The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1875-06-16

h the 0Re9t EotOef 70 tme AmO1ane.
It is rather curious that that the
longest speech which President Grant
has ever made during his civil career,
beset, AL he nh@ been, By all sorts of
and Inducements. should
have been delivered to q few Indian
chiefs through the medium of an in
terpreter. Il shows the unpreten-
tious, practical character of the man,
as does tho speech itselfs, The Presi
deat in i simply Points opt to bis In
dian auditors the difficulties of their
retaining their present territory. in
Feonsequence of the extension of the
nearly surrounding white communi-
ties. and the expediency of their re-
moval to .site better adapted TO their
ted to facilitate their adoption OF civ
liked habits. We look upon this lat
ter consideration as the real point of
importance in this Indian question,
and we have no doubt that it reveals
the animating motive of the Presi-
dents speech, with all its kindly and
unusually earnest tone.
It is very obvious that there must
soon be an end to the old fashioned
Indian policy That was based upon
the idea that, besides this nation of
ours, known as the United States,
there were several other. native ma
tions. having right to the soil, with
tribal governments of their own, and
a certain kind of barbaric sovereignty,
which our Government respected
when it was convenient, and allowed
its officials to fatter at all times.
Hence treaties, conferences and dele
cations, with any amount of formality,
red paint and feathers. 1t is not to
be denied that all this may have once
been necessary, as it was natural un-
der the circumstances of our early his
tory. But il could not be kept up.
Causes were at work bringing our de
verse national elements into some sort
Of civil unity. OF. the three great
classes outlined with sufficient clear
ness in the Constitution as free per-
sons, Indians not taxed, and all other
persons Slaves, the latter were oblit-
Grated by the war, and everything is
now powerfully tending to bring the
Indian as nearly as possible within
the pale of citizenship. Glasses are
obnoxious tu republic, which nat
urally runs to uniformity Of laws and
equality of rights. If the Indians,
like the negroes, can be made into cit
izene, it is for the interest of all that
they should be made SO as soon as
possible. .of
All the circumstance of their con-
dition point to the same end. There
will soon be no part of the soil of our
continent where the Indian tribes can
have the immunity required by their
normal habits. The territory needed
to support a thousand Indian hunters
and their families would maintain a
million of white people. We have
land enough, but we have none to
waste on bar bar0us modes. 1t is not
expedient, aud it is hardly possible,
to check the free flow of westward
emigration. The attempt to do SO. in
order to guard large Indian reserva-
tions spread over the frontier. would
cause far more trouble than would
Systematic effort to induce the Indians
to conform to civilized modes of life,
when once they had become convinc-
ed that the infiexible policy of the
Government had been fixed in that
direction The example of the Creeks
and Cherokees shows that the Indians
are capable Of civilization in the mass,
and probably some Of the tribes might
advance much faster than these If
pains were taken to surround them
with the best conditions We hope
that the Sioux chiefs now in Wash
ington will voluntarily, by accepting
the proposition made by the Presi-
dent, put their people in the train of
this great improvement, which is sim
ply the alternative of their ultimate
extinct Journal
The s.Prefe..er % the Rreakfast Ta-
a blo~ Speaks His Mind.