Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1902-12-03

such inciosures in the past but ample notice ha
now s.,,a given the trespassers, and all the ne
sour - the command of the government VIII
her M. pe used to put stop to such trespasstng
In yisv Of the capital Importance OF these mat
tiers mend them to the earnest considerations
OF tn oGuSreSs, and il the congress finds diff
cult asSiling with them from lack Of thorough
know ~ of the subject recommend that pro
yisi,r made for a commission of experts spe-
cial.s q investigate and report upon the com
plic., tuestions involved.
g.~+aly urge upon the congress the need Il
wise .ation for Alaska. 1t Is not to our
creGa 8. a nation that Alaska, which has been
ours - 'hirty-nve years. should still have as poor
q systa u laws as is the case. No country has
a n*.rt lluable possession in mineral wealth, In
fshc-is iurs, forests and also in land available
for asf-cn kinds of farming and stock growing
sour,-~ yell fitted to support large permanent
popr' sn. Alaska needs a good land law and
sucl ibons for homestsads and prescriptions
as s. encourage permanent settlement. We
shou srape legislation with view not to the
exp. 5- and abandoning OF the territory, but
to a. Hiding zap Of homes therein The land
law. Id be liberal In type. 50 az to hold OUT
ind,a eats 10 the actual settler whom moa
desiI. take possession OF the country. The
for, Il Alaska should be protected. and. as
y but still important matter the game
alsc ! 1t the same time it Is imperative that
the .-.-s should be allowed to cut timber, UNI
der .r regulations, for their own USE Lawn
shot e enacted to protect the Alaskan salmon
Ash against the greed which would destroy
| thelr. lhey should be preserved as q permanent
ind and food supply. Their management
and s., rol should be turned over to the commits
sioI sSh aud fisheries. Alaska should have =
del-S-t, in the congress. It would be well IL
cor ,ro-. 0nal committee could visit Alas2ka and
inv e its needs on the ground.
J. b. ling with the Indians our aim should be
the mate absorption into the body OF our
: PEG ,,. II in many cases this absorption mus
anC lid h. very slow. In portions OF the In
dia rite the mixture Of blood has gone on
| at time with progress in wealth and
var a; a,grees Of purity Of Indian blood whs
| are ltel, indistinguishable in point Of social
pol an economic ability from thed1 white
| yet lde perceptible advance toward such
| equ -ty To try to force such tribes too fast in
to eve their going forward at a., hore9yer'
| Where r tribe has made considerable advance and
lives fer lie farming soil 1t Is possible to aot
cas-, Sith white settlers There other tribes
| whore such course is not desirable On the
| ari prairie ,ands the effort should be TO induce
the IL ians to lead pastoral rather than agTicul
| tural lives and to permit them to settle in VIII
| lagos rather than TO force them into isolation.
| The large Indian schools situated remote from
| work great Importance; but. excellent though
these are, an iinmense 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 toward the
| absorption OF the Indian is to teach him to earn
his ving yet it is not necessarily to be assumed
| that In each community all Indians must become
either tillers OF the soil or stock raiseTs Their
| who show special desire sdaptabnity Tor indus
| trial even commercial pursuits should be en-
Outraged 50 far as 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 &c
encourage the existing native industries peculiar
| to ocstain tribes, such the various kinds Of
basket weaving, canoe building. smith work and
blanket work Above all, the Indian boys and
| ioqual English and should ordinarily be prepared
for vigorous struggle with tho conditions under
which their peopls live rather than Coz immedi-
ate absorption into some more highly developed
community.
| The officials who represent tie government i.
| dealiny with the Indians work under hard conds-
tions and also under conditions which render O.
easy to do wrong and very difneuIt to deted
| wrong. Consequently they should be amply pair
on the hand, and on the other hand par
| ticularly high standard OF conduct should be Dr.
\ manded from them, and where misconduct can b.
| proved the punishment should be exemplary.
In no department of governmental work in TT
| cent years has there been greater success thsa
| in that Of giving scientific aid to the farming
! population. thereby showing them how most en-
| insisting upon its Importance, for the welfare a
| the farmer is fundamentally necessary to ta
welfare of the republic as a whole. In addition
| to such work as quarantine against animal aDe
vegetable plaques, aud warning against them wheg,
| here introduced, much efficient help has been Ter
| dered to the farmer by the Introduction OF nss'
| plants specially fitted for cultivation under tia
peculiar conditions existing in different portios1
of the country. New cereals have been establisAsk
in the semiard west For instance, the prscz-
cability OF producing the hest types of macarcEl
| wheats in regions OF an annual rainfall of OUR
| ten inches thereahout has been conclusre@
| demonstrated. Through the introduction of nep
| rices in Louisiana and Texas the production %
! rice in this country has been made TO about equal
the home demand In the southwest the possihn-
ity OF regrasing overstocked range lands has been
demonstrated; in the north many new torage
| crops have been introduced while in the east Vi
has been shown that Of choicest fruix
| can be stored and shipped in such way te
| find profitable market abroad.
i again recommend to the favorable considers
ton OF the congress the plans of the Smithsonian
institution for making the museum under itx
charge worthy Of the nation and for preserving
at the national capital not only records Of the
vanishing raSss Oh men, but OIL she ANIMALS SOL OF ths
| 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 Il
| our territory in which the national government
in consequence the government has a free hand
| In reference to certain types OF social and eco
nomic legislation which must be essentially ioca
should see to it, for instance, that the hygienir
| and sanitary legislation affecting Washington IN
Of high character. The evils Of slum dwellings,
tenement house districts OF the back alles
type, should never be permitted to grow up IN
Washington. The city should be model in every
respect for all the cities Of the country. The
charitable and correctional systems OF the Dis
trict should receive consideration at the hands q
the congress TO the end that they may embody
the results OF the most advanced thought in thesE
fields Moreover, while Washington is not gree
industrial city, there is some industrialian hesss
and our labor legislation while II would not IN
important in itself, might be made a model ion
the rest OF the nation. We should pass. for in
stance, a wise employers liability act for the Din
trict Of Columbia, and we need such an act IN
our navy yards Railroad companies in the Die
trict ought to be required by law to block then
fDoga
The safety appliance Law, for the better pro
lection OF the lives and limbs OF railway en-
ployees, which was passed in 1893, went into I'm
effect on Aug. /. 1901. 1t has resulted in avert
ing thousands Of casualties Experience shows
however, the necessity Of additional legislaties
to perfect this law. bill to provide for tn
passed the senate at the last session. II Is to b
hoped that such measure may now be en-
acted into law.
There is growing tendency TO provide for TIM
| publication OF masses Of documents for which
there Is no public demandtand for the printing q
which there is nc real necessity. Large number
OF volumes are turned out by the government
printing presses for which there is justification
, Nothing should be printed by any OF the depart
, ments unless IL contains something OF permanent
value, and the congress could with advantage cgn
down very materially on all the printing which
| Il has now become customary to provide Thu
excessive cost OF government printing Is stronl
! argument against the position Of those who an
inclined on abstract grounds to advocate the gov
ernment's doing any work which can with pro
r priety be left in private hands
, Gratifying progress has been made during tn
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