New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-05-07

trust tho soldier as implicitly as they fear him.
and they regard the civilians with whom they
deal, from whom they get everything they
want to crafty their vices or to support iifc'
who form their only medium OF communion
ton with the Great Father ut Washington,
with m intensity of hatred and contempt
which are but dimly expressed In those occa-
si0nal Outbursts Of savage elOquence with
which Red Cloud, and Spotted Tail. and others
have from time to time startled the readers OF
newspapers.
The simple explanation of tho matter is that
the army is well nigh the only refuge OF mere
decent honesty on the frontier Though almost
his sole duty is to kill Indians, or be killed by
them, the word of an officer Of the army Is
worth more to any savage chieftain than the
oath of any civilian representative Of the Gov
eminent. 1t requires no especial subtlety to
see why this is so. There is a tradition OF
honor and honesty among the officers OF the
regular service which nothing but malice will
dcny. You may explain it in any way yOu
choose. but il cannot be explained away Many
of them arc far from sanity in various as
meets. but YOU will scarcely ever find one OF
them who Is not as safe rs piece
of machinery in tho Mint in all matters
affecting the public money. One reason OF TINS
undoubtedly is that the service Is so rig1dly
systematized that stealing Is very difficult and
generation after generation OF soldiers, TccOg-
MIXING this fact have grown up honest, and go
through no struggle of temptation when in
Trusted with large amounts of funds. In this
they have an immense advantage over the
unfortunate dependents Of tho Indian Ring.
Nh II Al, -. frnu
appointed often because they are known to
have inda-rubher cOnscicnces; they work
in a system which affords only encouragement
to gross knavcIy. We have recently shown
in these columns how easy 1t Is for the
agents and traders to steal abOut half Oh
what they pretend to issue. We have no right
to be astonished at the result. The Commits
sioner of Indian Affairs plaintively admitted
the other day that he could not get honest
and capable Indian Agents for 1900 year.
Bat the Government gets officers for very llttlo
more. who are beth honest and capable, be-
cause they serve with traditions OF honor
behind them, and under circumstances where
il would be infinitely harder to commit frauds
without detection than do their duty without
reward.
The soldier has another useful instinct which
the civilian official lacks he is accustomed to
obey orders whether they are pleasant or not.
When COL Henry WAS ordered last Winter to
comb tho Black Hills for miners, he made no
question, but started of into the arctic des0la-
ton 10 do what he was told, paying the pen
atty in horrible suffering and loss OF lite and
limb among his command. This Spring the
order was renewed to Capt. Mix, and he, more
fortunate, rode a month or through track
less snowy wastes, found the miners stockade,
and brought every man into camp. Suppose
Mr. Delano had been intrustcd with this
business-how would il have been done
A Ring would have formed by instantaneous
nebular development, "my son John" and bis
friends would have arranged matters among
themselves. the local rings of Wyoming would
have been conciliatod. and before the expedition
ended, which of course would not have been
until pleasant weather, tho title to the
choicest bits of land in the territory would
have been held in itching palms, and not an
order cmanating from the Government would
have been executed. When the soldier re-
cciycs an order. his first and last thought Is to
execute it. When one of the Indian RING re-
ceives an order, he begins ninbly to calculate
what there is in it, and whether ho can make
more money by Designating 1t altogether
than he can by pretending to obey il. II the
soldier fails, he is court -martaled and ruined.
If the Ring man is caught and denounced, he
is too often vndicated by his chief; and II he
is not, he is allowed TO keep all he has stolen.