia ~ the
| congress. 1t would ~ well If Il con-
gressional committee could visit Alaska
and investigate It's needs on The ground.
The Indians.
In dealing with the indians our an
should be their = Inmate absorption ihto
the body OF gu peOpIa. But III many
cases this absorption must ana 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 &c cation, so THAI here
are plenty of ma with "&CyinS degrees
of purity of II ian blood who A." alb
Solutely indistI Suishabl. IN pciTt of
! social. politica and economic ability
from their viii associates. There arr
other tribes WI .ch have aS yet made
no p~erceptible advance toward such
equality. To try to force such TIDES
too fast IS to prevent their going for
ward at all. Moreover, the tribes liz"
under widely different conditions.
Where Il tribe has maze considerable
advance and lives on fertile farming
soil it is possible 70 allOt the members
lands in seVeralty much as is the case
with white settlers. There are other
tribes where such a curse Is not de-
sirable. On the arid U-aITie lands tho
effort should be to nGu-e tie Indians
to lead pastoral rather han agricultu-
raj lives, and TO permit them 10 settle
in villages rather than to tor,.a them
into isolation.
The large Indian ~Sclo0!s situate re-
mote from any Indian reservation DO
| a special and peCuli6r work rf great
Importance. But. excellent though
these are. an Immense amount Of ad-
ditional work must be done on the re-
s~ervations themselves among the old
| and abov" all among the Young. In
dams.
The first and most important step to-
ward tn absorption of the Indian is 10
teach him to earn his living: yet it is
| not necessarily to be assumed that in
| each community all Indians must be-