Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-02
FOE OF THE INDIAN
tuberculosis Killing Hundreds,
Says Valentine.
DEMANDS MEDICAL CORPS
Commissioner Tells Red Mems Needs
in Annual Report.
WOULD OPEN UP THEIR MINES
Should Be Permitted to Make Bene-
fetal Use Of Valuable Properties
Allotted Them.
WOULD OPEN UP THEIR MINES

tuberculosis stands at the head of
the diseases which affiict the Indian.
This is the statement made in the an
nual report Of the commissioner of In
dian affairs. That it is on the increase
is further stated. but methods are being
employed by which it is hoped to elm
mate the disease as far as possible.
Three hundred and three government
schools were conducted during the past
fiscal year, this being a net increase Of
twenty-five. Almost all of the Chris
tan denominations in the United States
have missions in the Indian country.
the report recites, adding that the In
dian office co-operates gladly. impartialy
and with increasing effectiveness with
each and all. The commissioner says
that the government, in the person OF
each employe. should cooperate with re-
lig1ous denominations in avoiding the
dangers which may come from prose-
lyting.
The report says:
To Open Up Mines.
''There is no authority under existing
law for leasing for mining purposes the
tribal lands Of reservations that have
been established by executive ,.rGer.
There are several such reservations yah
in minerals, and one in particular in
Arizona containing large deposits of
tufa stone, which it is hoped Congress
will, by appropriate legisla ton, enable
the Indians to make beneficial use Of.
~ he domestic life of the Indians, the
sanctity and purity of the marriage re-
lation. is a matter of prime Importance.
and should be protected by stringent
laws in accord with the most advanced
among the whites. The Secretary Of the
Interior should be given power to enforce
a purer mode of living among the Indians
by withholding their annuities when they
are found to be living wrongly.
I'm order to handle successfully the
many problems of sanitation and those
arising from epidemics and diseases to
which Indians are peculiarly susceptible,
such as pneumonia, consumption and tro-
choma, legislation appropriating sufii
cient sum for the establishment of a
medical corps should be enacted.
Industries Needed.
There is great need for a determined
and systematic effort to teach the In
dams those industries best suited to
their localities and to their abilities. An
Industrial corps similar in It's administra-
tive features to the medical corps above
outlined sHouid De estaDHshed, Win mead
quarters in the field with a view to the
industrial education of the Indians, male
and female, and whose duty it should be
to educate the Indians in such industries
that they might become self-respecting
and self-supporting.
The commissioner also wants the al
lottees of Indian lands secured in the
matter Of payments made to the Treasury
on account Of the SALE cutting or removal
Of timber to their lands. He declares
that the Indians have incurred long de-
lays and loss of money heretofore in in
stances of this character which he hopes
to see remedied by a change In the law
The Indian service IS regarded by Com
missioner Valentine as primarily educa-
tiOnal,