contributes more to a successful school than courteous, cordial relations among employees, because organization is thus made easy, and effective teamwork follows; besides, the moral significance of the many virtues revealed in a kindly fellowship, in the qualities of the lady and the gentleman, is of incalculable value to pupils whether consciously or unconsciously received. Were I to name one thing more potential than any other for increased efficiency in our school service, it would be a cooperation among employees practically free from complaints, jealousies, and strife. I appeal to the sincerest motives of all school workers to make this year one of harmonious, united endeavor.

Generally speaking, the course of study indicates quite clearly the scope of the work to be accomplished in Indian schools and the proper grading of students, and it will not be too much to insist that better academic and industrial work must be done hereafter, not so much in scope as in thoroughness and welldisciplined faculties. The superintendents should satisfy themselves that the work which they are attempting can not only be done, but be done well; that pupils are thoroughly grounded in each year's subjects and that they fully complete each grade before promotion to the next higher. As to academic work there should be no difficulty, with good teaching and proper assistance and supervision on the part of the superintendent, as well as the principal, where the latter is provided. Superintendents should, therefore, give the classroom work, as well as the industrial work, their personal attention.

As to industrial work especially, the actual work done in the shop, in the kitchen, or on the farm must be correlated properly with class instruction in order to accomplish real education. The reason for doing the thing must go hand in hand with the actual doing or else the pupil can never have the initiative which will enable him to meet new conditions or to vary his method from those which he has seen in operation and which may at some time result in failure rather than success. No person is proficient in a given line without knowing why a thing is done in a certain way. There is about an Indian school a great deal of institutional work and in the necessity for doing this the instruction of the pupil is apt to be forgotten. Even here with proper methods much of the necessary work can be made of more value for instruction than at present. Good books and equipment are a great aid, but they are not always essential. A good teacher can accomplish wonders without them. Nevertheless, where necessary facilities are lacking, the office will endeavor to provide them just as far as funds are available. One of the secrets, perhaps the secret, of the matter is systematic instruction, and the course of study is based upon this principle. Teachers should have their necessary outlines and should know in advance of what the week's work is to consist. Also what they must cover and accomplish per month, term, or year. Industrial instructors should do the same.

FIELD SERVICE AND SALARIES.

It must be admitted that the Indian Service, in some important respects, is still seriously embarrassed by conditions incident to the World War. This is especially true regarding our general educational activities both in the schools and in work that should develop self-support among adult Indians and lead to their industrial efficiency.

We have in our Service an excellent educational system, and a course of study embracing vocational training that has been commended by prominent educators throughout the world and tested in

practice, but our plan and curriculum are evolved from normal conditions and can not adequately function in such extraordinary times as began even before we entered the war and that still prevail. We are unable to escape the plight of the public schools generally, whose shortage of teachers has well-nigh produced an educational crisis.

Military conscription disclosed that more than five and a half millions of our population over 10 years of age could neither read nor write, and that this was true of 25 per cent of men of voting age in military camps, which argues unanswerably for a peace-time patriotism that should animate the schools for many years to come. But to combat this menacing illiteracy we have now upon the best authority a prospective net loss for the coming year of approximately 100,000 teachers. We have a 25 per cent reduction over 1916 in the number of normal-school graduates, and a national force of teachers more than one-half of whom are without the professional training requisite for the minimum pedagogical standard. Recent reliable data showed that about 20,000 schools of the country were without teachers, that more than twice that number were supplied with temporary instruction, and that over 300,000 teachers with less than minimum qualifications were employed. The explanation, of course, lies chiefly in the fact that teachers continue to be strongly attracted to other vocations such as require little preparation for acceptable service, solely for the compensation which better meets the high cost of living.

The situation here outlined is proportionately applicable to our Service. It has been for some time, and is still, impossible to keep many important positions filled from civil-service eligibles. This is felt acutely not only in the shortage of teachers, but as to mechanics, farmers, physicians, trained nurses, disciplinarians, positions requiring technical training in forestry and irrigation, as well as to clerical and stenographic assistance.

To be more specific, a conservative estimate as to the vacancies in a few of the many positions indispensable to our Service shows a shrinkage below normal for nurses of nearly 60 per cent; for physicians, 20 per cent; matrons, 12 per cent; forest assistants, 33 per cent; farmers, 30 per cent, and for teachers, disciplinarians, carpenters, cooks and bakers, and engineers—including irrigation employees an excess of 25 per cent. Employees required for many of these positions are expected to be capable of giving class instruction in the mechanic and domestic arts, in agriculture and stock raising, in physical culture and matters of health.

I do not see that post-war readjustments promise speedy change from present economic conditions, and it seems obvious that increased allowance must be made for compensating the service necessary in many positions of this bureau, if we are to carry forward our work effectively.

Every worker ought to receive more than a mere existence wage. Everyone should have enough to allow the practice of thrift, to permit some saving, and, perhaps, a little giving now and then. But of all workers, those who have, at much time and expense, prepared themselves for a profession should have enough to cover the cost of some additional culture and of fitting themselves better to do the basic work upon which so much of all progress and human betterment depends. We can not procure or retain service of skill and technical training when higher pay can be obtained in other Government departments, and much better in connection with outside enterprises.

