The Saint Paul globe., 1904-10-21
WOULD IMPROVE
REDS'CONDITION
Indian Conference at Lake Mohonk
Faces Evils Yet to Be Remedied

LAKE MOHONK, N. Y, Oct. 20
About $50 delegates were present yes
terday when the annual Indian
conference was called to order. Charles
J. Bonaparte, member of the board of
Indian commissioners, was chosen per-
manent chairman. He reviewed the
wrongs and injustices suffered by the
Indians under the operation of the
( present laws. Gen. E. Whittlesey,. of
I the board of Indian commissioners,
gave a resume of the years work
among the Indians. He said:
During the year the number of allot-
ments approved is 4S4, and 7S6 patents
have been delivered to Indians. Allotment
work is still in progress. Nearly 4,500
leases of allotted land have. been made
within the year, aggregating 100000
acres, at rates varying from cents, to So
an acre. Under the law of 1902 authoriz-
ing the sale of inherited lands, the In
dian is parting with his inherited estate
at the rate Of about 8, 600 acres month
land3 are bought by spectators rather
than by those seeking homes; and as
for the Indian himself the prices secured
are reasonable but the purchase money, by
one vile or another. Is rapidly transferred
to the white mans pockets and more
often than any other way by the route Of
dissipation.
The enrolment of Indians in all schools
( has been brought up TO 29,47S an increase
of O67 pupils over last year. The av-
+ erage attendance is 25.104, an increase Of
in boarding schools and mainly in gov
ernment schools off reservations Only
twenty-five agencies are now under po-
litically appointed agents. Indians for
merly under forty agencies are now under
fifty-six school superintendents and six
farmers and other officials.
{ Commissioner Jones, of the Indian
bureau, spoke of the good results of
l., Il, g.
and of other reforms instituted in the
Indian service.
The blanket, the feathers and the
( long hair" he said, "are fast disap-
pearing, but great evils still exist to be
removed, the worst of these being the
annual payment of large sums Of
money to the Indians by the govern
ment, inducing idleness, extravaganza
and other vices. The practice should
+ be stopped as soon as possible"
Commissioner Jones said he believed
that all the problems involved in the
/ administration of Indian affairs would
not be solved and settled for many
years. Other speakers were White
Wolf, a Comanche Indian, and Alfred
j. Standing, formerly assistant super
< intendent at the Carlisle Indian school
The conference listened to two ad-
this evening and listened to two ad-
dresses on the work of the American
e government in its new possessions.
DR.. E. B. Bryan, of the University of
Indiana, who succeeded Dr. Atkinson
as superintendent of education in the
Philippines, and Prof. Z. S. Rowe, of
the University of Pennsylvania, who
Twas chairman of the commission to re-
wise the laws of Porto Rico, spoke of
the work in which they had had a part
during the last few years.
d DR.. Bryan said that in the three and
a half years since the American educa-
stional system in the Philippines was
started under 1000 American and 5000
native teachers, the school attendance
had increased until today there are
100000 children in the day schools TO-
600 children and adults in the night
schools, 500 students in the normal
school in Manila, 500 in the trade school
and 200 in the nautical school, all of
them studying in the English language.
At the end of the third year more Eng
,lish is spoken in the Philippines than
there was Spanish at the end of the
centuries. The speaker made an ear
nest plea for fair dealings with the Fill
tpinoS in education,