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Show thoroughly and pormaue~~tliyt, is hr~gedw, it11 the baneful i110oeucer;o f patrollnge, concerning ~ v l ~ iIc il~~a veh ad frequent occasio~to~ report to you, and it will establish iu every denartmenr of the work the rule of efficiency and character as the only &itaria both in appointment and in tenure. Among the evil intluences of patronage which may linger for some time in the service the most troublesome is the false relation between superiors and inferiors in the corps of employees. Under patronage, authority is apt to lose the elements of official courtesy and to assume the garb of a more or less offensive autocracy. On the other hand, loyalty en the part of inferiors is apt to degenerate into seIf.seeking subserviency to the wishes of the autocrat and to give rise to faction-alism with its attendant dishonesties. The character of the schools as a whole warrants me in the statement that 111 the great majority of schools these dangers had been reduced to a minimum. even before the proll~ulgatio~olf the civil-service order, by the good sinsr, inrrg~ityo f pllrpose, aud kin~llyd i~pO~iti(tol1f thoso ~ o ~ ~ c e r ~I a~mt ,d th. e r~.fore, j~lsrified in predirtiuu tllat with 1,atience aud virilan~fe theellice will succeed iu i eomparitively short^ time in baniaging from the service every vestige of autocratic offensiveness on the part of superiors and of self-seeking subserviency on the part of inferiors, as well as all other demoraliziug after effects of a system of patronage which, fortunately, is now a thing of the past. Some difficulty may be experienced in providing suitable examina-tions for some of the minor positiou~ and in obviating needless hard-ship and exposure to employees with reference to examinations for promotions. In my eonferenees with the Civil Service Commission upon these points, I have submitted feasible and practical plans for meeting these difficulties and have reasoil to hope that these plans will be substantially adopted and will be in operation before this report reaches you. RELATION BETWEEN AGENTS A.ND SUPERINTENDENTS. . In this connection the relation between agents and superintendents of reservatiou boarding schools requires attention. The agent, by virtue of powers invested in him by Congress, wields in some respects on his reservation an authority from which there is no appeal, and which is, therefore, withdrawn from the control of the Indian Offiee. Legis-latlon is desirable which would subject every action of the agent to the jurisdiction of the Iudian Office, thus relieving the agent of a respou-sibility which properly belongs only to the Indian Offiae, aud guarding the Indian Office against the possibility of helplessness in dealing with acts of agents opposed to its policy. It is a fact,, crerlitable bdth to the Indian Office and to the agents as a whole, that instauces of trouble from these causes are very rare; yet every consideration of prudence demands legislation which would ren-der their occurrence imuossible and which would confer UUOII the Indian Oflice, together with its responsibility for its policy, the iower to estab-lish it and to carry it out in every detail. PROMOTIONS. Much real good has come to the service through the graduation of tire salaries of the teachers and other employees. It has enabled the office to make promotions in the service 06 t6e basis of experience and efficiency. The favorable reaction of this upon the attitude and spirit of the workers is u'aturally most gratifying. |