Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1878-12-12
The Indian Transfer.

WAsH1SaroN, Dec. 6.-The joint commission
considering the transfer of the Indian bureau
to the war department., heard Secretary Schurz
to-day. He disclaimed any personal desire to
retain the control of the Indian service under
the interior department.. No branch of the de-
partment's business is SO troublesome and
thankless. He thought the Indians entitled to
humane treatment, and that could only be ten
dered through processes of civilization, educa
ton and kind treatment. This the military
were not fitted to promote. The secretary
quoted from the report Of the Sioux commits
sion, signed by Generals Sherman, Terry, Augur
and others, setting forth in effect that if peace
with the Indians was required. the management
of their affairs should be placed under a civil
department of the government. Now agree
with these gentlemen on this point. There
are great many officers of the army
who have excellent ideas about Indian affairs,
but it is another thing to bring it into practi-
cal effect. The military men of the govern
ment he did not consider gifted with the pa
tient labor required to
PLACE THE HOE IN AN INDIANS HAND
and teach him to use it. He denied very EN-.
phatically that the red tape system Of report
ing Indian outbreaks, which had been asserted
was required under the present administration
of Indian affairs. Whenever case arises where
prompt action is necessary he in person COM
municates with the secretary of the war or gen.
eral of the army, as the case may be, thereby
causing but very few hours delay in perfecting
the necessary arrangements to meet the emer-
gency, rather than months, az is intimated by
Gen. Sherman. he claimed that the demand
for the transfer of the bureau from the civil to
the military department was based upon as
symptoms rather than upon facts. History
will prove that the Indian bureau is cred
tied with Indian wars which in reality occurred
previous to its organization under civil man
agement. The cause of the majority of wars,
in his opinion, is the breaking of treaties to-
gether with :+' 80
THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF GREEDY WHITES =
upon settlements allotted the would-be peace
ful Indian. He did not believe that such
military officers as Generals Sherman, Sheridan
and others desired war, but subordinates who
had regulations to make were not 80 keen for
peace, especially with the Indian race. Army
officers the secretary said, in reply to ques-
ton by Gen. Hooker, who have been IN charge
of Indian agencies have been very faithful and
efficient. Their duties were, however, in con-
hectic n wit an unsettled state of affairs, and
not with q view to civilizing the Indians. The
secretary advised placing troublesome Indians
on reservation under martial law and Of in
creasing the number of the Indian police force
from $50 to 1000 or 400. This force was
very reliable and had rendered good service.
WAR DEPARTMENT MArAaEMENT IN oLDEN TIMEs.
He said he had read in the papers . state
ment by Gen. Marcy that when in the war de-
partment the bureau was worked smoothly,
that there was no Encouragement, and in fact,
no suspicion of any. It was in fact as he had
said, as if angels had descended upon the earth,
doing gentle manifestations among the aavages,
to lead them to higher state of well being. 1t
was easy proved this was far from being the
case. "A report of committee to the House of
Representatives made in 1912, when
the y war department had charge
of Indian affairs, charged clerks
with objectionable negligence; that accounts
showed an almost total want of method: that
accounts of expenditure were so carelessly kept
as to furnish scarcely any traces Of expenditure
of very large sums, For several years entries
were made in SO slovenly manner that the
very clerks themselves could not explain them.
There Was not single entry referring to In,
dian land, and all the records left by Indian
officers of the war department were scraps of
memoranda pencil notes, etc. To bear out bis
statement with respect hg@3;.e .i.%f@IJ. IL. IL
TO XALREAsANCr, -
he quoted from the report Of Lient. Gen.
Hitchcock and sustained the actiou Of the de-
partment in reference to the removal of the
Cherokees. The contract was made at 80 per
hesd and $4,000 SCherokees were removed, but
were C08fQeO
and paid for, making the actual payment e204,-s
276 il excess or 9103 per capita He also read
areport dated 1884, which showed the exorbi-
tant prices which Indians were charged for va
rious articles, and concluded that from all this
it would seem that the record of the war de-
partment's management Of Indian affairs was
by no means 90 clear % Gen. Marcy tried 10
make out. He WAS not going to pretend that
the civil administration was pure. No such
thing. Bat he would say theyhad ss :. "a.
g.: zskf; no SCANDAL ouUE SO RAD
e. the Cherokee affair. He alluded Is the diff
culties OF supervision Of different ,asencies,
but said many abuses that had formerly existed
were being swept avay. z With the exception of
the treasury departments prosecution Of the
Whisky ring, he did mot think that any dlepart-
ment had been moro active IN spruaecutinR it
contractors when they were once Detected.
They had, perhaps, nome fifteen or twenty nm
der prosecution nov, and osly faw veei. sao
ono Of these '-