Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-12-03


Tie mA11feosmoe - constrnction OF any such fun-
lawful incloUHe 81 public land For various
reasons there has bseA little interference win
Sssn ssn !. Is. .Sd 4. aq S: r.
sources at the command a the government VIII
hereafter be used to put stop to such trespaning.
ters commend them - thu earnese conaideratioa
81 the congress- and Il the congress nnds dim-
Guilty in dealing with them fFon lack Of thoreugA
knowledge Of The subject recommend that pro-
vision be made for . conminsion Of experts spe-
cially to investigate and report upon The com
piicsted questions involved.
wise legislation for Alaska. 1t is not to our
credit ss q nation thst Alaska, which has been
ours for thirtynve yeara should still have - poor
more valuable possession in mineral wealth, in
fisheries, furs. forests and also in land available
for certain kinds Of farming and stock growing.
sources well fitted to support a large permanent
population. Alaska needs good land law and
such provisions for homesteads and prescriptions
- will encourage permanent settlement. We
should shape legislation with q view not to the
exploiting and abandoning OF the territory. but
to the building up Of homes therein. The land
inducements TO the actual settler whom most
desire to see take POSSESSION Of the country. The
forests OF Alaska should be protected, and. a. q
Z .s
the settlers should be allowed to cut timber, I'M
der proper regulations, for their own use. Lawn
should be enacted to protect the ALASKAN salmon
nsheries against the greed which would destroy
I them They should be preserved A. q permanent
industry and food supply. Their management
and control should be turned over to the commits
sion OF fish and fisheries Alaska should have .
delegate in the congress. 1t would be well II .
congressional committee could visit Alaska and
investigate its needs on the ground. a
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 allow. In portions Of the In
finn he fwfrS 10
at the same time with progress in wealth and
education, 50 that there are plenty Of men with
varying degrees Of purity Of Indian blood who
political and economic ability from their white
associatesI There are Other tribes which have as
yet made no perceptible advance toward such
to prevent their going forward at all. Moreover
the tribes live under widely different conditions
Where tribe has made considerable advance and
lives on fertile farming soil it il possible to alot
the members lands in severalty much a. il the
case with white settlers. There are other tribes
where such a course il not desirable. On the
the Indians to lead pastoral rather than agricul
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
any Indian reservation do Q special 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 the old. and. above all, among the young
Indians ~
The first and most important step toward the
his living, yet IL IL 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 adaptabiity for indus
trial or even commercial pursuits should be en-
eouraged 90 far a. practicable to follow out each
Every effort should be made to develop the In.
dian along the lines Of natural aptitude and to
encourage the existing native industries peculiar
basket weaving, canoe building, smith work and
blanket work. Above all, the Indian boys and
girls should be given confident command OF COL
1oquial English and should ordinarily be prepared
for . vigorous struggle with the conditions under
which their people live rather than for immedi-
ate absorption into some more highly developed
community.
The officials who represent the government in
dealing with the Indians work under hard condi-
lions and also under conditions which render It
Ss 1 ssd
on the one hand, and on the other hand . par
ticularly high standard Of conduct should be de-
handed from them. and where misconduct can be
proved the punishment should be exemplary.
In no DEF lrtment 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 cfH-
ciently 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 as . whole. In addition
to such work ~ 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 semiarid west. For instance, the practi-
cability Of producing the best types OF macaroni
wheats In regions OF an annual rainfall of only
ten inches Or shereabout h. been conclusively
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 poasibil-
ity of regrassing overstocked range lands has been
demonstrated; in the north many new forage
crops have been introduced, while in the east Il
has been shown that some Of our choicest fruits
can be stored and shipped in such . way Is to
End profitable market abroad
again recommend to the favorable considers
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 races 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 IL the only part Of
our territory in which the national government
exercises local or municipal functions and where
in reference to certain types Of social and eco.
nomic legislation which must be essentially local
or municipal in their character. The government
should see to it, for instance, that the hygienio
and sanitary legislation affecting washington 10
OF high character. The evils Of slum dwellings,
whether In the shape Of crowded and congested
type, should never be permitted to grow up in
Washington. The city should be q 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 Of
the congress to the end that they may embody
the results Of the most advanced thought In these
industrial city, there is some {ndustriaisn here.
and our labor legislation. while It would not be