For all these there is no adequate protection of property or life, and no provision for the education of their children. Nor are the Indian citizens in much better plight. With several distinct local governments, each claiming national prerogatives, it is easy for criminals to escape from one "nation" to another, and so avoid punishment. No one of these sovereignties claiming independence is strong enough to protect itself. When unlawful intruders encroach upon its borders, or intestine disturbances arise, as a few years ago among the Creeks, and of late among the Chickasaws and Choctaws, an appeal is at once made for United States troops to keep the peace and give protection. An end must be put to such an anomaly. A government should be devised which will give to all the people, without distinction of race, the equal protection of law, and make all citizens of the United States. Under wise legislation the Indian Territory may soon become prosperous, and be admitted, a strong and wealthy State, into the American Union.

LANDS IN SEVERALTY.

The work of allotting and patenting lands to individual Indians under the act of 1887 has been continued during the year, and is progressing as fast as means and wise prudence will permit. Four thousand and forty-two patents have been delivered, 2,001 allotments have been approved in the General Land Office, and 3,792 allotments have been completed and await final action. The work is going on upon twelve reservations, as well as among nonreservation Indians scattered about in several Northwestern States. These last have come to see that public lands are being taken up rapidly by whites, and that they must soon secure homes and adopt the ways of civilization. Eight hundred and four patents have been issued to such nonreservation Indians.

We see no reason for fear or doubt as to the wisdom of the allotment policy. It may have been pushed too rapidly. We think it has been in some instances, for example, among the Cheyennes and Arapahoes of Oklahoma. But this hurried action was required by the terms of special agreements which gave insufficient time for wise precautions. On the whole, so far as our observation extends, the policy is working well. Under it individual Indians are slowly learning lessons of independence and self-reliance. Many are acquiring habits of industry, and are advancing each year toward civilization and entire self-support. The picture, however, is not all bright. There are evils incident to the allotment policy to correct which further legislation will be necessary. One evil, and we earnestly called attention to it immediately after the enactment of the general allotment law in 1887, is that allotted lands being exempt from taxation an unjust burden is thrown upon white residents in the near vicinity of such lands.

The Indian enjoys the privileges of citizenship, but is exempt from its duties. The country where he lives is organized into counties and towns. Courts, public buildings, schools, roads, and bridges must be maintained. It can hardly be expected that the white citizens will pay willingly all those expenses, nor is it just to require it. Provision should be made for reimbursing to the States the amount which they lose by the exemption of Indian lands from taxation. To secure this result an act passed the Senate February 6, 1893, but it failed to pass the House. A similar act was introduced at the first session of the present Congress, but has not yet become a law. We hope the subject may receive early attention. Another embarrassing evil incident to

the allotment policy is the unrestrained sale of intoxicating liquor to Indians who have received allotments. It is claimed, and in some cases the courts have decided, that such Indians are citizens of the United States and subject to the laws of the States in which they reside, and that the laws of the United States prohibiting the sale of liquor to Indians do not apply to them.

The soundness of these decisions is questioned by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, as it was by his predecessor, but how to deal with. the matter and protect the Indians from the dangers to which they are exposed, is a difficult problem. That the danger is real and serious is proved by reports from the Omaha, Shoshone, Grande Ronde, and other agencies where Indians are making disastrous use of their liberty, and are going rapidly to ruin. The sad facts furnish a strong appeal to all missionaries and teachers, agents and inspectors, to exert all their influence to restrain the Indians from evil habits and to train them to a life of sobriety. The chief hope lies in the schools, where the character of the next generation will soon be determined.

LEASE AND SALE OF ALLOTTED LANDS.

In the Indian appropriation act approved August 15, 1894, it isProvided, That whenever it shall be made to appear to the Secretary of the Interior that by reason of age, disability, or inability any allottee of Indian lands under this or former acts of Congress can not personally and with benefit to himself occupy or improve his allotment, or any part thereof, the same may be leased upon such terms, regulations, and conditions as shall be prescribed by the Secretary for a term not exceeding five years for farming or grazing purposes, or ten years for mining or business purposes: Provided further, That the surplus lands of any tribe may be leased for farming purposes by the council of such tribe under the same rules and regulations, and for the same term of years as is now allowed in the case of leases for grazing purposes.

