Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1904-12-14

The policy, though severe, is a useful one,
but it is to be exercised only with judg.
ment and with a full understanding of the
conditions which exist In each community
for which it is intended. On or near the
Indian reservations there Is usually very
little demand for labor, and if the Indians
are to earn their living and when work
cannot be furnished from outside (Which is
always preferably, then it must be fur
nished by the government. Practical In
struction of this kind would in few years
industry, which would render the Indian
producer and would effect q great reduction
in the cost Of his maintenance.
1t is commonly declared that the slow adj
vance OF the Indians Is due to the unSatiS
factory character Of the men appointed to
take Immediate charge of them, and to
some extent this is true. While the stand
ard Of the employees in the Indian service
shows great improvement over that Of by
gone years. and while actual corruption or
fragrant dishonesty is now the rare excep-
ton, it is nevertheless the fact that the
salaries paid Indian agents are not large
enough to attract the best men to that field
Of work. To achieve satisfactory results
the official in charge of an Indian tribe
should possess the high qualifications which
are. required in the manager of a large
business but only In exceptional cases Is 1t
possible to secure men OF such type Tor
these positions Much better service, how
ever, might be obtained from those now
holding the places were 1t practicable to
get out of them the best that Is in them,
and this should be done by bringing them
constantly into closer touch with their SUI
perior officars. An agent who has been con
tent to draw his salary, giving in return the
least possible equivalent in effort and serV-
ice, may, by proper treatment, by sugges-
ton and encouragement, or persistent urg-
Ing, be stimulated to greater effort and in
duced to take a more active personal In
terest in his work.
Under existing conditions an Indian agent
In the distant west may be wholly out of
touch with the Office of the Indian bureau.
He may very well feel that no one takes
personal interest in him or his efforts. Ger
tain routine duties In the way of reports
and accounts are required Of him, but there
is no one with whom he may intellgently
consult on matters vital to his work, eX,
cept after long delay. Such q man would
be greatly encouraged and aided by. per-
sonal contact with some one whose inter
est In Indian affairs and whose authority
own, and such contact would be, certain to
arouse and constantly increase the interest
he takes in his work
The distance which separates the agents
the workers in the f1eld-from the Indian
Office in Washington Is chief obstacle to
Indian progress. Whatever shall more
closely unite these two branches Of the In
dian service, and shall enable them to CO,
operate more heartily and more effectively,
will be for the increased efficiency Of the
work and the betterment of the race for
whose improvement the Indian bureau was
established. The appointment Of field as
sistant to the commissioners of Indian at
fairs would be certain to insure this good
end. Such an official, II possessed Of the
requisite energy and deep interest In the
work, would be most efficient factor in
bringing into closer relationship and more
direct union of effort the bureau in Wash
ington end its agents In the field; and with
the cooperation Of its branches thus Sc
cured the Indian bureau would, IN measure
fuller than ever before, lift up the savage
toward that self-help and self-reliance which
constitute the man.
CURRENCY.
The attention OF the Congress should be
especially given to the currency question,
and that the standing committees on the
matter in the two houses charged with the
duty, take up the matter Of our currency
and see whether it is not possible to secure
an agreement In the business world for bet
tering the system; the committees should
consider the question Of the retirement of
the greenbacks and the problem of secur-
ing in our currency such elasticity as is
consistent with safety. Every, silver dol
lar should be made by law redeemable In
gold at the option of the holder.
IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIzA-
TON.
In dealing with the questions of immigra-
ton and naturalization 1t Is indispensable
to keep certain facts ever before the minds
of those who share In enacting the laws.
First and foremost, let us remember that
the question of being good American has
nothing whatever to do with a mans birth
place any more than it has to do with his
creed. In every generation from the time
this government was founded men of for
eign birth have stood in the very foremost
rank Of good citizenship, and that not
merely in one but in every field Of American
activity; while to try, to draw a distinction
between the man whose parents came to
this country and the man whose ancestors
came to 1t several generations back is q
mere absurdity. Good Americanism is
piration, Of sound common sense, but not
of birthplace or of creed. The medal of
honor, the highest prize to be won by those
who serve In the army and the navy of the
United States decOrateS men born here, and
it also decorates men born IN Great Britain
and Ireland, in Germany, In Scandinavia,
in France, and doubtless in other countries
also. In the field Of craftsmanship, in the
field of business, in the field Of phianthropfc
endeavor, 1t is equally true that among
the men Of whom we are most proud as
drawn between those who themselves or
whose parents came over in sailing ship or
steamer from across the water and those
whose ancestors stepped ashore into the
wooded wilderness at Plymouth or at the
mouth Of the Hudson, the Delaware or the
James nearly three centuries ago. No fel.
low citizen of ours Is entitled to any pc
culiar regard because of the way in which
he worships his Maker, or because of the
birthplace of himself or his parents, nor
should he be in any way Disseminated
against therefor. Each must stand on his
worth as a man and each is entitled to
be judged solely thereby.
immigrants Of the right kind. It makes no
difference from what country they come.
If they are sound in body and in mind, and,
above all, if they are of good character,
so that we can rest assured that their chill
dren and grandchildren will be worthy fell
low citizens Of our children and grandchil-
dren, then we should welcome them with
cordial hospitality.
But the citizenship of this country should
not be debased. 1t Is vital that we should
keep high the standard Of well being among
our wage-workers and therefore we should
not admit masses of men whose standards
Of living and whose personal customs and
habits are such that they tend to lower
the level Of the American wage-worker; and
above all we should not admit any man
Of an unworthy type, any man concerning
whom we can say that he will himself be
bad citizen, that his children and
grandchildren will detract from instead Of
adding to the sum Of the good citizenship
Of the country. Similarly we should take
the greatest care about naturalization.
Fraudulent naturalization, the naturaliZa-
ton of improper persons, is a curse to our
government; and 1t is the affair of every
honest voter, wherever born, to see that
no fraudulent voting Is allower, that no
fraud in connection with naturalization is
permitted.
In the past year the cases of false, fraud
ulent and improper naturalization of aliens