| OCR Text |
Show COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 3 5 the schools of various religious denominations for the care and edu-cation of so many children in 'each, and paying therefor out of the public appropriations. The contract system expanded by degrees till 1892, when its cost reached the generous figure of $611,570 a year, or more than one-fourth of the total Indian school budget voted by Congress. About this time began a widespread popular agitation against ex-tending Government aid to educrltion in sectarian schools. It took 1 definite form in 1895 in legislation looking to the establishment of a national policy in opposition to such aid, and the appropriations were cut down by a certain percentage yearly till 1901, when they ceased. altogether, with an exception in favor of two schools--St. John's and i I St. Louis's on the Osage Reservation-which in 1898 themselves I ceased to he a charge upon the general school fund and became a charge upon the Osage tribal funds at the instance of the tribe. Early in 1904 petitions bearing the names ,of a large number of Indians began to be received at the Indian. Office from several reser-vations, asking that certain sums be taken from the trust funds of the tribes concerned and devoted to the education of so many of the children of each at one and another sectarian school. Based on these i petitions, contracts for the fiscal year beginning July 1,1904, and con-tinuing until June 30,1905, were prepared by the Office and approved by the Department, as shown by the following: ! Oontracta with mi88ion schooZ8 for the fiscal gear 1905. I Nnm- Rate Name of eohwl. I. prty. / Tnae. I borpr/ p r / TY" pup11s. capita. zosr Bosrdbg .......... Bosrd,Lutheran Indian Menominee ........ .... ximom. ..... .............. st. Joseph Bassaing B-u CBtholic Indisn do Missions. st. Louis Bosrding .......... do ..................... ........... st.J ohn Boaraining ........... do .......--.....---O-m-r -o- :.I...... ..... ...... ..................... S l o u .............. ..........................a 0 .............. ........ .......................... do .............. St.LabreBoarding .......... do ..................... Northern Chey-enne. St. Mary Boarding .......... do ..................... Qupaw ........... The authority of the executive branch of the Government to make contracts of this nature having been under consideration, the Presi-dent had called upon the Attorney-General for a statement of his views, and the Attorney-General had furnished a memorandum thereof, which, in a later communication, under date of February 5, 1905, he described thus: The argument of the memorandum briefly was that, notwithstanding the declaration of Congressional intent not to make appropriations in the future of public moneys of the American people for sectarian institutions, the previous |
