The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1909-09-16
FINDING WORK
FOR THE INDIANS
CHARLES E. DAGENETT, GOVERN
MENT AGENT, PROVES RED
SKINS CAN WORK.
PUTTING BOYS ON FARMS.
Many Are Supplanting Mexicans In the
Far Southwest as La
borerS.
SHOW EVEN MECHANICAL GENIUS

! WASHINGTON, ID. g., Sept. -
Especial. l-Charles E. Dagenett, super
visor of Indian employment, with head
quarters at Albuquerque, New Mexico,
has been at the Indian office on official
business during the past week.
Mr.. Dagenett's duties consist of ind
ing employment for Indians III various
occupations throughout the country. lie
I is a quarterblood Peoria and his WHe is
A full-blood Miami He received his edu-
cation at Carlisle and at Hampton inStl-
tute, and as soon as he completed ms
course of study, was employed under the
| Carlisle school in connection with the
outing system, which has been in force
there for twenty-five years. This is
system of placing among farmers young
! Indian boys where they will be received
in the homes and treated as members
Of the families and learn the life OF the
ordinary American farmer. AS the SEs-
TEN has been conducted at the Carlisle
school, the boys have been placed in
southeastern Pennsylvania and in New
! Jersey, where the authorities OF the
school may keep in touch with them and
see that they are we'll treated.
The idea under which this system
grew is that the only practical way OF
weaving the Indian away from his
aboriginal ideas and customs is to show
him how a conventional, sef-supportng,
self-respecting white man lives.
Mr.. Dagenett had been employed in
connection with this system under the
Carlisle school for a number Of years,
but it proved TO be so great success
that former Commissioner Leupp con
cluded that the idea should be expanded,
and Mr.. Dagenctt was given a larger
field and his duties increased to cover
the obtaining of employment for Indians
| of all ages and conditions and III all
classes of industries.
Redskins Show Ingenuity.
Mr.. Leupps idea has been thoroughly
justified by the results that have been
accomplished. Employment has been
! found for Indians on the railroads in the
( southwest, on government reclamation
projects. on other independent irrigation
construction, and in the sugar beet
fields Of COLORADO and Wy9;Mtng;. MI Mr.,
are located in Arizona. New Mexico,
| Utah. Montana and Colorado. 80,
The Indians have demonstrated that
! they have considerable mechanical in
! genuity. They were first employed by
| Tie railroads through New Mexico and
, Arizona, solely on track work, but III an
! experimental way few were employed
| in the division shops in minor capacities.
| They soon developed skill sufficient to
| justify their being given higher grades
/ of employment rs blacksmith helpers,
| and finally as blacksmithS, the result
/ being that ut the present time there are
eighty full-blood Indians employed i'll
| the shops of the Santa Fc system in
! New Mexico and Arizona, receiving
! $3.50 per day, as skilled laborcrS, and a
| large number in addition who are en-
| ploycd in the lower grades.
As result of the gratifying expert
| ence with this class of labor, the Santa
/ Fe system is discriminating in favor of
/ the Indians in preference TO MeXicans.
/ one Navajo Indian who was employed
on an irrigation project in the Indian
and acted as a foreman with gratifying
| success
Work in Beet Sugar Fields.
4 large number of Indian boys are
each year employed in the beet sugar
| fields of Rocky Ford, Colo. They are
! taken into the families of the white
/ farmers and treated with the greatest of
consideration. Last year boys who were
first employed at 81 per month and
! board and washing, at the end of their
| contract period were re-employed at from
ST. to SIG per month Here also the
! white farmers prefer Indian to Mexican
labor, and will pay them more money.
\ large number of the Indians are being
employed on irrigation projects in Mon
! tana and in | tab. One of the interest
! ing developments in connection with the
! ties, who deserted their reservation III
| Utah and went TO South Dakota, where
their presence became quite a problem
for the government, is that they w-re
finally induced to accept employment on
the railroads in the Black Hills, and
! Mr.. Dagenett, who had charge of their
! employment. reports that they proved to
be doce industrious, and in the highest
degree satisfactory laborers. He is an
enthusiast on the subject of his particu-
lar line and believe with persistence n
large percentage of the Indians who
now live from week to week in depend
! encc on rations may be induced to take
up either agricultural or some other line
of occupation which Will make them IN
dependent and self-supporting.
The large saw and planning mill that
has been built on the Menomnee reser-
walton at Neopit, Wisconsin, is to a
great extent operated with Indian la
bor Forty-Seven per cent of all the
labor used in the logging camps on the
reservations much of the skilled work
in the mills and yards, as well rs all
unskillcd labor is Indian. Indians are
filling positions rs assistant engineers,
many other skilled positions with the
utmost satisfaction. During the ten
months from July, 1908. to April 1909,
both inclusive. the Indians earned in
connection with the logging operations
and the conduct of the mill $46,636.36.
Mr.. Dagenett feels that his line of
work is not surpassed in Importance by
| any Of the other activities OF the Indian
office. and in view of the results that
| have been accomplished, is undoubtedly
correct in that opinion.
/