Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1908-02-20

/ system known as the nonreservation-
school system, and the third is what
| is known as the contract or sectarian
| system of education.
The reservation schools are both day
| and boarding schools, while the nom
reservation schools and the sectarian
schools are practically all boarding
schools. 1t will probably interest you
to know that there were enrolled in
all the schools during the year 1907
30,493 pupils. 1854 of whom were en-
rolled in Government schools and the
remainder was divided as follows:
In nilsson schools 4,307 and contract
schools 552. The most able Commits
sioner of Indian Affairs, Mr.. Leupp,
in his report for the year 1907, states
that the average cost to the Govern.
ment of educating pupils in nonreser-
vation schools is 5000 each per year.
and that in some schools the cost runs
as high as $3.50 per pupil per ye2r, while
the average for the whole day-school
system would be $50 per pupil per
year, or one-fourth to one fifth of
what we are spending on each pupil
in the boarding schools The total
enrolment in the nonreservation
schools for the year 1907 was 9,4S5
pupils. The total cost to the Gov
ernment of educating these 9.4s5
pupils is in round numbers 81, 100000
The total cost of educating these
same 9,4S5 pupils in reservation schools
would be considerable less than one
fourth of this amount, or about $780,
900.
| do not wish to criticise the man.
agement of these nonreservation
schools. | believe that they are main
tanned as cheaply as it is possible for
such schools to be maintained. l do
not care particularly to criticise the
schools, although / do not consider
that it is above criticism, but | do
wish to call the attention of this
House to the fact that this Govern
ment is spending a million and half
of dollars to take Indian pupils from
their homes and from the care of their
parents, in many cases hundreds of
miles and in some cases thousands of
miles away. to give them an education
which could be given them as well at
home. 1t is fact that these nom
reservation schools give employment
to S42 persons, large number of
whom, if these schools were diScon-
tinued, would be required to earn an
honest living at some other employ
ment.
You will notice also that there are
in mission schools 4, ,307 pupils. These
pupils cost the Government for the
education that they are receiving in
these mission schools an average Of
s1lO each, or nearly a half million
dollars. / do not offer any criticism
on the work done in these schools,
but l am of the firm belief that this
money could be spent to much better
advantage in manual training schools
on the reservation, or in agricultural
or trade schools located on the reser-
vation. A knowledge of the catecbism
may be necessary to admission to
heaven, but it is hardly requisite to
the industrial success of the Indians
The most able Commissioner of In
dian Affairs recommended most
strongly to the committee the discon-
tinuance of a large number of these
schools, not only on
the ground of economy, but on the
further ground that the education Sc
cured at home was better education
than that which the pupils secured
away from home. The only reason
why the committee did not cut out
larger number of these schools was be-
cause there is no legal method at this
time by which they could be turned
over to the States, and it is for the
purpose of giving the Commissioner
chance to negotiate with the States
in which these schools are located for
the sale of the schools to the States
that this provision appears in this
bill.
OF course, / realize that this 81, ,5O0,-
900, which to my mind we are throw
ing away each year, is used to pay the
transportation of Indian pupils and to
pay extra employees, and also for the
purpose of paying the board of the
pupils; while if they were educated in
day schools on the reservation, the
board would be furnished by the par
entS.
The expenditure of this vast sum
of money each year can not be justi-
fed on the ground that the Indians
are poor and can not afford to pay for
their own education. The fact is that
a large number of them are rich, and
if they were poor the same thing
would apply to thousands of white
and colored pupils throughout the
United States to whose education the
General Government contributes
nothing. five board the Indians at
General Government expense, why
should we not board the negroes at
General Government expense? The
negroes are as poor as the Indians.
If it is good for an Indian child to be
taken away from home at the age of
6, or I, or s years, why should we not
go into the slums of our great cities
and take from the ignorant and. de-
graded parents there their children
and send them off to some far distant
school and give them an education?
If this method is juStifiable in one