The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1873-05-01
THE INDIAN POLICY.

We like President Grants Indian peace
policy. So far AS he has been able to place
truly Christian agents in the field undoubt-
ed good has been accomplished For awhile
there seemed to be a general success. But
slackncss has SPRING up among the church
es or at Washington or the agents who did
well for two or three years have themselves
become corrupted.
There are unsolvcd problems in dealing
with the Indians, but President Grants adj
ministration deserves the credit of being
the first to attempt the Inauguration of a
peaceful, humane, Christian policy 1t can
hardly be doubted that so far as the Indians
have been brought under ii directly, as
when the chiefs Red Cloud and Spotted
Tail made their visits to Washington and
New York, the spirit of the policy has
proved benciiccnt. The visits of the chiefs
named evidently at that time avertcd II
general war.
But President Grant cannot personally
visit all the tribes He must leave their
management w tit ipNNlttdIN VI lIttl
ior. The latter cannot personally visit the
Indians, but must be represented by agents.
These agents used habtually, and have be-
gun again to rob the government and the
Indians with cxhausting impatiality but
nobody ever heard of one of those gentle
men being punished, or of an investigation
OF one case in ten thousand, or Of even Il
rebukc officially from the Secretary of the
Interior to an Indian agent-and Just there
is the lame place and always has been in all
kinds of Indian policies. If the Secretary
of the Interior furnishes an Indian agent
with five thousand dollars to buy blankets
and provisions for the Indians, and the
agent buys some boxes of hooks and eyes
and package of skeleton hoops, to dress
them, and few boxes of gimets, and CALI
these agricultural implements, and buys
two bales of blankets to warm ten thou
sand Indians, and thus spends, say hun
drcd dollars, and then writes that the appro-
priation is exhausted, and he wants another
five thousand dollars-the money is sent to
him promptly, without word of inquir,
as to whether the bargains the government,
has made with the Indians have been full
filled or have been fatty broken This
style is pursued year after year and almost
universally by Indian agents, with no qucs
tons asked till the Indians are goaded int
stealing and robbing, when troops ar,
called out, an Indian war cnsues, and tn,
agent, who has become rich, retircs from
business with no bothering inquiries from
the government. This dreary, wofu
round is the regular routine of Indian bust
ness There seems to be little room fo
doubt that the Modoc war was caused il
that way, with its destruction of settlers
lives, the loss of General Candy and DIR
Thomas, and twenty-five brave soldiers
the bloody and cruel business of extermina
ton now proceeding against the Modocs
the ominOus threats of Indian wars al
along our borders, and the vast expense
being added TO the burdens of our nationa
debt. Secretary Dclano must at least know
what is common knowledge, that Indian
agents arc reported TO have starved AM
frozen the ModOcs on an inhospitable reser
walton in Oregon, and that this report wa
the most important point in the case call
ing for explanation or defense, yet he omit
ted all reference to the report in his re
cent lengthy explanation of his policy n
applicable to the Modoc war We had il