The New York herald., 1876-10-05
The Indian Question.

One Of the questions sure to be asked by
ihe country as soon as the excitement OF the
elections has passed is, Who must be held
responsible fer the existing Sioux war?
Thus far no sufficient cause has been shown
for the Inauguration Of the summer cam
paign which began and ended SO ingloriously
for our arms Whatever crimes may be
charged against the Sioux tribe they are GER
tainly free from the suspicion of having vio-
lated their treaties with the Great Father at
Washington, but as much cannot be said on
the part of the white men. The statement con-
stantly put forward that the Indian is intract-
able and incapable Of civilization, is contra
dicted by the experience of our Canadian
neighbors. Across the border are tribes kind
red to those who give us SO much trouble,
and yet the Canadian people and government
manage to live at peace with them and even
subject them, like all other citizens to the
action of the civil law That we fail in deal
ing with our Indians is therefore clearly our
own fault and due to some defect in our pol
icy toward them. In the Canadian Do
minion the Indian is subjected to a
steady code of law; when he commits
crime he is punished, and when he performs
good action he is rewarded. Under the
American system this rule is reversed
Those Indians who group themselves peace
ably at the agencies and remain faithful to
the white man are, as rule, treated with in
difference and injustice. The annuities
granted to them by the generosity of the
nation are appropriated in great part
by the dishonest agents of the Indian
Ring, and the complaints of the vic
Tins, when they make any, are, as
rule, dismissed with contempt. The hostile
Indians, on the contrary, claim the tender
regard and consideration of the Indian De-
partment. Their chiefs get the richest pres
ents and to their followers are dispensed the
most liberal allowances of sugar and coffee
and other articles which, bribe the red man
to lay aside for the time being his rifle and
scalping knife.
1t is not. wonderful that under such sys-
tenn the Indians soon learn that it is their
advantage to go on the warpath at frequent
intervals. In nearly every case where the
tribes have taken up arms they have been
driven to do SO by the bad faith
of the Washington government or the
encroachments of the frontier popula-
tions. The present inglorious war is no
exception. Without any real necessity the
government sent into the Black Hills col
umn of troops under General Custer, and
the unlucky discovery of a small quantity
of gold reused the cupidity of the frontier
1afi Of a6 I'm
diately began to pour into the Black Hills
country, in violation of solemn treaty by
which the Washington government had
bound itself to secure to the Sioux forever
the Black Hills as part of their reservation.
The government in this case acted with the
duplicity which generally characterizes our
dealings with the Indians.
The intruding whites were ordered to with
draw but this measure which was due to the
honor of the nation, was never honestly carried
out. The authorities had resolved to allow
treaty which had been solemnly ratified
only year before to be violated, but did
not have the courage to accept the response
bility of doing it openly and aboveboard.
The Indians were, therefore, allowed to be-
lieve that the Great Father would not be dis
pleased at their driving out the intruding
! white men when the soldiers failed to do so !;
and so the war began by the cutting off Of the
scattered and comparatively defenceless
miners, and eliminated in the massacre of
Custer and his three hundred comrades in
arms This sacrifice of life must be blamed
to the vacillating policy of the government.
Had the Indians been made 10 understand
that the Great Father at Washington ap-
proved the acts of violence and injustice
done by the bad white men of the borders,
they would scarcely have risked inaugural
ing the war; but the indecision and
duplicity which marked the beginning of
the trouble left the poor Indian rs puzzled
about the intentions of the government as
were the people who will have to pay ever so
many millions to repair the damage done
by our laundering rulers. It has already
been announced that We are to have a winter
campaign against the Sioux in the hope that
better fortune will attend our arms. We sup
pose that something of the kind is necessary !;
but the country would also like to know
what measures are being taken to put our
Indian policy on such footing that our
Indian tribes may be rendered as harmless
as their brother red men across the border.
The secret of accomplishing this is the adop-
ton of firm and consistent policy, based
upon justice.
| The New Cab Company and tho Old
Hnckmem.
The projected cheap cab company prom
ises TO be n success. As it will suDplv a