The Paducah sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1898-1906, 1905-11-15
LEADER NEEDED BY
THE POOR INDIANS
No Booker Washington Has Yet
Appeared Among Them.
No Hope Entertained That This Gem
Grafton VIII Produce One.
FRANCIS LEUPP's ADDRESS

Chicago, Nov. ia special from
Washington to the Chronicle says:
Francis Leupp. commissioner of
INDIAN affairs. agrees with DR.. Ly-
man Abbott that the great need of
The American aborigine is for an In
dian Booker Washington but he
doubts whether the. present genera
ticn of red men is capable of produc-
ing such a leader, and he has no
strong hopes that can be forthcom-
ing out of any generation in THE near
future.
Dr. Abbott in his address at the
Lake Mohonk conference had ex
pressed the belief that an industrial.
leader could accomplish for the In
dams what Booker Washington is do
ing for the negro. Commissioner
Leupp comedies that this would he
true were the Indian race only capa !.
bic of producing a Booker Washing
ton.
DR.. Abbott's idea is an admirable
one" said Mr.. Leupp. "but at the
very outset it presents one serious
difficulty. The rise of Booker Wash
ington was an evolution from condi-
TONS which have long existed in the
life of the negro, but which are com
pletely absent in thhe case of the
Indian.
Washington came on of ancestry
that had been living by means of
manual labor for centuries, for II
must be borne in mind that negroes
of Africa are not indolent, do-noth-
ing savages, as We are apt to think of
them; on the CONTRARY. they are nat
ural-born agriculturists, whose avo-
cation for countless generations aas
been the cultivation of their fields
and pltohes'
The Indian, Oh The contrary, was
not an agricu'tu, ist, but hunter
and fisher pIre and simple. When
he became troublesome the whites
fouad IL much easier to push him
II -'er IVES. n n 20 endello- t.
,eIsert him &c the White ms * way
Men it wis -. i..ecr possible 20
riCve him. liiheI Aest,. IL bprams
accessory ~ 10, him rp on reserva-
lions.
''Tls pOpu.ar ba'ief was that as
a man nothing coGid be mads OF
NJ. and with that .cea firrJy fixed
;'e government and ,eople cfeerlui-
~ fed and supported him. Thc one
aim was to KEEP him from nal ,rg
tfoIb.e. and TO that end he was fed
clothed AMI made as happy "a, poss.
bic, with little attempt to elevate or
change his primitive standard %
| economies.
Because of these facts | think n,
would be difficult to raise up an In
dian Booker Washington. No In
dian has in his blood that which
came down to Washington through
his ancestors. | am fully convinced
/ that the Indian will never start on
his upward progress until he IS
placed on the same basis of industry
as that upon which Washington in
slsts on Placing the negro. How
ever, do not entirely despair of
such a thing. For all there are so
many obstacles in the way. such as
the lack OF Inherent industry, old
tribal animosities, lack of commoa
tongue. etc. | sincerely hope that
the day may come when we shall
lote the rise o, some such person.
should we ever get among the
Indians a man of the typ: of Booker
Washington he would, in respects
other than those that | have men
toned, find the Indian excellent ma
terial to work upon. The Indian is
naturally clever with his hands, a
good mechanic, possessed of a highly
developed sense of the artistic, and
look in future to Indians attaining
!