New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-05-03
THE INDIANS GUARDIANS,

CIIARNC1 OF TIE INV BOA1pS REPORT.
Gauss oF rhn I'D BoA,p~ Il son ,TIoN-MsAr-
PRrHkNsINN Of THEIR DUuES By TIt NV
BOARD-THnIR lILEoED nc >Oar-)LD FH'UDC-
LIT sCnhMtS NOW NOr tE'I>tFp.
trRuM rnE UEGuLAK CoaKESr,Np@Nr ~ riN rHihuNf"i
WASHINGTON. May The Board Of indian Com
missioner, rcorga,izoi 5y Secretary Deaho mad"
its first aud Only report t. tho Scctery of the Into
rar .ovcri months ago. but rs IL was not at the time
WILDLY cireulatel AMI has barSly beel noticed by
tn press brief rovicw of som " ts mosi Striking
features will moi be out of pace now. when pn"uo
tenton is directed t. tbs Ila;en5lt OF the into
rior Department. and especially of Indian an lr'.
The old Board Of Com nla'ionsrs was compoSod oi
gentlemen in whom thu p'oponal great coin iehco'
They were in the ang,,l gc Of the act which author
lied their appointment, :" men q ninent f"r theh IT,
tolligenco and philAntiropy." aId tho most
serious criticism ever made upJI Their adm'h
istration was that they were too enthusiastic
in behalf of the Indian and netineS failed To give
due weight to his vices. TIcy wcro true treIis oil
the Indian and If they were shmenn'~ t"o iea'N 10
take his part against the white people OF tie loI-
tr il must be admitted that their inncnce WIN 'he
tribes they came ia contact with was always goou
and that the degree Of peace which has rr'Vaiied
upon the border dnring Con. Grants administration
has been largely the result of their iaboTs lac
members of che old COnui,snn were nor poiitlc'alS
chroue oIice-srekers jobbers: they were men MOI
only above suspi ion themselves, but vino would not
onow dishonesty to contmue, after they had discov-
cred It. without protest II is not strange therefore
that soon litter Mr. Delano brcamc Secretary of the
Interior the Board shou'd come into collision WITH
tIe Indian Burcan. Men VIII in al OH ral report
expr,ssod She belief that all Indian rlnSN can Dc
broken up. and that tho wards "i the nation VINO
have becn ~ long The victims OF greedy ana design
ing men. ought aud must bc treated III manner
worthy of the bic e,t moral obligations OF Chris
t,n Government" we're very likely to make trouble
nb0ut the Indian ireau under Con missioner i"f-
ker Secret contracts for transports tion gwen 10 uh
successful bidders aftor puhlic composition hal bccn
invited seem 10 have been among the f'S canScs OF
misunderstanding between the Commission and the
Department. and these were followed by others nn
ill the disagreement oulminatol ia the rosgnation
in June last of the chairman and five other members
of the Board ThIs opened the way for tho appoint
ment of a new Board, which will continue IN ONCE
until the end Of the present II zeal year. Congress
having failed pass tho necessary Legislation 10 pre-
vent it from expiring at that time
I'll. NEw Bp,RD's REPORT.
Asa majority of he new Board generally he
loved to le in sympathy with the khg' anu NeiA
few of them are " eminent for thor Intelligence shd
nbilanthropy." it ia especially fitting that they
Secretary of the Interior" instead of the President
no d;d tb,ir predecessors This simple incident
seem, 10 show that the Board has entirciy mis-
opnrebeoded The object for whita It was created
Nv lLs act of April 10. 1861, the COMMISSIONERS
were under the direction of the President IA eNer-
else Joint control with the Secretary Ut the lhtero
over the disbursement of the Appropriations mWe
10 maintain peace and promote civilization among
the Indians They were appointed because the poo
pie had lost faith in the ability OF the Interior De-
partnent unaided, to accomplish what the law con-
tefnpated. The Subsequent legislation OF 1870 d.
rcctiDg tho Commissioners to supervise all expend-
iures of money appropriated for tho beneit OF the
Indians and requiring tn Secretary of the Interior
10 consult with them in making purchases shows
that Congress had a. little oonf1encs III the honesty
oC the administration Of Indian afIrs 1t had IN
te ability of the Department to cvIlzo the slvageS
The old ComIn- sioners were, therefore, tho equals
Of the Secretary of the Interior as far as their duties
extended the Commissioners. by aldrcslng
their report to Mr Delaao acknowledged themselves
to DO his sab0rdiBates.
The omission of all reference, except n very re-
mote one. to the resignation of thu Old Hoard IL
probably prompted by very delicate regard, on the
part of the present Commission, Tor the oiinvs OF
Secretary Delano. But if the new Com'nis'io'e r~
have nothing to say about the changes in the Board
members and the Secretary Of the Interior they do
not allow AN opportunity to pass to criticise its
policy On the Grst page of the report occurs thu
following paragraph:
During the previous years. on the recomDen iation "i
tie then chairman this Board, the experiment was
made NJ removing the larger sselcIr Of the eat
Sioux atom into the nterir OF tSer reservation about
100 mlfs distant tho nearest military post The
,.rIRent WIS mado the beif that, by the removal
" what was regarded by Indians standing mon
ace IN The pfeseBce Of military force their gs"i fHith
could BE- relied for the execution Of the treaty stipu-
tons enteI-d into 10y Them with the Government II wa
not followed by II successful result
This is u deliberate attempt to throw upon the
former Chairman Of the Board the responsibility for
n blunder in Indian poIicy-if blundrr it was-Inade
by the Department itself The experiment WA not
NJ Brunots nor was 1t falrrc, so far as the In
dams wero concerned 1t has been the profcsscd OBJ
ject Of the Government to get these Indians away
from the Platte and Missouri Rivers ever since Rcd
Cloud and slottcd Tail first consented TO remain on
reservations. Ihis is shown by letter of nstruc
tions addressed by Commissioner Parker tn Messrs.
Brunot and Campbell, Ang IL, 1870, which 1t is not
Necessary to quote which fixes tho responsibility
for the whole policy criticised upon the Interior De-
partmsnt and the Indian Bureau. Tho failure Of the
indans to observe strictly their part "f The treaty
stiplatious arose FROM the very general dssatsfac
ton which existed among them as to the manner In
which the Government agents were performing their
duties Dnring the year 1873 n report was made "
rho Board of Ind al Commissioners which showed
that the sioux got only about 100 pounds of beef out
81 every 900 pounds which the Government pur-
chased for them. and tho Secretary OF tho Interior
was warned early in 1874 that the agents at the Rcd