OCR Text |
Show 1 I COMMISSIONER OB WDIAX AFFAIRS. XXV it is probable that the acconnting officers of the Treasury will hold: (1) That all the positions renewed by the autgority of the Secretary were vacant on July 1; (2) that aut,hority to fill tliem was on July 1 vested in the Superintendent of Indian Schools, and on and after that date this authority could have been exercised by no other officer; (3) that the office of Superintendent was vacant until October 29, and conse-quently no legal employment of any school employ6 could have been made between .June 30 and October 29 ; (4) that therefore all persons who, after June 30, and until they were appointed by the Snperintend-ent, with the approval of the Secretary, occupied the school positions. renewed by the Secretary's authority of June 29, were illegal occupants thereof. This process of reasoning would require the amounting officers to disallow, in the examinatioh of the accounts of Indian agents and bonded school superintendents, every dollar paid by such agents and superintendents to any perQon who? after June 30, may have served as. a school employ4 before he was, with the approval of t6e Secretary; employed by the Superiutendent of Schools, As a consequence, every Indiau agent and every bonded school superintendent would be liable to be sued on his bond for recovery of the money thus paid by 6im to persons who, upon what they supposed to be legal authority, actually rendered to the Government the services for whickthey were paid. This would involve in great hardships officers of the Government whe have acted in good faith in carrying on the schools and who are in no way responsible for the confusion that has resulted from the fact that the appointing power indicated by section 8 of the appropriation act of' 1888-'89 was not in existence during the first four mollths of the current fiscal year. Several other questions in reference to the authprity to appoint school employ4s have also been suggested. For instance, sectioli 8 of the cnr-rent appropriation act provides that the Superintendent of Schools shall,. with the approval of the Secretary, G1employ and discharge superin-tendents, teachers, and any other person connected with sahools wholly supported by the Government." The language, "and any other per-sou connected with [Indian] schools," inclndes persons serving as what are called irregular employ6s," such as apprenticea at the several schools, and others mostly Indians, who from time to time are employed temporarily by the agent or the bonded snperintendent as general labor-ers or in the erectiou and repair of school-buildings or at exigency work. It would seem to be impracticable for the Superintendent of Indian Schools to employ these persons and have his action in each case approved by the Secretary, but it is a questionable whether they can be legally paid. if they are employed by any other officer. It will also be observed that the language schools wholly supported by the Government," raises the question of the authority of the Superin-tendent to employ persons for service in schools like that at @ran& |