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Show 108 REPORT OF THE COMMI8SIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. year, when the first murmurs of discontent with the plan were heard. The Hon. Green McCurtin, principal chief of the nation, under date of October 27, 1899, in a letter to the Department, questioned the authority of the Secretary of the Interior in assuming control of their schools under the Curtis law. A resolution of similar tenor was also passed by the Choctaw Council. These actions were undoubtedly due to certain influential persons whose personal interests had been antag-onized by the new regulations, especially those relating to appoint-ments being made solely on merit. In a letter of April 6, 1899, addressed by Governor McCurtin to the inspector, he used the fol-lowing language: Mr. Benedict (superintendent) showed me recent rules prescribed by the 8ecretary of the Interior conceminz the education and management of schools in the Choctaw Nation. He also gave the board of education a b&f outline of his plans and policy regarding the school work in this section which were sdisfaetmy to me. The inspector conferred with the governor and a special committee of the council, and apparently reached a satisfactory conclusion, as the original plans of education have been followed during the year. In a special report of February 5,1900, the superintendent of schools gave the following succinct account of the friction which had unavoidably arisen: I was sent to the Territory about a year ago, and found that vast sums were being expended for schools, but wlth very poor results. It was not unusual to find a boarding school of 100 pupils in charge of an ignorant Indian as superintendent, with his wife (who in some instances could not speak tbe English language) aa matron. No effort has been made in any of the schools of-the Territory to give the boys or girls any training in manual labor or domestic economy of any kind. The academic training has been exceedingly poor. Some years ago the Choctaw schools b e m e so poor that their council appmpri-ated $12,000 per year for the education of 40 Choctaw children in State colleges. Scarcely any of their eitieem are fairly wall educated, except those who were thus sent away to State colleges. Under instructions of the Secretary of the Interior, based upon the Curtie Act of June, 1898,I took entire c h a ~ oef the schools of the Choctaw Nation, their hoard of education. headed by their ~rinciuacl hief, voluntarilv turninz their schools over A A - to me in April last. With their consent, I held examinations of teachers at seven different place8 in their nation, and, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, I appointed all teachers and superintendents for the year beginning September 1,1899. In d i n g appointments I have given preference to all Choctaw citizens who were at all com-petent. Our examinations were very reasonable, yet a good many citizens who had been trying to teach realized their incompetency and made no effort to pass the examim tion. Duringall the spring and summer my relations with the members of the Choctaw school board were very cordial, and I was in constant communication with them, they supporting my work very heartily. We opened the boarding schools and day scbools of that nation on September 1, |