OCR Text |
Show - REPORT OF COMMIBSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 19 The actual and legitimate expense of sending a pupil to a nonreservation school will be paid by this ofFice on proper vouchers presented by you. Where an escort is required, a full explanation of the necessity therefor must accom-pnny the voucher for such expenditure, allcl if legitimate it mill be allon,ed. It 1s snggested, however, for the sake of economy, that wherever practicable chll-dren be sent in parties rather than singly. All vouchers for transportation of puptls and escorts should be transmitted to the office as soon as the expense Is incurred. It will be noted that little stress is laid, in these circulars, on the financial side of the business discussed. The dominant importance of the human element has driven the mere question of money rather into the background. Discoveries of various forms of petty graft growing out of the old canvassing system showed that it was under-mining the morale of the service; and everyone must see that there is especial need of a sound moral basis for the conduct of persons who are to serve as exemplars as well as instructors for children. The arrangement now made will be%put o a good test by the coming year's experience with it, and then we shall lcnow whether or not any further measures will be necessary. The same experiment will shorn, also, which of the schools are really so firmly grounded in pop-ular favor among the Indians, or in their own records for honest administration and effective work, as to be worthy of liberal treat- - ment hereafter for such time as it may be deemed desirable to retain them. Meanwhile, one distinct step has been taken toward the consumma-tion foreshadowed in last year's report. When I discussed with individual members of the Senate and House committees the question of allowing the nonreservation school system to disintegrate by de-grees, I was reminded that I had placed them in a somewhat embar-rassing position by recommending to you the usual estimates for appropriations for all these schools, thereby throwing upon the Con-gress the burden of responsibility for the selection of those which were to be dropped. Although my motive in doing this had been one of courtesy, as I thought that the Congress might prefer to make its own selections, I recognized the comment as entirely fair and proper; and I have accordingly this fall taken the initiative by omitting - from the estimates for the fiscal year 1909 a few of the schools which could be spared forthwith without any damage to our general ednca-tional programme. Still another move has been made in pursuance of last winter's developments. The turn taken by the congressional debate on the Indian school appropriations indicated that I had been justified in assuming that certain of the best-known nonreservation schools would continue to receive support for some years longer. Believing, there-fore, that whatever is to be done with them ought to be well done, I have undertaken to modify their courses of study so as to emphasize |