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sends a letter in explanation of why he sana stoned use of indian money for catholic institutions washington feb 4 president roosevelt has sent a letter to secretary hitchcock on the subject of authority for granting contracts tor education of indians in sectarian schools the president says that inasmuch as tho legal authority exists to grant tha request of the indians unquestionably they are entitled by moral right to have their monies used to educate their children at the schools they choose the president directs that the interior department part ment continue the practice unless congress directs otherwise or tho courts hold that the decision of the department part ment of justice to this effect is wrong the president also urges the passage of the lacey bill authorizing the allotment ot annuities in severally to the indians in the same way as their land Is allotted the presidents letter follows 1 I have received from you the letter of the commissioner of indian affairs of jan 31 1905 in relation to the inquiries of the hon james S sherman as to the authority for granting contracts for education of indians in denominational nomi national schools this letter of the commissioner of indian affairs asks that the general questions raised in mr shermans Sher mans letter of jan 23 be united with the special question raised by the commissioner in his letter of jan 21 and reported to the president for submission to the attorney general the letter of jan 21 concerning the payment of a claim filed in the office of indian affairs in connection with the contract with sectarian schools on the tongue river reservation stands by itself and will be submitted to the actor ney general tor his consideration and report aa regards the general question I 1 have received from the attorney gen eral a letter a copy of which is enclosed early in 1902 petitions on behalf of tho various catholic andi episcopal schools were brought to my attention by certain ecclesiastics and laymen who requested the interior department to distribute the rations and annuities through the mission schools of thir several churches when the children were in the care of those schools the attorney general decided that this request was illegal and could not properly be granted over a year afterwards the request was made originally in behalf of certain catholic schools in 1903 also on behalf of a lutheran school in 1904 that where there wera indian monies held tn trust tor the indians by the secretary of the interior the inter ezic on these indian monies being distributed tri buted among the individual indians or such other ways as the secretary ot the interior might direct and where certain indians petitioned that tho monies BO distributed to them should be used for the support of the particular denominational school which they de their children to attend this petition should be granted the question raised was of course wholly different from that raised on behalf of tho episcopal church and of the catholic church this new request was submitted to the department of justice and tho department decided as act forth in the accompanying report that the prohibition of tho law as to the use ot public monies tor sectarian schools did not extend to monies belonging to tho indians themselves might be applied in accordance with the desire of the indians for tho support ot the schools to which they were sending their children there was in my judgment no question that inasmuch aa the legal existed to grant the request ot the indians they were entitled aa a matter of moral right to have the money coming to them used for the education of their children at the school of their choice be taken of course to see that any petition by the indians is genuine and that the money appropriated for a given school represents only the pro rata proportion to which the indians the petition are entitled but these two conditions are fulfilled it in my opinion just and that the indians themselves should bave their wishes respected when request that their own moneys not the money of the public ie applied to the support of certain schools to which desire to send their children the practice will be continued by the department unless the courts should decide that the decision of the department of justice Is erroneous it Is however greatly to be desired that the bill introduced by representative lacey and providing for permission to allot these annuities in severalty to the indians exactly as Is now done with land should be enacted into law its enactment and administration would prevent the raising of any question of this character for each individual indian would then be left free to use the money to which he Is entitled outright on his own initiative la stead of having it used tor him by the secretary of the interior owing to hla petition I 1 earnestly hope that congress will at once enact this bill into law the special case of the st babers school stands by itself the question being whether the contract entered into Is one authorized by the finding of the department of justice in january 1904 or whether it is one of those cases forbidden under the decision of the department of justice of january 1902 the attorney general hlll report the category in the case comes THEODORE ROOSEVELT |
