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Show X FIFTY-SEVZNTK ANh'UAL REPORT OF any warlt among the American lndiaus? Why are not the millions of dollars that bclou:: to them used in their educatiou and support Y Why is it that, with these great sums of money standing to their credit, we so often hear that they are suEcring from wants that can not be snp-plied, and that some of them are starving? . The fact is, lndiau tribes are like whitefamilies-some of them are rich, some are well-to-do, some are poor, aud some are destitute. Take, for instance, the Osages and the Narajoes. The former, numbering only 1,500, have to their credit $7,878,606, bearing interest at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum; while the latter, numbering about 17,000, have nothing to their credit, sod Congress appropriates only $7,500 per annnm for their benefit. Not one cent of the money belonging to the Osages can be used for the benefit of the Navajoes, or of ally other tribe. Every fund and every appropriation must be used for its own par-ticular purpose, and oau not be used for any other purpose. When this fact is considered, and when it is remembered that there are over 350 appropriations and funds, each applicable to certain purposes only, .which are specified either in the treaties or in the laws, the difficulties oocurring in the management of the financia!affairs of the Indians may be appreciated. Other information on the subject of Indian finances may be found in the financial statistics appended to this report. INDIAN EDUCATION. SCHOOLS SUPPORTED, IN WHOLE OE IN PART', BY GOVERNMENT. On June 30,1888, the end of the last fiscal year, the Government mas supporting, in whole or in part, 233 Indian schools, of which 126 were boarding- and 107 were dayschools. ,On June 30,1887, the end of the preceding fiscal year, there were 22i such schools-117 boarding and 110 day schools. It thus appears that during the past fiscal year there mas an increase of 9 in the number of boarding- and a decrease of 3 in the number of day-achools, the net increase in the whole number of schools being 6. Of the 126 boardingsohools, 74 were under direct control of this Bn-rean, 3 were schools at which pupils had been placed under special appropriations made by Congress, and 49 were being conducted under contract with the Government. Of the dayschools, 85 were under direct control of the Bureau, and 22 were coutract schools. SCHOOL POPULATION, ATTENDANCE, ETC. The schools abova referred to were supplied from a soh001 population 1 .of, approximately, 40,000 children between six autl sixteen years of age. The attenclance at these schools, thc number of pnpils whom the |
