The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-12-07

n a lew years result n the forming or habits of regular industry, which would render the Indian a producer and would effect a great reduction in the cost of his maintenance.
 It is commonly declared that the slow advance of the Indians is due to the unsatisfactory character of the men appointed to take immediate charge of them, and to some extent this is true. While the standard of the employees in the Indian service shows great im- proyement over that of bygone years, and while actual corruption or fragrant dishonesty is now the rare exception, it is nevertheless the fact that the sala- ries 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 In- dian tribe should possess the high quail ifications which are required in the manager of a large business, but only in exceptional cases is it possible to se- cure men of such a type for these posi- tions. Much better service, however, might be obtained from those now holding the place were it practicable to get out of them the best that is in them, and this should be done by bring ing them constantly into closer touch with their superior officers. An agent who has been content to draw his sala- ", giving in return the least possible equivalent in effort and service, may, by proper treatment, by suggestion and encouragement, or persistent urging, be stimulated to greater effort and in duced to take more active personal interest in his work.
 Under existing conditions an Indian agent in the distant west may be who'll ly out of touch with the office of the In- dian bureau. He may very well feel that no one takes personal interest in him or his efforts. Certain routine du- ties in the way of reports and accounts are required of him, but there is no one with whom he may intelligently consult on matters vital to his work, except after long delay. Such a man would be greatly encouraged and aided by personal contact with some one II NA4OfSS III 1uQtdIl dIdlES dllu whose authority in the Indian bureau Were greater than his own, and such contact would be certain to arouse and constantly increase the interest he akes in his work.
 The distance which separates the agents-the workers in the field-from the Indian office in Washington is a chief obstacle to Indian progress. Whatever shall more closely unite these two branches of the Indian ser vice, and shall enable them to co-ope- rate 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. sTheaappoint- ment of field assistant to the commis- sioner of Indian affairs would be cer- tain to insure this good end. Such an official, if possessed of the requisite en- ergy and deep interest in the work, would be a most efficient factor in bringing into closer relationship and a more direct unison of effort the bureau in Washington and it's agents in the field; and with the cooperation of it's branches thus secured the Indian bu- reau would, in measure fuller than eveh before, lift up the savage toward that self-help and self-reliance which constitute the man.
 Jamestown TricentcnnIal.
 In 1907 there will be held at Hampton Roads the tricentennial celebration of the settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, with which the history of what has now become the United States really begins. commend this to your favor able consideration. It is an event of prime historic significance, in which all the people of the United States should feel, and should show, great and gene ral interest.
 Postal Service.
 In the post-office department the ser vice has increased in efficiency, and conditions as to revenue and expendi- ture continue satisfactory. The in crease of revenue during the year was $9, S5S, ,1S1.10, or 6.9 per cent, the total receipts amounting to s143, 1882, .34. The expenditures were $152, 1862, ,116.70, an increase of about 9 per cent. over the previous year, being thus $S,979, ,492.- l 36 in excess of the current revenue, Included in these expenditures was a total appropriation of $12,956,637.S5 for the continuation and extension of the rural free-deliyery service, which was an increase of $4,902, ,237.35 over the amount expended for this purpose in the preceding fiscal year. Large as this expenditure has been the benefi- cent results attained in extending the 1 free distribution of mails to the resi- dents of rural districts have justified the wisdom of the outlay. Statistics brought down to the 1st of October, 1904, show that on that date there were 7,13S rural routes established...s serving approximately 100000 of people in ru- ral districts remote from post-offices, and that there were pending at that time 3,S5S petitions for the establish ment of new rural routes. Unques- tionably some part of the general in- crease in receipts is due to the in creased postal facilities which the rural service has afforded. The revenues have also been aided greatly by amend ments in the classification of mail mat ter, and the curtailment of abuses of the second-class mailing privilege. The ,, average increase in the volume of mail mattar for fhe neriod beginninp With