I feel it my duty to use every reasonable and practicable means for securing a more equitable salaried condition among our employees.

HEALTH.

The health of the Indians presented no new or unusual problems during the year. In addition to influenza, which manifested itself as a disease of much lessened virulence, diphtheria, scarlet fever, measles, and other diseases of childhood, were reported on many of the reservations, but in all of them the mortality was low.

Outbreaks of smallpox occurred on a number of reservations, but its form was mild, and each instance of epidemic was easily controlled by the usual methods of quarantine, isolation, and vaccination. The Indians have had so many demonstrations of the efficacy of successful vaccination that in the presence of an epidemic our medical officers have but little difficulty in persuading them to submit to the operation. Once a great scourge, smallpox no longer causes a panic of fear when it breaks out among Indians.

TUBERCULOSIS.-Ever since diseases of Indians first became the subject of careful study, tuberculosis has been the most serious found among them. It has been and still is responsible for more deaths than any other disease.

The development of our system of sanatoria, a more carefully prepared and better dietary, the dissemination of knowledge relating to the disease, regular weighing of pupils, frequent medical inspection, and improved medical and nursing personnel, with increased interest in health, have all operated to stamp the disease out of our schools.

Tuberculous children now have sanatorium facilities where those physically able may have the benefit of educational opportunities under the medical supervision of specialists.

The campaign for the eradication of the disease has been as far reaching in its results as has that among our white population.

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During my administration, Indian school children have been so thoroughly drilled in the cause and prevention of tuberculosis that I have no hesitancy in saying that they have a greater familiarity with this essential knowledge than have the same number of children among any other people.

TRACHOMA.-Trachoma, an eye disease of such terrible aspect that immigrants suffering from it are met at our ports of entry and excluded from the United States, is still prevalent on the reservations, notwithstanding the remarkably successful campaign waged during the past six or seven years.

While the disease in its old-time virulence is seldom seen in the schools, less progress has been made toward its eradication among adult Indians on the reservations. The disease is essentially a chronic one, requiring prolonged treatment, which is exceedingly painful. Next to tuberculosis, trachoma presents our most difficult disease problem.

When I assumed the office of Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1913, I made a careful study of health conditions among Indians, with special reference to the control of tuberculosis and trachoma. Sanatoria capacity was greatly increased, and a campaign inaugurated for better homes and better living conditions, particular attention being paid to the care of the babies. Literature relating to the cause and prevention of both diseases was distributed, a corps of special physicians and nurses qualified in the care and treatment required by these diseases was developed from our Service, and such measures as are approved by the higher medical authorities were applied to the extent of available facilities. The results have been commensurate with the time, money, and efforts expended.

The medical and nursing corps, almost completely dismembered by the war, have been gradually reconstructed. The number of physicians is approaching pre-war strength. It will be difficult, however, to secure a full quota of nurses until more liberal appropriations enable us to meet the competition of other branches of the Government service.

Notwithstanding the scarcity of physicians, capable eye specialists have been employed in each of the medical districts. Were qualified men available, however, our force of specialists could be more than doubled to meet the calls from the reservations. The same applies to the traveling dentists, who have had a most successful year. The demands made upon the services of these men would justify also the doubling of their number.

Changes in the force of field matrons have not been many. The knowledge of nursing acquired by these women in the great influenza epidemic has enabled them in the absence of regular trained nurses

to render invaluable service during the recent epidemics and has qualified them to be of much greater assistance to Indian women in their homes.

Notwithstanding temporary hindrances, the health of the Indians is better cared for to-day than at any time in the history of the race. More Indian families than ever before are living in permanent and comparatively modern houses and are observing the simple rules of health which ward off many forms of disease. As the younger generation carries to the reservation communities the knowledge and practice of hygienic living acquired in the schools, a new vigor, with new hopes and ambitions, is manifested in steadily transformed habits, customs, social observances, and industrial pursuits. The Indians are to-day comprehending much of the science of health and are building racial vitality to meet the necessities of the life and civilization in which they must participate.

INDIAN EMPLOYMENT.

Because of economic necessity the Indian now appreciates the importance of finding work without loss of time and near home. The value of vocational training in Indian schools is reflected in the increased efficiency of pupils, many of whom are taking their places in the business and industrial life of their community side by side with their white brothers. Many Indians have been placed in automobile factories, and reports indicate that they make good workmen. Indians are employed on the railroads in many capacities, ranging from engineer to shopmen. Thousands work on farms on and adjacent to reservations. Increased acreage in cotton will furnish work for the Indians of the Southwest. The annual colony of student workers in the beet fields of Colorado and vicinity was maintained from June to October, 1919. In Box Butte County, Nebr., at least 700,000 bushels of potatoes were harvested as the work of one community of Indians. A few Indians are active Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A. field workers. A number are lawyers, physicians, and clergymen in many denominations. Some are in social club work at their homes. There are many clerks in Government and private offices, and teachers in Government, public, and other schools. There are Indian superintendents of Indian schools and supervisory officers in Indian field work.

Welfare workers having sympathetic understanding of Indian psychology look after Indian student workers in many localities. The Indian's active interest in constructive occupation assists in dissolving tribal relations and gives him an independent and competent status in the body politic.