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Pine Bluff. Ark, Jan 3, 1870. 
Bt Maj Gen. O.O. Howard 
Com'r Bureau R.F. & A.L.
Washington D.C. 

General:
I beg respectfully to submit the following statement regarding school property owned by the Bureau in this State. 

While it is true that the State and Circuit Superintendents of Education are heartily in favor of the education of Freedmen it is also unfortunately true that many local boards are indifferent or positively unfriendly. This spirit is usually manifested directly by the selection of incompetent, unworthy teachers and by an entire absence of interest in the welfare of the schools after they are opened. The action of such Boards reflects the sentiment of their respective localities. The freedmen through ignorance and inexperience