Arizona citizen., 1874-02-21
Peace Commissioners Vs Interior
 Department.

There is now case of this kind before the country, and has been for some weeks past. Wm. Welsh, of the Peace Commis- sioners, has published an open letter to President Grant, wherein he arraigns the Interior Department for divers offenses and among them dishonesty. In reply, the Interior Department denies all these charges and asserts that the Peace Com missioners have constantly acted cor ruptly We have waited to get the views of the press of the country and if possi- ble to see specified charges, and with few insignificant Of course there is an ele ment in the States and among the church es almost everywhere, that blindly sup ports the Peace Commissioners in all they do, utterly regardless of the facts; then there is large partisan element which maintains any position that will injure the party in power, and, in this case, evi- dently mounts what appear to be the higher moral grounds and therefore stands by-the irresponsible Peace Commission CTS in their attacks upon a prominent and responsible department of government; |; and it is clear that the opposition of eith- CT of these elements ought to be regarded with suspicion in the absence of proof
 All officers compelled to perform thou sands of acts varying in character, will now and then err, however able and hon est they may be, and in our view the most serious error of President Grants admin istration is that by which the Indian Peace Commission was created and the nomina- tion of Indian superintendents and agents given to church organizations. It is an indisputable historical fact that wherever and whenever any church has been per mitted to exercise political power, it was unwisely exercised; and fundamental principle in our government is to keep political affairs absolutely free fro m church control.
 The Peace Commission is made up of a gang of self-righteous men who claim to be better than other men. They, as Hen " Ward Beecher says of men of his ac- quaintance, would not shave their faces on Sunday but would "shave" their neigh bors on Monday; would loudly advocate collecting and sending money to relieve reported distress and ignorance in dis tant lands, and daily gaze in stolid indif ference upon the poor and undoubted needy at their own doors. The reader car carry this description to any length with out the least fear of doing injustice to the professional and irresponsible (except tc their God) Peace Commissioners, and wt will make local application of theil acts.
 Until absolutely forced by the President and Secretary Delano to resign, Vincent Colyer was the most blatant member O the Peace Commission and was given mos prominence and support by that self righteous and irresponsible body. Ht was sent here and hardly man of any ac quaintance with public affairs in Arizona as we'll as many thousands out of 1t, but now knows or believes him to have acted the part of public liar and enemy while here in his official capacity. THE CITIzEn takes some credit in exposing him 1T these respects. He resorted to absolute and willful falsehooG to punish us for ou truthful but damaging course towards him. Upon being detected, he played the servile apologist to maintain his place and in abject whining ascribed his down fall to an undue influence of Western men when it was simply their presentation O