Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-12-25
sCHURZ's sCREED.
Cath" Finds Out Why He Objects to the
Transfer of the Indian Bureau to the Var
Department.

<&Gatzs'' Finds Out VhU He Objects to the
Transfer of the Indian Bureau to the War.
Department.
Interview in Cincinnati Enquirer.
General, are the military officers really
des1rous of adding the Indian Bnrean to
their other responsibilities
''They are perfectly crazy on the subject -
said Sehurz
''Why don't you let them have it then, and
be rid of burdensome and thankless iob?''
Because don't believe that the public
interests will be subserved by that transfer.
The relations of the war department with
the Indians have seldom been matters of
good example. They moved the CteroBees
from Georgia to the Arkansas, and it is a
matter of record that 1t cost ST, ooo, Co.,
the most t1agrant expenditure in our history.
That was considerably more than 300 a
head, although the transfer was compare
lively easy, down the Tennessee and Ohio,
and down the Mississippi and up the Ar
kansas. The soldier is cavalier by avoca-
ton. He spends money without any of the
sense of economy which civil officers feel
SGT neral, said I, II used to be of the
opinion when paid some attention to this
subject, that the army did better for the
Indians than the politicians and agents?''
81 know this view is held by very MANY
said the secretary, "ont l don't think it
arises from correct knowledge of the facts.
Now, there is notion abroad that nearly all
the Indian wars arise from defalcations or
sW1ndles by the Indian agents. That is not
true at all. Almost all the Indian wars
sPrang out of encroachments of whites upon
the Indians country, and out of the imper-
fect execution of treaties frequently occur
ring through the inadyertence or ill-timed
parslmony of Congress. The Sioux war of
1924, for example, which in its different
revlvals and continuances cost S5O,OOO,OOO.
arose from stealing one cow. The Indians
found the COW rowing out of herd
and killed it to make a meal.
There were a good many of
them engaged in it, and it was no very great
oifense and not committed in the spirit of
mischief. The military overlook the Indians
and demanded the COW: as the COW was in
the stomachs of score or more of them,
they naturally replied: 'We have no cow
linen we want the man who took the COW ,
said the officer. There was no man indi-
vldually who had done that thing. The
military then attempted to arrest the Indians,
and a skirmish and loss Of life ensued which
cost the government fifty Millions
"Have you been wedding out the Indian
agents who were here before you came into
Office, Mr.. Secretary"
eyes. Out of 270 / have kept about one
half or little more" probably have the
figures wrong here).
"Mr. Secretary, is it your decided belief
that the true method to deal with the Indians
is to keep on at the slow process of teaching
them industries, agriculture, and arts?''
"Ihat is the only respectable and the
cheapest method we can adopt. 1t has been
success often in extreme cases. 1t used to
be said that the Apaches, for example, were
too wild ever to go to work. Nevertheless
they have quietly settled down, at present
raising crops and giving us no trouble. The
old tribes in the Indian Territory are not
only industrious, but, in many cases, rich.
Even the Sioux, who were shy as the deer
and prowling like the wolf, are now carrying
their own supplies from the Missouri river
great distances across the plains to their
lodges. We give them wagons and they sup
ply the ponies and the Transfers. l suppose
you know that several of the older tribes
have large deposits of money-many mil
lions-invested by the government to their
ccount ,,