The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-09-10

acrimony. The Professor had been here nearly two
weeks under these circumstances without calling
the Secretary of the Interior between whom and him
self there then no personal acquaintance,
but who naturally felt that the head of
the department no was entitled TO such
Information relative to the Red Cloud Agency as
Professor Marsh in possession Of The Secretary
at length resolved to have his charges investigated and
wishing to select able and impartial commission and
desiring to have the persons appointed
as to prevent the charge Partially incompetence
he requested tho Board OF Indian Commissioners
to name for appointment three persons qualified to
make the investigation The Board of Indian Commits
soners consists Of ten eminent citizens selected by the
President under an act OF Congress advise with tho
Secretary in reference to Indian affairs supervise tho
lettings or goods and supplies and all the accounts
and contracts growing out OF the Indian service.
How the Secretary could have proceeded with greater
evidence OF candor and fairness it is difficult to see
but in doing this he seems to have given
offence to Professor Marsh and his friends
Not knowing Professor Marsh personally and he hav-
ing entirely ignored the head of the department and
omitted to present to him his complaints tho
secretary saw fit to assume that a pro-
fessor OF Yale College and a gentleman
or culture and high character could hardly
be guilty of treating public officer with such dis
courtesy and on the assumption that must be some
other person than Professor Marsh he spoke of the
charges as coming from Mr. Marsh. This was a
grave and serious error and the New York Tribune
SO exalted IN its tone and methods so courteous and
dgnied in its treatment of public men, will hardly be
able to forgive this great ndecorum This request to
the Board of Indian Commissioners was on the 10th of
May last Some time after this while Professor Marsh
remained in the city, the Secretary informed of his
presence in the room where one of the councils
CT.
pointed to him before the council begun the secre
tary went to him, introduced himself and politely
asked if he would do him the favor to
and some time after did CALL and it so
happened that when he came General John
Eaton, Commissioner of Education was present and
heard the entire conversation. The Secretary then
urged the Professor to furnish him with the charges
against the Red Cloud agent assuring him of his sin
cerc desire to investigate hem and referred to his
request TO the Board of Indian Commissioners to
appoint commission for that purpose;
but the Professor refused furnish tho charges and
has the Secretary since Thus matters
stood until the Board of Indian Commissioners
designated the persons to be appointed The
delay in this designation rests entirely with
the Board and account of the
difficulty with in obtaining acceptable persons who
first reported to the Secretary finally declined to act on
the Commission. AS persons were selected by
the Board willing to serve, the Commissioner
of Indian Affairs under the direction of the
Secretary Of the Interior prepared their instructions
and wrote to Professor Marsh, requesting him fur
nsh the Indian Office the Commission all the in
formation he had touching the abuses in the
the Red Cloud Agency together with all the proofs
in his possession or to which he could refer bearing
the subject 1t would seem that distinguished SCI
enlist of the Yale College faculty, and an honorable
gentleman DESTROYS only to promote the welfare of the
public service, would have accepted this invitation and
have laid before the Commission such facts as it was
in his power to produce. Overlooking his dis
courteous treatment of the Secretary of the
Interior from the beginning, and excusng him for pre-
senting the subject to the President and the public
through the columns of unfriendly paper it is
still more amazing that he should fail present his
case to the persons selected to make the in
vestigation Let what he did He prepared or
caused to be prepared, probably in the sfce of the
Tribune certainly under its auspices advice and
inspiration entirely set of charges from those
originally made, charges which he to have been
gathering from all accessible sources whether
such sources were friendly or hostile, reputable
dsreputable many of which were but repetitions of
thrice refuted statements made by dshonorable men
for sinister purposes He embodies these charges in
two letters to the President long to cover one en-
tire page of the New York Tribune They appeared in
that paper before the President had seen them Mark
that up to the time of their publication in the
Tribune they had never been sent to the Indian
Office to the Secretary, to the President to the Com
mission appointed to make the investigation, but they
first appear in public print whose constant aim is to
create public sentiment hostile to the admins
tration and they thus disseminated TO the coun
try, without explanation and without an opportunity
to explain. Tho insinuaton that the Commissioners
appointed are not the right sort of men, is char
acterstic of the journal that has manufactured
fomented and circulated, all the attacks of Pro-
fessor Marsh 1t is not the place hero to
inquire whether this last card of the
Tribune played in order to secure an object it has
long sought to obtain namely, the injury of the Secre-
tary of the Interior There will be time hereafter to
inquire into this matter but justice Professor Marsh
TO the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and
to the Interior Department requires that tho
public should know substantially the history of these
charges in order least that erroneous differences
may be drawn before the real facts by the
gentlemen appointed to make the investigation.
STATEMENT PROFESSOR MARSH
The following is Professor q. c. Marsh's statement
made to the Indian Investigating Committee
Mr. CHAIRMAN-In addition to what the Commission
may desire to have say about special matters relat
ing to investigation have short statement make
of a somewhat personal character, which regard as
important desire to make it at such time as the
Commission disposed to hear it. 1t affects
the Commission well myself and 1
should prefer to give it now, but will
most cheerfuIly comply with the wishes OF the
Commission. The Commission having expressed
wish to hear the statement Professor Marsh proceeded
as follows:-
Mr.. CHArRMAN-Since 1 met the Commission in
New York and frankly laid before you my owl
dence in regard to affairs at Red Cloud Agency
have kept perfectly quiet and published nothing
the SUBJECT directly indirectly, considering the
in your hands and awaiting with perfect confidence the
result of your investigation The Interior Department.
however, has not this, but from the very first has
kept up a constant attack upon me on account
of the matters placed in your hands to investigate.
Not only has his department printed for the instruction
of the Commission pamphlet which purports to
give the history OF my charges, but 1t has
also Insured and dictated the dcgpatchcs and