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Show REPORT OF SUPERINTENDENT OP INDIAN SCHOOLB. 343 It is needful, however, in order to make such a plan a sncroess, that Congress shonld lnodify the proqision in this year's appropriation bill which renders it necessary, for the transfer of a child to a nonreserva. tion school, to obtain the voluntary consent of the parent or uext of kin of such child. such consent to be made before the aeent of the reservation. ~ v e ' nw aiving the q~~estior~abprlocp riety oc rnaki~~ag cl~ild'a edocrltio~c~o r~tingrrltn pon the cullsent of hair-savage parents, n.110 haw no ( l ;~tato -i ~ ~ t lorf ei ts valne to the child. this nrovisioo in u many instances practically excludes children from nodreserdatiou school privileges by requiring that this consent shall be given before the agent of the reservation. In many instances the giving of auch consent before the agent would require on the part of the child's parents or nest of kin extensive journeys, theinconvenience and expense of which are enough to deter them. An instructive result of the operation of this provision is found ill the f i~ctth at our nonreservation schools arc fillet1 in a growing ratlo by half-breed Indians, and that the full-blood Indians are proportionately less and less numerous in these schools. The explanat,ion for this I find in the fact that the whim fathers and mothers of half-hreed chil-dren are Inore ready to appreciate the advantages of education than is the case wit11 fall-blood Indians. It is to be sincerelv honed that in future auaroi~riation bills Con-g~. i%\s\, ill mollitj. t l~i l '~~ro\ : issioo n~s~no t to11an;~;er ihr wo1.k of Inclinn r011cnti011. 111 leg~slatio~Ir) e:~ri~)0f11 t11is auqj~~irtt 1 11ayb e t l i ~ s i ~ i ~ b l ~ ~ I rIes pect the prqjn(1icm of inflneotinl older Indi:cl~n,b ut n I~igheru ud clerl~rr~ ~ e ~ ~ c n s i t y ~pl rni~lte~c~t i~ofou~r~ th les I I I ~ ~ :yIoIuIt h :lg:~illstt hese I I I I It' ~it i$ t he duty ot' the 11ighc.r race to 1110rnlizne ~ ~ r l c.i\~iliircth e lower. thi* duts ( !~I I I never he fullilled IIV i ~ l n c i ~th~e cd eci. sion as to ednca~ou of the yooug into the hand; 6f his relatively immoral and savage parents. CORPORAL PUNISHMENT AND JAILS. . It gives mc innch pleasure to be able to report that very few scl~ools find the~nselvesh iudered ill their discipline by the provision in the Indian school rules prol~ibitiug corporal punish~nent. In the few i~~staneeins whir11 infractions of t l~i sr ule have heeu reported to me sucl~in fractio~c~os ~ ~ulsdu ally be traced to lack of experience or judg. ment on the lrart of the superir~tendent. Only in one or two instances does it seem to bave been due to a cruel disposition or a stubborn u11willirigne8s to subrnit to the.'e rules. Pacts brohght to my notice concerning this matter within thclast gear still further corroborate the eonclosiou that mitb a sincerely humane superintendent of fair experi-ence and tact so called co~porapl uni sh~uea~s~ atn educational measure is not only ~~eedlesbsu t positively in,jurions. In the ad~ninistratiou of the phases of school work intrusted to lue I sh~11t,h erefore, durjng tbe coming year insist eveu'more strenuously npon the strict observ-ance of this beneficent rule. 1 am pleased to report at the Hame time that in several achools the s ~ ~ p r ~ ~ i ~ ~hnrveol s~po~nltae~~ie~notssly a holi~heclt ile Jail ~ I IoIth~er lneans of ~jol i tarc~o nfineueut lor otlboders al rai~~s.tl ~ooln .enldtioon. I sincerrly hope tbnt the umber of theseusu[~erintendent,;'w~lsl teadily grow during the co~uing year. While solitary confine~oent may he ad~~~i s s iabsl ca mode of l~unishmenwt ith lnrdenatl of fa~~t lci~~lsn ong Inen olld larger boys, it is cntirely oiit of place with girls :ind smaller boyx, ?ntl where it, is practiced there is an iinforto~~atteen dency to mako it a sort of palraces for all kinds of nlisdemeauors. |
