The
powers and functions of the commissioners in regard to these subjects
should be clearly defined, though they should, in conjunction with the
Secretary of the Interior, be given all the authority to deal definitely
with the questions presented deemed safe and consistent.
They should be also charged with the duty of ascertaining the Indians
who might properly be furnished with implements of agriculture, and
of what kind; in what cases the support of the Government should be
withdrawn; where the present plan of distributing Indian supplies should
be changed; where schools may be established and where discontinued;
the conduct, methods, and fitness of agents in charge of reservations;
the extent to which such reservations are occupied or intruded upon by
unauthorized persons, and generally all matters related to the welfare
and improvement of the Indian.
They should advise with the Secretary of the Interior concerning these
matters of detail in management, and he should be given power to deal
with them fully, if he is not now invested with such power.
This plan contemplates the selection of persons for commissioners who
are interested in the Indian question and who have practical ideas upon
the subject of their treatment.
The expense of the Indian Bureau during the last fiscal year was more
than six and a half million dollars. I believe much of this expenditure
might be saved under the plan proposed; that its economical effects
would be increased with its continuance; that the safety of our frontier
settlers would be subserved under its operation, and that the nation
would be saved through its results from the imputation of inhumanity,
injustice, and mismanagement.
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