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Show COMMISSIOXER OF ISDIAK AFFAIRS. 7 The school year has been one of great activity. The school field force is well organized, the scllools have been full to capacity, the personnel is being gradually but markedly improved, the demand for enrollment for another year is limited only by capacity, and the school spirit among students and teachers is fine in almost all of the schools, according to reports by supervisors. The attitude of public school authorities and patrons toward Indian children and their enrollment in the pnblic schools was never so favorable, and as an essential to success the spirit of cooperation among the workers in Government, mission, and public schools is very generally har-monious. In the education of the Indian youth lies the hope of the future generations of the American Indian. In this time, when it is so essential to practice economy in every possible way, it should be realized that the child who 1s allowed to grow up in this country without being taught English and manual skill in some useful occupation is always in danger of becoming a liability. It is false economy to neglect the education of any children. HEALTH. The medical work of the bureau progressed during the year with no unusual perplexities and in the main with satisfactory resul!~. With approximate return to normal conditions, many vacancies occasioned by the war and other attractive inducements have been filled. However, our health service has been growing, as the Indians have become aware of its advantages over their own crude and super-stitious methods of treatment, and the personnel for this Important work is still incomplete, principally because of low salarles that do not attract competent medical men and graduate-nurses. There were but few epidemics on the reservations last year, and health conditions showed gradual improvement. Special educa-tional efforts were carried forward and the usefulness of hospitals increased as far as possible within the funds provided. The health work now functions through a corps of 150 physicians-regular and contract-81 nurses, and 70 field matrons. The nurses as a rule glve their time to the hospitals and asslst the physicians in dispensary clinics, while the latter also visit Indian homes. Field matrons are to our service what the public-health nurses are to the State and county health organizations. A good field matron, or a field nurse, is almost indispensable in the practice of pfeventive medicine. The bureau operated 12 tuberculosis hosp~tals3, 1 school hospitals, 10 agency hosp~tals,2 7 general hospitals, and 1 nervous and mental disease hospital, with a total bed capacity of 2,411: There 1s at pres-ent no legislative provision for their repair and improvement o4her than the funds appropriated for their support,.whlch, are insuffic~ent for proper maintenance. It has been ~mpossible w;th the current appropriations to consider openlng new hospital units: There is a need for at least two, one for general purposes located !n the Middle West, with adequate facilities and personnel for handling all classes of cases, except possibly nervous and mental d~seases, and fully equipped as a training school for nurses, so that Ind~an girls may have facilities for completing the vocational or preparatory work |