Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1875-09-15

and so informed him by telegraph. The
blankets were purchased of John Dobson, OF
Mackinaw blanket, of superior quality:
heavy, warm and serviceable; a far better
blanket, both for wear and bed covering,
than most American laborers are able To
have for themselves or their families. These
blankets are all stamped indellibly u. s. l.
D., so that there cannot be even a chance
tnat the blankets manufactured by DobSon
were not the blankets delivered to the In
dams. This requirement of stamping was
INST ma lie under that years contract, and
few of the blue blankets were injured by the
stampil process; some OF them 10 the extent
OF destroy ing the fabr c. and thus making
hole i'm the blanket of the size of the stamp
Ids is not true OF any except the blue blan-
kets, which We're only one ghth of the
whole quantity furnished that agency. ana
IL is true only of portion OF this one eighth;
how great the proportion is / have not the
Information to state, but l do not believe il
to have been large"
The commissioner then goes on to say that
froi Marsh endeavors TO hasten on the In
dian Office the offence of shielding contract
ors by false statements, and says that he
(Prof Nj J bases this charge on certain press
dispatches, and that the person who sent the
first dispatch misunderstood him 1.-THE COM
missioner), and that in regard TO this second
he knows nothing, as he was hundreds of
miles away at the time He denies that he
ever shielded Agent Saville. but that an in-
Vestigation was instituted when complaints
were made, and that the commission ex-
onerated Saville. The subsequent report OF
inspector Bevier did not alter his good opiu-
Ion OF Savllle because he found b. capable
OF violent prejudices, and because he had
been informed that he bad personal occasion
1Or the dislike and animOsity he showed
against DIR. 8. In regard to the charge that
Mccain, the contractor, had been overpaid
Slo,OOO on transportation, tie commissioner
asserts that the government is amply pro-
tected, and that Mccain, in view of the con-
troVersy about the distance from Cheyenne
TO the Red Cloud agency, offered to allow his
pay to be withheld until the real distance
was ascertatned. The Indian office caused a
measurement 10 be made and found the dis
claimed by Mccain. Not content with this
an army officer was employed TO measure
the distance, but the severity of the winter
storms prevented, and since it has not been
practicable TO re-measure 1t, although the
war department has been requested TO mea-
sure ii at an early day.
Inc commissioner earnestly denies any
unworthy motives in his treatment of the
Marsh charges, and thinks 1t strange the
professor should have kept these tales OF suf-
1erlng among the Sioux from his Great Fa-
ther from November to April. He believes
noth1ng can be meaner than to swindle an
ignorant Indian, and protests that IL has al
ways been his desire TO do them full Justice
In conclusion, he quotes from a law OF Con-
gress To show the authority of the Secretary
OF the Interior for disappearing the action Of
the Board of Indian Commissioners, and
have acknowledged it before a Congressional
committee. in regard to the approval by
the Secretary of claims dsallowed by the
board, he believed such action honorable and
entirely justifeL by the circumstances OF
each case.