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Show 42 COMMISSIONER OF INDUN AFFAIRS, ard throughout their districts and acquainted the young men and women who are about to leave them with the needs of the Indian Service in the way of more efficient instructors. The supervisors have reported that the authorities of the institutions have accorded them every opportunity to talk to the students, and it is believed that a larger number of efficiently trained men and women will thus be induced to qualify for our service. Particular attention has been given to the e5ciency reports on employees. A plan has been initiated of gathering more material from the teachers themselves in the way of theses, outlines, etc., and from supervisors and superintendents. This will afford the office an opportunity to distinguish more accurately between those who are doing highly efficient work and should be advanced and those who are clearly inefficient and should be relieved. There were purchased for the use of teachers and other employees reference libraries for 80 Indian schools. There are 135 volumes in each set, covering every phase of industrial training and allied sub-jects. These, with such books as were previously available at each school, will afford an ample opportunity for the school instructors to make their work effective and up to date in every respect. A supervisors' conference was held during the first days of July, 1911, for the purpose of making definite plans for the school year; it adopted an outline or plan for the year's work. With a few excep-tions-- the designation by the office of a special school in each super-visory district in which to enroll orphans; making provisions for a special examination to secure eligibles for the position of principal; limiting the employment of teachers to the actual scliool term of nine months; and the study of each Indian reservation with respect to proposed legislation governing the taxation of Indian lands thereon for the support of public schools--every principle set out has been followed closely by the office in administering school matters and may now be considered accomplishments for the school year. The question of fire protection has been given very careful con-sideration. Although no loss of life has ever occurred in an Indian school as a result of a conflagration, great precautions have been taken to prevent a fire disaster. In boarding schools both day and night fire drills have been ordered, and regulations have been issued look-ing to the matter of keeping all fire apparatus in perfect condition. All dormitories are provided with fire escapes, and doors behind which any considerable number of pupils ever congregate are made to open outward. The practice heretofore of locking the girls' dormi-tories at night has been changed, and superintendents of boarding schools have been directed to install, if necessary, electrical burglar alarms for the protection of these dormitories, thus making it un- |
