Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1862-11-08

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Of the Commissioner Of Indian Affairs, remarked
recently, that, during twenty-seven years that he
had been in the Indian Department at Washing
I ton, he had not seen or heard Of so many charges
of fraud and peculation in that Department 0s
have occurred under the present Administration"
We take the above editorial paragraph from
the Oregon Statesman Of Oct. 81. The de-
sign Of the editor is too apparent to require
comment. 1t is to impress the public mind
with the idea that corrupions in the Indian
Department have greatly increased under the
present Adlninis:ra,ion--in fact, that more
fraud and ppcuIa,ionh:s been committed with.
in tho last few months than for the twenty
seven years that Mr.. Mix has been in the In.
dian Departmental Washington. The Chief
Clerk Of the Commissioner is made to say, in
90 many words. that liz had "not seen nor
heard Of so many charges Of fraud and p"cu.
la,ion in that Department. as have occurred
under the present Administration" aud that
he had been in the Department for " twenty
seven years" 1t is not little strange
that the Cliff Clerk Of the Indian
Bureau should have made such a statement,
and were it not that the Statesman is, as
generality, very careful in regard to its state
mpnts, We should be Inclined to question the
v-rncity of its Washington correspondents.
The editor seems willing to have it inferred
that he regards the present administration of
Indian Affairs the mos, corrupt OF any that
has preceded it. while the flies Of his paper
will show that he rrgnded that Department
as being rotten to the very core when Plesi-
dent Lincoln took cha,g' Of the Government.
We are unwilling to believe that Mr.. Mix
would DO g~ilty of SD fl'grant an act Of bad
faith as is involved in the implied chnrg" Of
gross corruption in the Department with
which h. stands connected in a most respon.
sih!- and confidential relationship. We con
c!u,lr. therefore. that Mr.. Mix mus, have been
Inexperienced. He may have said that
more c,srs Of fraud and prculation had been
6wxyht to tic attention Of he Department
since the accession to power Of the new Adj
,niuistration, than had been brought to light
for the previous twenty seven years. 1t is
undoubtedly true that the present head Of the
Indian Bureau, Mr.. Dale, has terre,rd out
more frauds in tho Indian service than had
been disclosed for the last thirty years. They
under the Administration Of President Lin.
coln but those committed mostly under the
administrations of Pierce and Buchanan; and
tho best witness Mr.. Covode could have
awaited himself Of in proof Of the charge would
have been files of the Oregon Statesman. But
We are not surprised that now, since it is
deemed exp-dirnt by tho Statesman to re-
construct the Democratic party. that it should
try to throw the sin. f.,he Democracy upon
tho shoulders Of Republicans. Facts and fig
ures arc stubborn things, and it will no. be-
possible tor hat paper. or any Of its ;lk To
saddle upon the Administration oil President
Lincoln tho frauds and pccnla,ions Of the for
mcr Administrations. II is but just that this
Administration should b. H. Id responsible Tor
the frauds which have been committed under
it. and We will spare no effort to ferret them
out and expose them t" the public indigna-
ton. The Statesman has already done much
towards exposing the gross p'cul .lions OF The
Indian department in Oregon during the cor
rupt administration ri Buchanan. and We
doubt not i; will cheerIully MD the present
able and honest Commissioner, in His ctIorts
to solve the probl..n Of how Democratic agents
with II salary Of $500 year Damaged to
save from, it $4,000 to Sl0O, 900 in three or
four years. That paper says that this was
accomplished under Buchanan's adnlimistra-
ton. and that. too. so often that it did not
seem TO carry with i, my disgrace. in the es-
timation Of Democrats, but, on thu contrary.
was passport to high political distinction.in
the ranks Of the Uaiox Democracy. Is it
surprising. then. If it should appear on invrs-
tigarion that there is here aud there a Rrpub-
lican agent who is walking in the Footsteps
of lis Democratic predecrssmsl We deny
that any pccula,ions o. frauds have been com.
United by 'Rrpublica" officials that were not
prncticcd by their Democratic predecessors
with the apparent sanction Of the department.
A thorough inves iga'ion by committees Of
Congress. with authority to send for persons
and papers. would demonstrate the truth Of
what VIZ say. W. make no chargs Of p~cala.
lation against any "nr agent in particular.
either under the last Administration or the
present. but VIZ do any that hundreds Of thou
sands Of dollars have been charged against