Arizona citizen., 1874-07-04
THE CITIZEN.
SATURDAY, JULY 4, 1874.
The Dead Peace Commission.

This irresponsible and disturbing body
 has at least consented to die and acknowl- | edge the fact that it is dead, and also that it could not be of use even should it per
 sist in exhibiting life any longer. The
 creation of itwas an insult to the Interior Department. There was no more excuse
 for creating that body to supervise ac-
 counts of the Interior Department, than there would have been to have created
 others to intermeddle with the &C.,
 counts of the Departments of War,
 Navy, State, or Post Office. Then the
 liberty it had to take vouchers and all
 papers relating to them from the proper
 archives in Washington to New York,
 Philadelphia or the many Summer resorts,
 was as absurd as it was demoralizing and
 injurious to the public service. The h.
 terior Department feeling the indignity
 put upon it by this useless and irrespon-
 sible body of men whose chief merit con.
 sisted in the "cheek" of its members
 regarding themselves more honest than
 legally responsible men, decided to break
 it down and succeeded. The method by
 which it was killed of, was in so amend
 ing the laws as to bring its members to 8
 sense of official responsibility and pro-
 priety, and they preferred private life te
 such a just position, and so resigned in
 body about June l. The very fact that
 they preferred to resign than to hold
 proper place and in connection with the
 proper and responsible officers of the h.
 terior Department, is ample proof of their
 utter unworthiness for the office they
 held. The press generally speaks of their
 resignation as the most appropriate act of their official career. The Washing
 ton Chronicle regards the commission a
 "useless appendage" and "their resign
 "ing their best official act" Under the caption of "a good riddance," the Ma tional Republican of Washington, June s, pays its respects to the departed as fol- lows:
 The Indian peace commissioners have rendered their resignation to the President in card which indulges in an uncalled for fling at the Interior Department. These commissioners have of late been consid- cred useless appendage, and the country will not regret the step they have taken. So long as they were content to act as an advisory board they rendered service often useful and certainly not objectionable, but since they have been striving for independ- ent powers and to supersede the Interior Department and the Indian Bureau, they have been rather detriment than an ad- vantage to the Indian service. They com plain because, in the Indian appropriation bill for the ensuing fiscal year, it provided that they shall comply with all the duties imposed upon them by existing law" and that they shall examine vouchers for the expenditures of the Indian Bureau in this city, instead of making it necessary to send these vouchers all over the country, as hitherto. We hear of instances in which vouchers have, in the summer been sent from watering place to watering place in search of the wandering commissioners, who evidently do not care enough for the Indian to deny themselves any pleasure. l Contractors have been kept out of their money and the Government credit has been seriously impaired by the delays which these high-toned commissioners have indulged in, and it is not too much to assert that while they may have insti- | tuted some reforms, they have at times | greatly embarrassed the officers of the government in the control of Indian af- | fairs.
 They have retired none too soon if they | hold the opinion. as is intimated in their | card, that as body of irresponsible men, | however respectable and dignified they should have had powers superior to those | of Department or bureau officers, bonded | and amenable to law. General Garfield l aptly said, in his speech upon the Indian | bill, that no high officers of the govern ment, having any spirit of self-respect, | would submit to be subordinate and in- ferior to such an outside and irregular | board or committee.