Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-23
DR.. JACKSON REPLIES
Sweeping Denial of Churchill
Charges.
ACCOUNTS ARE CORRECT
And Reindeer Problem is Working
Itself Out.
EACH CHARGE DISCUSSED
Schools Have Good Attendance-Dr.
Jackson's Good Work in
the Far North.

Charges of the mismanagement Of the
reindeer and school service Of Alaska, going
even so far as to suggest that government
funds have been Incorporated for the
support of Presbyterian missions and mis-
sionaries in that far northern district, have
aroused Rev. DR.. Sheldon Jackson. general
agent of the United States in charge Of
Alaskan education. and prominently iden-
titled with the Presbyterian Church in
America, against whom the charges have
been directed, to make a sweeping denial.
The man who makes the charges against
DR.. Jackson is Frank C. Churchill, who was
sent to Alaska as special agent of the In
terror Department to look into affairs there.
and whose report has recently come of the
government press.
DR.. Jackson was shown newspaper ar
ticle based upon the Churchill report and
containing assertions in support of a general
statement that "a new Alaskan plumber
scandal involves the church. He was
asked what truth there was in the story,
and after consideration consented to discuss
some of the cases cited in the Churchill re-
port. In reviewing the whole situation he
said to a Star reporter:
Into that great northland brave men
and women were sent as teachers, and In
the face of unusual difficulties have made
both the educational and the reindeer work
a success. The money placed by the gov
eminent at the disposal of the bureau Of
education has been strictly applied to the
purposes for which it was appropriated and
disbursed not by the bureau of education
or any of its employees, but by the dis
bursting officer of the Interior Department"
DR.. Jackson's Reply.
Referring to the Churchill report, DR..
Jackson said
1.-THE same pamphlet that contains Mr..
Churchilrs report also contains, by the ex-
press order Of the United States Senate,
the official reply to Mr.. Churchill's report
made by DR.. William T. Harris, at the
time commissioner of education. This COW
ers the question.
been charged that while the government
has spent about $25OOOO for reindeer and
the Alaskan herd numbers 1924, there
are only $500 in the possession of the gov
eminent The inference is that 1 or some
one else must have unlawfully disposed of
nearly 5000 of the 10000 reindeer in
Alaska. The fact is that 3.S17 had been
earned by the native Eskimo, who had
care and management of reindeer; 2, 127 had
been earned by the mission stations-main-
ly under contract with the government
who, in return for the loan of 100 deer, had
ClotHeu, leu anu cared LOT native appren-
tees during their five years apprentice
ship, and then had returned to the govern
ment the original number of deer loaned
them. retaining the fawns for future work
in training Eskimo apprentices; 1,1s7 had
been earned by the Laplander teachers,
who also had received small loans from the
government. for the purpose of giving OBJ
ject lessons to the native herders in the
care of the herds, which, after five years
they returned to the government, retaining
the fawns born for themselves. Or, in
other words. In 1905 the natives owned SO
per cent Of the deer, the government 80
per cent, the mission stations p per cent
and the Lapps IL per cent.
AS the years go on the percentage of
the deer owned by the natives will become
increasingly large, which was the inten-
ton Of the government in making the an
nual appropriation for reindeer. AS a help
to the more rapid preparation Of young
men for herding the government has found
the loan to the mission stations SO satisfac-
tory that the last Congress directed that
the deer remaining in the hands of the
government should as soon as practical BILE
be turned over to the missions in Alaska
Another proof given Of plumber ia the
alleged loaning or giving of 9S7 deer to
the Presbyterian Mission at Cape Prince
Of Wales. In reply 1 would say the deer
loaned were 11S, and not 9S7. Again. the
mission at Cape Prince of Wales belonged
to the American Missionary Association of
the Congregational Church, and not to the
Presbyterian. So far as known, no deer
belonging to the government at Wales or
any other mission were purchased back by
the government. All purchases were made
either from deer owned out and out by
the mission or the herders
Another Charge Disproved.
ut is also said that the Presbyterian
school at Sitka, through me, received an
nual contributions of government money
sometimes as high as $4,000. In accord
ance with policy inaugurated by Presi-
dent Grant various churches were paid
by the United States government for es-
tablishing and maintaining schools for In
dian and other native children. This was
done both by the Indian office and the
bureau of education. During the continu-
ance OF this policy the Episcopal, Moravian,
Congregational, Presbyterian, Methodist
Swedish Evangelical and Roman Catholic
societies were thus paid government funds
for the maintenance Of schools in Alaska
/ neither signed the contracts nor handled
the oney; The contracts were signed by
proved by the Secretary of the Interior
and all payments were made to the societies
direct by the disbursing officer of the De-
partment or the Interior. The policy of
substituting the churches in the school work
was discontinued by the bureau of educa
ton in 1894
The charge is made that in every instance
the maximum number of pupils enrolled
was reported, but never the average at
tendance. The average monthly attendance
OF pupils in the Alaska schools is published
In every annual report of the bureau of
education from the year 1887 to 1908. with
the exception Of the six years from 1893 to
1898. inclusive.
Mr.. Churchill is cited as saying that the
bureau or education authorized the expendi-
ture or 1000 for the erection Of a school
building at kivalina, and yet he found the
only residents of that region were two ma
tives with their families, living in tents on
the beach. The ofticiai reports on file in the
bureau Of education show that from Sep
TENDER, 1905. until May p. 1905, the aver
age monthly attendance Of pupils at that
school for nine months was thirty.
DR.. Jackson's Work.
cat Shishmaref. where Mr.. Churchill found
a pile Of lumber a school house and teach
er's residence have been erected and a
teacher appointed to open the school in Sep
tar,her 1000