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Show SEPORT OF TEE COXMISBIONER 03 INDIAN AFFAIRS. 9 traders, and the squaws divided up the carcars and took it away. TO sat~sfya morbid curiosity people used to travel sometimes a long dis-tance to visit the agencies on ration day to witness these savage sights. Another evil connected with the old system which hindered the prog-ress of the Indians was the time necessarily consumed by them in going to and from the central issue station. In many instances the distance they had to travel was so great that t,hey were almost continuously on the road. All of that has been done away. Issue stations have been established at convenie.nt places. Beef, with other supplies, is issued to them in a civilized way, and the necessity for so much travel no longer exists. Notwithstanding all this, it is the consensus of opinion of those who - from observation and experience are qualified to speak intelligently on the subject, that the gratuitous issue of rations, except to the old and helpless, is detrimental to the 'Indian. It encourages idleness and destroys labor; it promotes beggary and suppresses independence; it perpetuates pauperism and stifles industry; it is an effectual barrier to the progress of the Indiian toward civiliiation. Yet, Sb jectionable as it is, the system must continue as long as the prevent reservation system continues. Until the Indians are placed in a position where the way is open before them to support themselves they must be assisted. A civilized nation will not permit them to starve. As a method of aiding the deserving while they are learning the art of self-support the ration system is commendable. That is its aim and object. The great evil lies in the gratuitous distribution to all alike. With the necessities of life assured without effort, the incentive to labor disappears and indolence with its baleful influence reigns supreme. It is difficult to point out a complete remedy for the evils described, but as a beginning the indisc~iminatei ssue of rations should stop at once, a somewhat di5oult thing to accomplish as long as tribes are herded on reservations having everything in common. The old and helpless should he provided for, but with respect to the able-bodied the policy of reducing rations and isslung them only for labor should be strictly enforced, while those who have been educated in Indian schools should be made to depend entirely upon their own resources. ANNUITY PAYMENTS. a:.. In intimate connection with thk' ration .system with respect to its effect upon the Indians is the payment to them annually of various sums incash. During thefiscal year ended June 30,1900, $1,507,542.68 were sent out to the officers of the Department for distribution among the various Indian tribas. Several of the payments were very large, others were very small, the per capita ranging from $255 down to 50 cents. The money distributed was that appropriated in pursuance of treaty stipulations, or derived from interest on trust funds in the |
