New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-05-19
No UHITEU ISHING.

NO WHITEUISHING.
We take leave to say to the Hon. Columbus
Delano, Secretary of the Interior, that in the
investigation which he has undertaken, of the
frauds in his own department, which he pro-
poses to have carried on by Il commission Of
his own selection, il will be well to be a little
careful about making the objects of the inves-
tgation too transparent. We observe that the
Administrations special organ in Washington
in recent article on the subject intmatcs
that the Secretary is not responsible for the
abuses which may exist i'll the details of the
department business, since he is not " in the
habit of distributing rations of cOrned
beef, rump steaks and hard tack
"with his own hands TO each individual
"agg1eved Indian on the plains" But it has
been generally understood, We believe, that the
Head OF u Department has some measure of
responsibility for thc administration of affairs
in his department., and that when there are
charges OF corruption and robbery against his
subOrdinatcs, il does not look well to begin an
inquiry into them with an insult or sheer at
/ the person through whose COMMUNICATIONS the
exposures are made. If the Secretary of the
! Interior was not himself hit in Prof. Marsh'S
exposures Of the frauds in the Indian Depart
ment, lie certainly made the public believe he
was, by his strangely wordcd letter asking one
set of his own appOntces to appoint COM
mitlce to investigate the charges against an
/ other set. And even if that were not suf-
Gcent to disclose the Gninus of the Secretary
against gentleman whose only Oifcnsc
was communicating directly to the President
a.. hat Ia, had -nI
/ the Indian chiefs he would the temper of
I this supcrserviceable defender of Mr.. Dclano
in treating the subject leaves no doubt III the
matter For Mr. Deano's defense, in the arti-
Gle referred to, is accompanied by nearly a
column of very gross personal abuse and very
low black guardism of Prof. Marsh.
Our readers are familiar with the facts.
| Prof. Marsh has been drawn into this contro-
versy with Secretary DclanO and the Indian
Ring by his promise to Red Cloud to commu-
nicate his complaints to the Great Father.
This promise was the condition upon which
Red Cloud gave the Professor and his party
permission to explore the Bad Lands for fos-
sis. Ii was fulfilled modcstly and quietly, and
the Professors communications with the Pres
ilcnt on that subject were published in what
the Administration organ, with the finely con-
temptuous air of the pirkpockct to the
"hy cop" calls "thc Detective Press.
II was Il casual shot in wasp's nest.
everybody in the department, from the
Secretary and his sou John down to the
last Commissioner sent out to distribute IA
tions to the Teton Sioux, had been hurt. The
Secretary Immediately set on foot an inyestl-
cation OF the reports put in circulation by n
Mr. Marsh AN investigation based upon the
plan by which sometimes a lawbreaker defeats
iusticc by complaining of himself and paying
a small fine. Then came DR.. Christopher c.
Cox. in the large and lofty way of a man who
has become thoroughly acquainted with the
Indian character by having received pay as
an Indian Commissioner, and by having spent
less than week among the Indians, during
which time he " ate q shOrtcake made in the
Indian camp" which had "a certain vague slls-
L" picion of uncleanliness in the manipulation
and DR.. Cox with all this experience to speak
from, is very confident that the Professor was
imposcd upon because of his necessarily brief
"sojourn among people of whom he had little
" or no previous knowledge" And so Dr. Cox
earned his money. Doubtless he meant well.
! IL
hour in Sioux camp and have the stomach
70 partake of a shOrtcake Of Indian manufac-
turc without more than "a vague suspicion OF
uncleanness in the manipulation" would be
quite likely to witness the manipulations of the
department which employed and paid him
without even vague suspicion of uncleanli-
ness. He may be entirely honest, but rs an
expert in cleanliness of manipulation he GER
tainly does not take high rank.
Following DR.. Cox came the Hon. w. r.
Steele, the delegate from Wyoming, who with
the utmost nd,cetS remarked that he did not
appear as the defender OF the Indian Depart
ment, but only as the representative of the
"bIsiness interests" of his constituents in
which capacity, we presume, he has lowered
around Washington and New-York, attending
upon the opening of bids and awarding of con-
! tracts by the Indian Commission. Mr.. Steele
is entirely disnterested. lie remained at the
East in order TO defend the fair fame of his
constituents in case there should be any charge
of fraud in connection with furnishing Indian
supplies. The business integrity of many of
his constituents he thinks is brought into dis
rcpute by these exposures, and so he hastenS
TO say that there can be no truth in them
Very well. We are glad to hear from all
these people They show an uncommon in
tcrcst in tho cause of political purity
Us well as in tho welfare Of tho Noble Rod