The Portland daily press., 1874-05-11
Forty Third Congress Session.
HOUSE.
WASHINGTON. Nav q.


A resolution asking the President to COM
municate any correspondence between the State
Department and other governments as to the
landing of foreign convicts on these shores, and
what legislation, if any, is necessary to prevent
such outrages was adopted.
Mr. Williams, from the Committee on Paci-
fic Railroads, reported bill providing for the
collection of monies due the United States by
the Pacific Railroad companies. Ordered
printed and recommitted. IT directs the Secre-
tary of the Treasury to require the payment of
the amounts due the United States under the
claims of directing five per cent. of the net
earnings of the companies to be paid to the gov
eminent, and if not paid it directs the Attor-
ney General to institute the necessary suits and
proceedings for the recovery, and prosecute the
same with all convenient despatch to final
determination.
The House went into Committee of the
Whole on the Indian Appropriation bill.
In the course of the discussion Mr.. Eldredge
of Wis, of opposed an amendment requiring
certain tribes to be put upon the reservation.
He objected to that as only another form of
slavery. The effort to ensla7 re the Indians he
said, had been made early in the history of the
county. 1t had failed then and would fail
again, He recommended that Indians be treat
ed with fairness and justice aid the attempt to
convert them into Christian associations be
abandoned. The country had enough of Chris
tan associations in connection with the sayages.
So far as his experience extended the further
away In ,ians were kept from Christians the
better the Indians were. In their native State
they had been pretty tolerably good men, but
since they had come in contact with Christian
associations and been subject to the control of
ministers and gospel dispenses, they had grown
worse and worse. 1t had been conceded on all
hands that there had been nothing so injurious
to Indians or that had driven into such hos
tility against the whites as what were called
christian Associations" The government
should deal justly with the Indians aud that
would make honest men of them. Treaty
stipulations should be honestly and sacredly
observed because of the very weakness of those
with whom they have been entered with.
Mr.. Langbridge of Iowa, denied that the eff
feet of reservation was to make slaves of In
dians
Mr.. Steel reminded Mr.. Eldridge of the in
consistency of his position, because if contact
wit Christians was demoralzing to the Indi
ans then the morality of the Indians would be
promoted by congregatiag them onthe reserva-
tions
Remarks were made by Messrs. Hawley of
Ct, and Niblack of Ind, in favor of placing
Indians under military control, and by Mr..
Parker against it, The latter claimed that the
Indian supplies delivered at the various Indian
agencies were cheaper than the army supplies
at the same points. He did not believe that
because man wore shouder-straps he was
any more honest than civilian was. He lived
on what was once an Indian frontier and he
could point to-day on men who had been Indian
troed the business, and were now rolling in
luxury from wealth acquired by them as indian
agents. 1t was fact that when Gen. Harvey
was in command on the Indian 'front.' er, thev-
ing Indian agents who were then under army
control, stole his own flour from him and sold
tback to him three times in succession.
A proposition offered by Mr.. Beck. requiring
vouchers for Indian supplies, &C., to be sub
mitted to the Executive Committee of the In
dian Peace Commissioners, gave rise to some
lively discussion.
Mr.. Beck charged that such provision
which bad been put into law some years ago
had since been repealed in the interest of thev-
ing Indian agents He declared that the Re-
publican side OF the House was responsible be-
fore the country for opposing this provision and
thus refusing to apply safeguards that could be
raised against the payment OF millions of dol
lars on fraudulent vouchers
Mr. Garfield of O., opposed Mr.. Beck's prop
osition because its effect was to depose not on
ly the Indian Commissioner but the Secretary
of the Interior and to impose their duties up
outside PARTIES 1t is proposition which
would, if made into a law, be an insult to the
head of any department. No man would SO
degrade himself as to consent to hold office un-
der such conditions. He did not hesitate to
call it monstrous proposition.
Mr.. Beck of KY, related various instances
OF big frauds on the part of Indian agents, and
said it was for the purpose of putting stop to
such frauds that the law which he now pro-
1869 and which the gentleman from Ohio Gar
6eld) had not then dared to oppose
INTERCHANGEABLE not dared.
That is good!
Mr. Beck (Emphaticallv)-ves, had not
dared. The gentleman (Garfield) says am
imposing this provision on the department L
am not. am imposing it on thieves insd de
of that department and only on them. 1 want
to make it impossible for fraudulent vouchers
to be paid.
Mr. Loughridge admitted there were frauds
committed under the Indian bureau, but de-
MED they were peculiar to this era or this ad-
ministratiOn He commended Beck for his
Sunday reading, volume which showed that
Indian frauds were perpetrated under the
Democratic administration of Van Buren,,
when the Indians were ia charge of army 9th
GERS. He (Loughridge) did not believe there
had been time for the last forty years when
Indian agents were as pure and honest as at
present, and ne was strengthened in Il at be-
lief by the testimony of Gen. Pope on that
point, an extract from which he he'd read at
| the clerks desk.
Mr.. Beck said he had been informed that in
engineer corps of the army which has dsburs-
ed hundred millions of dollars, there has not
been since the organization of the government
singeidollarllost through fraud
After further discussion, Mr. Beck withdrew
| his proposition. AT last the bill was got
| through the Committee of the Whole, and was
| reported to the House,
| Mr.. Stowell of Va, from the Committee on
Post Offices, reported bill authorizing the
| Postmaster General to join Gen. Jones, late
postmaster OF New York in the conveyance o.
Gert n real estate when was the property Of
=. w. Norton, defaulting post Office official
Passed. The House at o'clock adjourned.
mETEOs yOl Os.uCAu