uld aid in furtherance of Indian civilization. A
number of suggestions were made in response, and the following
outline is given as a summary of the points presented to the
Secretary:

1. That the appointment or retention of all officers and employes in the
Indian service of the Government shall be on the sole ground of
fitness--that ability, integrity and an interest in the welfare of the
Indians, shall constitute the only required conditions. We are not
ignorant of the difficulties involved in securing such persons,
especially with the low salaries paid to some of these employes; and we
shall be abundantly satisfied with the purpose of the Government to
reach the nearest attainable success in this direction.

2. That the Government shall make adequate appropriations for the
establishment and maintenance of suitable schools for the education of
all Indian pupils--whether these schools be sustained and controlled
wholly by the Government or in co-operation with missionary societies.
The millions of dollars now due to the Indians by treaty stipulations,
for educational purposes, should not be idle in the National Treasury,
but should, as rapidly as possible, be devoted to their legitimate
purposes, and they should be supplemented as far as need be by direct
grants from the Government.

3. That the co-operation of the Government with the missionary societies
in what are known as _Contract_ schools should be continued and
enlarged. We believe that no better teaching has been afforded to the
Indians than that given in these Contract schools. The educational
qualifications of the teachers, together with their disinterested and
self-denying characters and their religious influence and instruction,
render them pre-eminently fit for their places and successful in their
work. The experience of the past and the testimony of all unprejudiced
persons bear witness to this fact.

4. That compulsory education of Indian pupils be enforced, with liberty
of choice to the parents in the selection of the schools to which their
children shall be sent. The Indians are generally averse, or
indifferent, to the education of their children. The withholding of
rations in case of failure or neglect is usually an all-sufficient
motive for prompt compliance. Then, too, the parent, if a Christian and
intelligent, should be allowed to select the school for his child, and
not be compelled to send it to a Government school simply beca