New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-02-16
FEEDING INDIANS.

War Department and the Interior Department
and the mixed arguments of third parties,
there seems really TO be no settled policy on
the part of the Government Its lnconslst-
encies and diOsyncracies have ceased to be
matter for surprise. They would be ludicrous II
not 80 disastrous in their results. COnsplcu-
GUS among all the difficulties which environ the
whole question, however, is that OF the cost
of maintaining the present system, III IL Is
worth the name of system. In the course or
their inquiry into the necessity of maintaining
the army in its present strength, the House
Committee on Military Affairs incidentally
brought out some interesting facts. 1t was
found that the total number of Indians In the
United States, exclusive of those in Alaska. is
10000. OF these G5,OOO are considered ntracta-
be They cannot be classed as hostile. The actual
number of hostile Indians IN the United States
that is to say, those who maraud occasionally
upon the white settlers-is set down at 1.OOO.
OF the total number above referred TO, about
$4,000 are regularly fed with beef, bacon. flour,
coffee, and sugar They are clothed with
blankets and variety of apparel One of the
members of the Committee, it is said, burst
out with the exclamation: "Then these
"feOws do nothing but wear out clothes,
CONSUME food. and hang around the
Preserves without work" To this, of course.
the instant reply IL that it is better to clothe
and feed the Indians than to fight them.
A still more pertinent question, possibly y,
would be, Why clothe and feed, or why fight
them The total cost of feeding and clothing
these people is said to be about S7,000,0O0. An
ordinary Indian war, according to Gen.
Ord, costs S1O0OO,0O0. so that at
first glance it seems cheaper to spend
s7,OOO,OOO a year in feeding and clothing as
compared with 100000 for small cam
pagn. As before said, we have no Indian
policy. Is it not possible for this Admlnistra-
ton, which has laid special stress upon the
wisdom, generosity and Christian charity OF
its dealings with the Indians, to perfect
policy which shall neither spend seven millions
in feeding and clothing, nor ten IN hOwltzers
and gunpOwderG
Major Powell, in his report upon the
treatment of Indians, says that we should
no longer deal with them as if they
were distinct nations, or had independent gov
ernments; but we should consider them as
individuals, furnishing guilty parties in case of
hostilities, whether such parties be Indian or
White. Should this policy be carried
Out-and 80 far as treaties are concerned
il has been ratified by COngress-the
first intelligent and Ineligible step will
have been taken in the Inauguration
of the new policy. This theory has been fire.
quently propounded; it has been announced
even as that of the Government; but it has
nowhere ever been carried out. IL it had
been, we should not to-day be maintaining
5000 Indian paupers, nor should we be max
ing war upon them occasionally, as we might
upon neighboring nation. This seems to
cover the whole case, and unless the frequent
boast, that the Indian policy of the Admins
tration treats the Indian as a man. be o de-
fusion and snare, he is to-day simply pen
stoned beggar maintained at public expense.
As between feeding and warning there GER
tainly can be no question. Humanity and
economy alike favor the feeding system.
1t would be gratifying to the philanthropists
as we'll as public economists, if we could
be assured that the money ex-
pended by the United States were
economically and justly distributed. But it
is a notorious fact that the expenditures OF
the Indian Department are not only extrava-
CANT, but are to very large extent distrib-
uted among leeches and cOrruptionists who
have infested the Bureau for years untold.
A late report of the Chairman of the Com
mittee on Indian Affairs makes revelations
on this point which are somewhat start
ling. There is no consolidation of funds, no
preservation of records, and no protection OF
Indians from fraudulent contracts. In fact,
the whole system of accounts of the Indian
Bureau is most imperfect and badly managed.
In the investigation of the ChOctaw met
proceeds claims" it was found that the
unfortunate Indians had been charged by the
cormOrants who hang around the Indian
Bureau not only the whole amount of their
claim, principal and interest, but about 100
per cent additional. The Indians themselves,
acting as agents for the tribe were
corrupted by these bad men. and
money which should have been distrib-
uted to the tribe was divided among the
Indian Bureau lobbyists and the Choctaw
agents. az much az $500, 900 at one time having
been thus distributed. The Treaty of 1865
concluded between the United States and the
Chickasaws and ChOctaws cost the United
States SCI ,123 IS, while the Indians paid for
making the same 100000. One Govern
ment agent appropriately named Smart made
fraudulent contract with the CherOkees which
would have netted him more than half mil
lion dollars if tho Committee on Indian Affairs
had not broken in upon his plans and dis
arranged the wires which he had nicely laid.
1t is no exaggeration to say that of the
enormous amounts annually appropriated for
the Indians, not 10 per cent ever reaches
them, and it is very justly added by Wash
ingtOn correspondent that the bulk of
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