Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-09-18
THE INDIAN BUREAU.


The long standing dispute between the
interior and the wal departments as to who
shall care for the Indians, threatens to break
out in new spot. The Indian bureau is
actively engaged in collecting vast amount
of material, showing the history Of the In
dian service from the beginning under the
war department. and subsequently under the
interior departm ent up to the present time,
which is to be laid before the Congressional
committee appointed to consider the ques
ton of transferring the care of the red men
to the war department. 1t is claimed that
the facts collated are net wholly favorable to
military control of the nations wards. SUI
fcient data have been accumulated to show
that the Indian service under the army was
extravagant and unnecessarily severe, and
referring to the removal of the Cherokees
from Florida to the Indian Territory by the
army, will show that some $5,O00,0OO were
expended with little or no responsibility, the
inference being that there was gigantic
steal somewhere. The other facts from this
period, it is claimed, do not sustain the pre-
tensions of the military. The civil
branch, it is admitted, has, at
times, been far from satisfactory,
and the reports from the secret agents now
at work SHOW, at number of the agencies,
wholesale corruption on the part of officials,
who will be visited with relentless punish
ment. 1t is also proposed to show that the
principal pressure in favor of the transfer
originated with the contractors, who were
ruled out on account of Irregularities, and
are now simply using the army as catspaw
to get themselves back into power.
The committee that is to decide the ques-
ton raised of the relative merits and demer-
it's of civil and military control of the abo-
rhymes meets at st. Louis on the 25th. 1t
will doubtless view the case in its every as
pect. But one thing ought to be kept prom
inently before it: That somebody is to blame
for the present demoralized condition of
affairs. The constantly recurring outbreaks
upon the frontier are not causeless,
nor can they be attributed to the
innate cussedness of the Indian nature.
The sayages do not recklessly plunge
into wars which, to people of even their
limited intelligence, must be known to be
hopeless. They have provocation. They
have been Systematically robbed by the
agents who have been appointed to care for
their interests. heir rights to property
and life have been grossly outraged. HUI
man nature cannot be expected to endure
such gross indignities, and it is no wonder
that the savages adopt the only retaliatory
measures they can conceive of. Somebody
is responsible for these robberies and out
RACES, and that somebody must be held to a
strict accountability. If it shall be proved
that the civil administration of Indian affairs
is incapable of righting the wrongs that are
of SO frequent occurrence, the civil authority
must be superseded, no matter what intiu-
ences are brought to bear on its behalf. 1t
is claimed in the Indian Office that during
the past year many of the evils existing
have been remedied, and that the efforts in
that direction are still going on. But the
reform must be thorough. If it can be
shown that the military authorities can dis
burse the bounty of the government more
honestly, and can prevent the periodical out
breaks against the settlers, then the commit
tee must recommend that the transfer pro-
prosed be made.
The solicitude of the interior department
to retain control of the Indians is suspi-
- II
source of considerable advantage to some.
body, else there would be no incentive tc
hold on to the work. The department has
long been noted for its extravaganza and
corruption, and people generally would hal
any change as a harbinger of a more honest
administration of the affairs of the depart
ment.