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Show REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAI&S. I compulsory school law will have to be enacted and strictly enforced if the plan of turning over the Indian children to the care of the States is to be xuccessful. Several of the agents who are generally favorable to the plan do not consider it feasible in any case until a reservation has been opened for settlement. A few prefer the Gov-ernment schools anyway, because the advantages for an industrial education are much better there than in the public schools. It seems to be a pretty widespread opinion among them that full-blood pupils do better in the Crovernment schools. Contracts were made for the enrollment of Indian pupils in white public schools as follows: Pualic schools in which Indian pupils were Placed u d e r contract with the Indian Bwreau during the Rscal wear ended June 50,1906. sate. Nebreaka ................ N0.13 ................. Thurston. 14 9 N0.14. ..................... do .... 8 9 N0.17 ...................... do .... 9 N0.22.. .................... do. ... 7 N0.36 ................. KnOx ..... South Dakota. ........... Independent ......... Stanley ... Total ................................................... 67 .......... 94 It is difficult to get the average Indian parent to appreciate the necessity of enforcing regularity of attendance upon his children who enter school, and on this account the Indian children do not, as a rule, make so good a showing as their white comrades in the public schools. The following table illustrates this fact, as well as giving brief sta-tistics of this class of schools since 1891 : Xumber of district public schools, numa4 of pupils contracted far, enrollment, md average attendance from 1891 to 1906. R&tiO Of N-bel Contmet Enmll- Average Year. of number schools. of pup~is. merit. enroll--- meot. Pe, Cat. 4 57+ 108 Sf- 123 58+ 101 50- 192 60C 294 71+ 195 62- 177 57- 167 S l i 118 48 131 61- 98 52- 81 49+ 57 59- 51 W+ 50 53+ |