New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1878-01-30
Indian Affairs .

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23.-The following cor
respondence has passed between j. @. Smith,
late Commissioner Of Indian Affairs, and
Gen. Sherman the former addressing let
ter, in view Of certain statements contained
in the report of the Board of Inquiry into
the affairs of the Indian Bureau:
WASHINGTON, Jan. %, 1878,
To Gen. w. T. Sherman, .e~syes.s.-,e-.
ID, DEAR S1R:-Having had frequent occasion to
consult you during my recent administration
of the affairs of the Indian Bureau in regard to
the duties I called upon to perform,
and knowing that you have had for many
years past peculiar facilities Of obtaining
through acquaintance with the conduct of our
Indian business, [ respectfully request to be
informed whether, in your Judgment, .1ny man
agement of that branch of the public service
was jealous, intelligent economical, and eff
Gent, and how it compares in these respects
with previous administrations. 1 will thank
you, ALSO to state, if yon can, what opinion is
entertained on the same subject by Gen. Sher-
idan and other officers of the army familiar
with Indian affairs and on whose Judgment
you place confidence. $500 -
Very respectfully, ..f5
THE REPLY. !HsJsa
HEADQUARTERS ARMY UNITED STATES,
5ts5i' WASHINGTON, Jan. %.
Hon. J. @. Smith. t4ttss eA
MY DEAR SIR: have the honor to acknowl-
edge the receipt Of your letter Of the 23d, and
take great pleasure in assuring you that your
administration of affairs Of the Indian bureau
was most satisfactory to me- to Gen.
Sherman, and to army officers generally. The
moment you were installed in Office. you put
yourself in friendly official relation to myself
and through me to army officers serving on the
frontier near many Indian agencies, whereby
you secured their hearty cooperation of your
most difficult Office q Els IS
believe your administration Of the Indian
bureau most successful of any in the past
ten years, and know from present observation
that you were always most active, jealous, and,
I had supposed, successful in the discharge
of its duties ! am certain that
it economical, though unable to form an opin-
ion on this head as I had often explained to
you the great difficulty Of the administration
Of the Indian bureau arose from the fact that
each tribe needed special treatment ac-
cording to its past history, and existing
prejudices and absolute impossibility of con-
trolling them from Washington. The commits
sioner, also restricted by specific appropria77
tions could not make issues Of provisions and
stores to meet the claims Of the day, and the
consequence was that disorders resulted from
starvation and distress which the commissioner
could not relieve. 18TH
am sure your feelings always prompted you
to be just and LIBERAL but you could not exceed
or change existing affairs, without violating
law; but as to your wasting public money OF
property / do not believe such thing possible.
[ assure you Of my great personal and official
respect, and feel sure that the more your acts
are examined the more reason you and your
friends have to be satisfied.
With respect, your friend and servant,
flG Aal w. T. SHERMAN,
a General U. s. A.