The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-06-17
The "Press,, and Congressman
DOnnelly.

Mr.. DoNNELLY has been guilty of species
of treason which makes him worse than a cop
perhead-in the estimation of the Press. He
has interfered with the financial policy Of the
Press. He has greatly damaged the greenback
prospects of the Indianocracy of this State, Of
which the Press has become the loyal organ,
since the retirement of Mr.. MARSHALL from
the editorial chair. To punish Mr.. DoNNELLY
for this grave offence, the Press folks are vol
uble with sneers at our youthful representa-
tive" and are insidlously laboring to kill him
off in the shortest time possible; not only to
punish him for his audacious intermeddling
in their private affairs, but as warning to all
others, who may feel inclined to commit like
offence.
Mr.. DoNNKLLY seems as eager for the fight
as the highly respectable gentlemen, who, with
small salaries are enriching themselves, and
putting money in the purses of their official
and unofficial co-Operators. Our NJ c., in his
late letter contumaciously avows his determin-
alton to rip open our plethoric Indianocracy,
and let the light into their vitals. 1--WE regret
Gays the Press) to see an up.country paper
trying to persuade Mr. DoNNELLY that the peo-
pie of Northern Minnesota don't want the
Chippewas removed from their present Reser
vation.''
The cause of this "regret" is the following
criticism exposing the sophistry of the Press
editorial on Mr.. DONNELLY's circular, which
appeared in the st. Cloud Democrat:
In his circular, Mr.. Donnelly protested
against the payment of $4,000 for the trans
pOrtation of two thousand Indians one hun
dred and fifty miles, saying that they usually
travelled with ponies The Press replied that
they do not possess ponies and that they live
in q country of woods and swamps and lakes,
where it is impossible to ride five miles in any
direction without coming to an impossible bog
or lake. They travel altogether in canoes or
on foot"
Here Mr.. D. in his letter rather gets the edi-
tor ION the hip:
"Surely it is MT more expensive to travel in a
would suppose that to transport 2, 600 men. women
and children one hundred and fifty miles, in canoes
and on foot would cost the Government $50, 600;
when by your own showing It Is impossible to trans
Iort them on wagons AMI they have to move Them
selves. 1t Is little too much of good thing to
quire an Indian to walk and pad lie one hundred and
ff miles through the wilderness, and then chsrge
the Government $40 for transporting him."
The Democrat might have made an equally
damaging criticism on the $50 per acre appro-
priation for clearing and grubbing land for the
Chippewas The Press thinks $50 ON acre
little enough, because the new reservation is
heavily tlmbered-bnt conceals the fact that
the best land for cultivation is about 1000 acres
of open prairie, where the clearing" would
undoubtedly be made, at a charge of $50 per
acre! How patriotic in these war times As
we have before intimated, the fact that the
Secretary of the Interior withdrew the extrav-
agant estimates for setting these Indians on
their new reservation. and personally thanked
Mr. DoNNELLY for the services he had rem
dered the Department, makes It sufficiently
obvious to persons of common discernment
that monstrous swindle on the Government
was defeated through Mr. DoNNELLY's efforts.
What the effect will be on the personal for.
times of Mr.. DoNNELLY, or of the Indianoc-
racy we know little and care less.