Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-12-07
Indian Bureau Transfer.
VIEWS OF SECRETARY SCHURZ.


WAsH1NGToN, Dec. 6.-The Joint commission
considering the transfer of the Indian burea,
to the war department. heard Secretary Schuri
to-day. He disclaimed any personal desire tt
retain the control of the Indian service under
the interior department. No branch of the de-
partments 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-
tlon 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 required, the management
of their affairs should be placed under 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 1T is another thing to bring it into practi-
cal effect. The military men of the govern
ment ne did not consider gifted with the pa
1lent 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
nunlcates with the secretary OF the war or gen
eral of the army, as the may be, thereby
causing but very few hours delay in perfecting
the necessary arrangements to meet the emer-
gency, rather than MONTHS as 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
sumptions rather than upon facts. History
will prove that the Indian bureau is cred
tied with Indian wars which in reality occurred
previous to it's organization under civil man
agement. The cause of the majority of wars,
in his opinion is the breaking of treaties to-
gether with
THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF GREEDY WHITES
upon settlements allotted the would-be peace
full 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 so keen for
peace, especially with the Indian race. Army
officers, the secretary said, in reply to a 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-
nection with an unsettled state of affairs, and
not with a 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 450 to 1000 1900. This force was
very reliable and had rendered good service.
WAR DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT IN oLDEN TIMES.
He said he had read in the papers a state
ment by Gen. Marcy that when in the war de-
partment the bureau was worked smoothly,
chat 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 ministrations among the savages,
to lead them to higher state of well being. 1t
was easy proved this was far from being the
case. A report of a committee to the House of
Representatives. made in 1872, when
the 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
to furnish scarcely any traces of expenditure
of very large sums. For several years entries
were made in slovenly manner that the
very clerks themselves could not explain them.
There was not q 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 his
statement with respect
TO lIALFEAsANCE,
he quoted from the report of Lieut.. Gen.
Hitchcock and sustained the action of the de-
partment in reference to the removal of the
Cherokees. The contract was made at $40 per
head and 10000 Cherokees were removed, but
10000 in excess of actual number were charged
and paid for, making the actual payment $780,
276 in excess or Sl03 per capita. He also read
a report 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 so clear as Gen. Marcy tried to
make out. He was not going to pretend that
4lo nv wis trot M oh
thing. But he would say they had
NO SCANDAL QUITE so BAD
as the Cherokee affair. He alluded to the diff
culties of supervision CT different agencies,
but said many abuses that had formerly existed
were being swept away. With the exception of
the treasury departments prosecution of the
whisky ring, he did not think that any depart
ment had been more active in prosecuting its
contractors when they were once detected.
They had, perhaps, some fifteen or twenty I'M
der prosecution now, and only a few weeks ago
one of these
CONTRACTORS WAS CONVICTED.
Now he should be very slow to assert that
army offic rs, as such, had dishonest tenden-
cies. He thought the army deserved, as q
whole, it's reputation for honesty, that is tc
Say, for honest intentions. Yet it would be
absurd to say that such class, of men were in.
ture. Gen. Marcy had stated that while the
administration Of the war department cost
81, 100000, the Indian department cost SIS, O0O,
600, difference of $3,2O0,00O. Such COM
parison was absurd. The Indian business If
ls49 was nothing to what it had now be-
come. He read q statement OF thu
amount paid per 100 pounds of tbeef b,
the two departments for the Indian bureau ant
military, which showed saving of 1914 900 i,
favor of the former. Gen. Miles had state'
that the transportation of the army cost $4,
100000, while the transportation of wood
clothing, etc, for Indians only cost 1926, DOC
A glance would show that the department of tn
interior got its transportation at cheaper rates
He did not attribute any of these things
TO DISHONESTY OF THE ARMY,
but rather to their cavalier way of looking a
and dealing with things. Soldiers neve
thought of the cost of a thing if it was though
to be necessary. AS an instance he mentione
that at the close of the Sioux war there wei
about 1900 horses, ponies, and mules take
from the Indians for which COWS were to
given them and it turned out that these ponie
and mules cost $1,000 besides the COWS, an
that to sell them cost $5, 683 additional. Thi
was an instance of the cavalier way which wa
not found in the interior department.
G. G. WATKINS,
inspector Of the Indian department., followe
Secretary Schurz and opposed the transfer.
explained the mode of inspection of India
supplies. Friend Miles also gave his reason
why control of the Indians should not pass
the war department.
miscellaneous.
-FOUR PER CENTS.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6.-Subscriptions to 4 p
cent. loan, 81, 1852, 459.
POSTAL SERVICE.
Postmastmaster General Key to-day direct'