With reference to this provision we are glad to find in the late report of Commissioner Browning the following:

It has been repeatedly stated that it was not the intent of the law nor the policy of the office to allow indiscriminate leasing of allotted lands, which would defeat the very purpose of allotments, but to permit such leasing only when the allottee "by reason of age or other disability" is unable to occupy his land. If an allottee has physical or mental ability to cultivate an allotment by personal labor or by hired help, the leasing of such allotment should not be permitted.

Yet in spite of the rules and regulations and precautions of the Department many leases have been executed. We find reported 223 farming and grazing leases of allotted lands on the Omaha and Winnebago reservations approved during the last year, and 72 on other reservations. It is easy for an interested person, who covets the use of an Indian's farm, to make it appear that the allottee can not profitably occupy and improve his allotment, and under the plea of disability or inability almost any Indian may ask the privilege of leasing, for the word inability may be made to cover anything down to simple laziness. The sad effects of the law are already apparent among the Omahas, many of whom, living upon the proceeds of leases, have fallen into habits of idleness and intemperance. We think that more rigid restrictions should be adopted, and that leases should be approved only in rarely exceptional cases. We are inclined to favor the plan proposed by Mr. Austin Abbott at the Mohonk conference, to relegate the business to the courts, whose decisions shall determine what leases are necessary and what disposition shall be made of the proceeds for the benefit of allottees.

Another danger threatens the allotment policy-that the provision

making allotted lands inalienable for a period of twenty-five years and longer, in the discretion of the President, may be annulled by special legislation. We find a beginning of such legislation in the act approved August 15, 1894, which provides

That any member of the Citizen band of the Pottawatomie Indians, and of the Absentee Shawnee Indians of Oklahoma, to whom a trust patent has been issued under the provisions of the act approved February 8, 1887, and being over twentyone years of age, may sell and convey any portion of the land covered by such patent in excess of eighty acres, the deed of conveyance to be subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, and that any Citizen Pottawatomie not residing upon his allotment, but being a legal resident of another State or Territory, may in like manner sell and convey all the land covered by such patent, and that upon the approval of such deed by the Secretary of the Interior the title to the land thereby conveyed shall vest in the grantee therein named.

We fear that this measure may foreshadow great peril to one of the most important and beneficent intentions of the general allotment bill. The temptation to gain ready money by the sale of their lands will be very great to the shiftless and idle, and the result will be a large class of Indians without homes and means of support. We are getting possession of Indian lauds quite fast enough by the purchase of large unallotted tracts, and we can surely leave the allotted lands to their owners until a generation shall be educated to appreciate their value, and use them for their own and their children's benefit.

EDUCATION.

We were apprehensive that the reduction of appropriations for Indian schools would compel some curtailment of the work, but we are glad to find that such has not been the result. On the contrary, there has been some advance both in enrollment and in average attendance, as shown by the following table:

Enrollment and average attendance at Indian schools, 1893 and 1894.

It will be seen that in all the schools there has been a gain of 334 in enrollment, and of 793 in the average attendance. The largest gain is found in the Government boarding schools, while in contract schools there has been a slight falling off in enrollment though a gain in average attendance. The drift of public sentiment seems to tend toward a

withdrawal of Government aid from the last named schools, which are under private control. The subject has been much discussed in our conferences, in the public press, and in Congress. In the Indian appropriation bill for the current year it is provided that—

The Secretary of the Interior is hereby directed to inquire into and investigate the propriety of discontinuing contract schools, and whether, in his judgment, the same can be done without detriment to the education of the Indian children; and that he submit to Congress at the next session the result of such investigation, including an estimate of the additional cost, if any, of substituting Government schools for contract schools, together with such recommendations as he may deem proper.

