The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-06-05
LEUPP ON THE INDIAN.

The Indian and His Problem BY Francis
| e Leupp, formerly United States
Commissioner OF Indian Affairs Pub
| lished by Charles Scribner's Sons, New
| York.
The position of the author of this
book is one of straightforward common
sense and good judgment. He says that
the Indian problem has now reached
stage where its solurlon is almost
wholly matter of administration. Sen
timent has had its day, moral ques
| tions involved have pretty nearly set
tied themselves, and, In his language,
'What is most needed from this time
! forth is the guidance of affairs by an
| Independent mind, active sympathies
free from mawklshness, an elastic pa
pose of the book is TO present a birds
| eye view of the existing situation and
suggestion or two for the relief of
some difficulties which still confront
our Government. In point Of expert
/ ence and range OF acquaintance with
the. question and with the Indian, as
well as with the former Commissioners
of Indian Affairs for twenty-five years,
Mr.. Leupp is especially well equipped TO
| frankly that he did not while in of
! flee follow the policies of former Com
missioners, but as the Government has
no settled policy but only a vague
sense, of obligation for guidance,
''every Commissioner became an OPP
| portunist in spite of himself, and was
| compelled to spend more Of his time
in keeping the service our. OF trouble
than in constructive work for convert
ing public burden into contributor
TO the common wealth. " And yet
without the statutory guide that ought
to have been furnished. Mr. Leupp was
able to do remarkable work His chap
ter titles, "The Indian as He Was"
'.What Happened to the Indian
"The Problem, and a Way Out,
Working of the Burke Law" "Dis-
Service, " Theory and Fact in Educa-
| tion," ''Time for Turning" ''The
Indian ut Work. 'sThe Indian as a
Capitalist "Legislating for a De
pendent Race "Liberty and Disci-
pline.'' "a Few Illustrative Cases.
Missionaries and Their Methods,
philanthropy and Criticism, - "The
Indian Territory Experiment" Gas
the New Day Nears It's Noon,' show
the range of subjects covered by him.
| Mr.. Leupp is distinctly In favor Of
doing something practical and some
thing permanently beneficial for the
Indian. He believes in putting them
to work, not in giving them theoretical
| tasks. The Indian needs to have pointed
ont to him practical and self-sustalnlng
labor that he can do in the vicinity of
his home. Nothing can be done with
the old Indians, but what must be done
is to win over the Indian children by
sympathetic interest and unobtrusive
! guidance. II is great mistake to try,
as many good persons of bad judgment
have tried, to start the little ones in
the path of civilization by swapping all
the ties of affection between them and
their parents, and teaching them TO
despise the aged and unprogressive
| hand, he holds that the sensible as we'll
as the humane plan is to neurish their
love of father and mother and home,
which is a wholesome instinct planted
| in them for a wise end, and then TO
utilize this affection as a means of
reaching, through them, the hearts of
the elders. And in general, Mr.. LeupP
explains his position as follows:
Again. in dealing with these boys and
| girls ii is OF the utmost Importance not
| only that shall start them Alright, but
that our efforts be directed TO educating
rather than merely instructng them. The
foundation OF everything must be de-
velopment of character. Learning is a
secondary consideration. When we get
TO that, our duty is 10 adapt it TO the
OF the thirty or forty thousand Indian
children OF school age in the United
States. probably at least three -fourths
will settle down in that part of the West
/ which we will style the frontier. Most
Of these will try TO draw a living out Of
the soil; less-though. let us hope, an
eral labor ma rket as lumbermen,. ditch
ers miners, railroad hands. or what not.
In simple terms. the great mass OF In
dams have yet to so through the era,
common 10 the history Of all races. when
they must he mere hewers OF wood and
drawers OF water, Now, If any one can
this large body OF manual workers from
being able TO reel off the names Of the
mountains in Asia or extract the cube
root of l2S4067S9. / shall be deeply CRATE
iul. To my notion the ordinary Indian
boy is better equipped for his life strug-
gle on frontier ranch when he can read
letter which is Ineligible though maybe
III expressed and crudely spelled. and
knows enough of figures TO discover
whether the Storekeeper is cheating him.
Beyond these scholastic requirements his
time could be put to its best use by
learning how 10 repair n broken wheel
or faSten loose horseshoe without
; breaking the hoof, or any OF the hun
: dred other bits OF tlnkering which are
so necessary to the farmer who lives
thirty miles from a town. The Girl who
has learned only the rudiments of read
ing writing and ciphering, but knows
also how TO make and mend her clothing,
: 10 WASH ana IRON. and TO COOK her hQS-
: bands dinner. will be worth vastly more
. as mistress of log cabin than one who
; has given her best study to the orna-
? mental branches,
5 That is the keynote Of Mr.. Leupp 's
position throughout with respect to the
. Indians. They must leave OFF the life
Y of nomads and get down TO human en-
2 deavor, and those who are left behind
: are for the most part left TO perish ol
p to be a burden upon those who other
. wise would make better progress.
Mr., Leupp's book is distinct indi
+ cation of returning to common sense
: and right thought in dealing with tho
0 Indian question. 1t is a pity that ht
= could not he made Commissioner OF
= Indian Affairs in perpetuity, and giver
4 a free hand to do what he thinks best
: for the men Of the red race.
!. PARDON GRANTED