THE
CHEM AW A
A M E R IC A N
27
INDIANS TO SOLVE MEAT SUPPLY
C O M M IS SIO N E R S E L L S
AGO
TO O K T H E I N I T I A T I V E Y E A R S
p O L L O W IN G is an excerpt from the San A ntonio
(T e x a s) E x p ress of M arch 26, 1916, and needs no
ex p lan ato ry com m ent:
Is the Indian in a fair way to become again, as he
was in the beginning, the great A m erican herdsm an?
It looks so. A new policy applied to the m anage
m ent of Indian affairs lias done m uch in this direction.
It is not only p o ssib le.” says Cato Sells, the Com m issioner of Indian
Affrirs. ” biit entirely probable th at the In d ian s will become the foremost
herdsm an of A m erica. T he situation presents a business and industrial
opp o rtu n ity , the successful w orking out of w hich will go a long way to
ward solving the meat p ro b lem .’’
T he I)epartm ent of A g ricu ltu re deem s the question of meat supply one
of the most serious co n fio u tin g th e country and has large plans for its so
lution. These include the much talked-of diversification in Southern
farm ing, with the introduction of live stock as a staple source of profit.
But the Indian reservations offer a large o p p o rtu n ity to help the situ a
tion. H ere are vast expanses upon which large herds mav be m ain tain
ed. T he problem is to effect almost a revolution in th e adm inistration of
these areas w hich will insure th eir m axim um use. considering both th e
needs of the N ation and the needs of the Indian.
T h e Indian is peculiarly fitted to become the N ational herdsm an, it is
held. He is a natural out-of-doors m an. H e is nearly alw ays an e x
pert rider and roper. H e can train herds both of cattle and horses to a
control which w hite men cannot duplicate. As shepherds, the Nava-
joes care for tlieii sheep with a fidelity unequaled am ong w hite herd
m en, during the lam bing season the w hole family stays with the flocks
and the lam bing percentage is unusually high, regardless of the w eath
er conditions.
T he present Com m issioner of In d ian affairs, Mr. Sells, is a law yer,
banker, ag ricu ltu rist and scientific stockm an. H e know s farm ing and
stock raising and the sound value of securities based on farm land and
stock; and he know s Ind ian s. H e bou g h t and sold for them and from
them before tak in g his present responsibility. In com mon with m any
others, including President W ilson, Secretary H ouston. W alter II.
I age. A m erican am bassador to (ire a t B ritian, who have studied the
subject. Sells also holds th at only scientific ag ricu ltu re will conserve the
fu tu re ot an A m erica sure to double in population at no very distant