What recommendation* will be made we do not know, but we trust that nothing will be done to the detriment of the education of the Indian children. A sudden withdrawal of all aid might compel the closing of many contract schools, depriving their pupils of facilities for education, while, if time is given to the mission boards and other organizations that conduct such schools to prepare for the change, and appeal to their constituents for means, they may be able to continue many, if not all their schools. We should regret to see them closed. We can not forget the great good they have done. They grew out of mission schools, and mission schools were first in the field doing earnest and useful work long before the Government began to educate Indian children. Nor can we forget that these societies have expended, during the last ten years, for the support of Indian schools and missions, more than three millions of dollars, and that they have rendered to the Government more than full recompense for the aid they have received. Nor again should it be forgotten that the contract schools are distinctively Christian schools, and for that reason we hope they will be continued, though Government aid be withheld, for it is manifest that the most pressing need of the Indians now is instruction, line upon line, in Christian truth and Christian morals. Law alone will not change his character and save him. Liberty will not save him, unless he learns to use liberty without abusing it. And if by larger appropriations the Government shall afford facilities for secular education to all Indian children, the religious bodies will find use for all their resources in direct missionary work. But there are yet large needs in the education system, which we can hardly hope to see immediately supplied. In some tribes there are no schools. In others, only a small percentage of the children have school privileges. Nearly 4,000 are unprovided for on the Navajo Reservation. So that for some years to come there will be room for all the work that mission schools can do.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

We hope for some relief and good results from the plan now successfully inaugurated, of placing Indian children in the public schools of the States and districts where they reside. During the last year 259 pupils have been provided for in this manner. The fee of $10 per quarter is a material help in the support of district schools, and the attendance of Indian children will cultivate a friendly feeling between the races. And for many Indians, scattered over the country like the Hualapais in California, separate schools can not be provided without too large an outlay. The public schools afford the only opportunity for their education. We shall be glad, therefore, to second by whatever influence we can exert, the purpose of the Commissioner and superintendent to "make every effort by pressure and persuasion to increase attendance of Indian

*The recommendation is a reduction of 20 per cent per annum.

pupils at public schools." It is a step toward the transference of the whole work of Indian education to the States, and making unnecessary specific Indian schools.

TEACHERS AND INSTITUTES.

The wisest theories of education, the most elaborate organization, and the most liberal expenditure of means will all fail of good results without competent executive agents. In the Indian school work the teachers are the executive agents. Their teaching and character will mold the minds and character of their pupils, with whom they are in constant contact. Their unconscious influence will often be greater than their direct instructions. Hence, we are pleased to observe the earnest care now exercised by Superintendent Hailman and the Civil Service Commission in the examination of applicants for positions in this service. And we were gratified to read in the report of the superintendent respecting the operations of the civil-service law that "in spite of the limitations it imposes upon the appointing officers, it exerts on the whole a most salutary influence upon the character of the service." We heartily agree with him in the "hope that in due course of time every position in the Indian school service will come within the provisions, or, at least, under the spirit of this law."

The teachers' institutes, or summer schools, can not fail to benefit the whole school work. The meeting of large numbers of teachers from distant and isolated stations, the friendly consultations, the comparison of experiences, the discussion of methods of discipline and instruction, and manual training, addresses and papers, and practical lessons by trained educators, must be productive of good results. And after spending a week or ten days together the teachers will go back to their fields inspired with new courage and hope.

AGENTS AND EMPLOYEES.

As the educational work depends almost entirely upon the ability and character of the teachers, so the civilization and progress of the Indians depend largely upon the faithfulness and capacity of the agents and employees. We have often urged that appointments to these positions be made on the ground of merit alone, and that removals be made only for good cause after a fair hearing. We therefore read with great satisfaction and gratitude in the late report of the honorable Secretary of the Interior the following earnest words:

If any army officer fills the place, he must do so with the enthusiasm of a soldier in line of battle. If a civilian fills the place, he is unfit for the task unless moved by an earnest, zealous, inspired purpose to accomplish the noble work of helping to elevate a weaker race. Something of the missionary spirit should be in the heart of every employee at an Indian agency or Indian school. I can not claim that the present administration has uniformly succeeded in selecting people of the character described, but it is the earnest purpose of the Indian Bureau and the Department to study the employees throughout the entire service, to make proficiency the sole standard of retention in office, and to make apparent capacity the sole ground for new appointments.

The work of the development of the Indian is necessarily slow. Their peculiarities must be studied and understood, not as a whole, but as members of particular tribes, before those engaged in their supervision are fit for successful work. Permanency of service, therefore, is absolutely necessary to success. I believe it is possible to develop a competent, permanent, nonpartisan Indian service, and I hope before the end of another year that such progress will have been made in this direction that its realization will be assured.

We heartily indorse this hope, and shall rejoice to see it fulfilled. We also join with the Secretary and Commissioner in earnestly recom