Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-12-25
MANUAL TRAINING
(ContiAuea from page one)

a manual labor boarding school that
was to care only for indian children,
to give them not only intellectual train
ing but to supplement this with domes-
tic science for the Indian girls and the
teaching of farming and carpentry for
the Indian boys. Also to teach them
the white man IS way Of living.
Upon the recommendation of the COM
mittee, the mission school was removed
to Salem and located on what is known
cost $4,000 and was by far the largest
as Willamette university. The building
and most imposing structure ON the Pa
eific coast.
In the school was the manual train
ing department, recitation rooms and
dormitories, and the school was in op-
Grafton for Indian children only caring
the winter of 1S42-43 and IA.
The necessity of doing something diff
fercnt for Indiar children became ap-
parent to Jason Lee upon his return
from the east in 1910. During his alb
sence of two years, half of the Indian
population of V willamette valley had
died and he felt that if they were to be
saved, the growing generation must be
taught the white mans way of living.
The mission had been unfortunate in
its care of Indian children. Of the ID
who were taken into the mission in
1884, within two years more than half
had died. And disease was rapidly
sweeping the Indian not only from the
Willamette valley but from all points
in the west where they came in contact
with the Hudson Bay fur company and
the whites.
The Manual Labor Boarding school
for Indians with its $4,000 building,
was in operation until 1874, when DR..
George Gray superseded Jason Lee as
superintendent of the Methodist mis-
sions in Oregon. Against the remen
stranees Of the Methodists who had liv-
ed several years in the.xalley, he closed
the school without waiting to test the
worth of manual training. The build
ing was sold to the trustees of the Ore
gon Institute for $4,000.
DR.. Gray, by his sale Of the mission
claim to the private corporation sacrf
feed both the mission claim and the
claim of the corporation to a square
mile of property which is now the cen
ter of Salem. Historians agree vnat
had Jason Lee beensleft in charge of
the Methodist r ission the manual bv,.s
ing school for the Indians and the mis-
sionary yoeiety would have received
from the government land worth far
more than the mission.
The original building was for teach
ing of Indians only. On Jan. IL, 1912,
Jason Lee called meeting at Chemek-
eta (now Salem) to plan for a school
for white children and at this meeting
$4,000 was subscribed, and all but $3.50
coming from Methodists.
This building was actually begun And
considerable money spent. 1t was in
this building that the famous "Wolf"
meeting was held that adjourneS 70
meet again on May 3, 1S43, and it was
on this date that at Chemawa O pro-
visional government was formed by a
vote of So to so that definitely saved
Oregon to the Americans.
The old Oregon Institute building,
remembered by pioneers, was really a
manual training school in 184243 and
A for Indians and manual training for
the youth and domestic science for the
girls was regarded by Jason Lee and
his Methodist missionaries as the only
means Of saving the natives Of the val