The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1879-10-30
The Indian Question.

There are usually two sides to every
question and the Indian question is no ex
ception. Frontier citizens and the mill
tary aad large number of citizens gen
orally seem to have one opinion while the
administration and few onesided human
itarians have another. The New York
Herald seems to have a stolerably clear
conception of Indian responsibility and 90
this subject says:
Every Indian war is said to be conse-
queDce of the wrongs done to Indians By
sWindiing officials.o or by the encroach ments
of irrepressible white meE who are not Off
cials, and the persons who give this account
of the origin of ludiau wars appear TO con-
slider that the wrongs done to the Indians
justify their resort to the rife and the
scalping knife But there seems to be a
want OF consideration of the proper pro-
portions of things 10 that view. Ii the
boys from a nelgnboring town or the rough
part of a city population get out into the
country and plumber q farmers orchards
or melon patches, destroy his fences and
burn his barns, it is a great outrage, an
extreme violation of his rights. But
nobody supposes that the farmer would be
justified 10 calling mp his neighbors. armed
with the shotguDs Cf the family, stealing
into town next night, setting fire to the
nearest houses and shooting down as they
ran out from the flames people who never
heard OF the orchards or of the outrage.
And if such q course pursued by farmers
would be absolutely without excuse
would be murder, for which the pretended
excuse OF the barn and the apples could
not be advanced IN any court-how is it
that invasions of the rights of Indians
by one set of persons is always presented
as an excuse and justification Of the
slaughter of thou ahds of other y. reons
IN Indian wars? Perhaps it will be Urged
that the same rules of justice and right
that govern, ur must always be supp. .sed
to govern. the relations of one set OF white
men to any other set Of white men, cannot
be applied as between white men and In
dams. IF that be the real state of the
ease-if the Indian cannot or will not com
prehend this simple justice-it is reason
Tor his determination; for then the two
races assurediy cannot live side by side
and the white race does not mean to leave
But the course OF the Indian in resorting
to the knife, rifle and torch as his in
mediate remedies-this ipfiicting the earn
age OF savage war upon settlements every
time an Indian has been insulted or hur 4
shows. Tot that the Indian does not IN
derstand the simple principles of justice. |
but that he treats us with u rigorous logic |
which we refuse to apply to him He acts |
on the Prescriptions of international law |
We are foreign nation; we have hurt |
him; some OF our citizsns-he does net |
know which. and does not care to inquire. |
lie holds the nation broadly responsible, |
and strikes at 1t wherever be can reach it. |
do order to settle up such scnres as Il t |
one now omen on the massacre uf Thor N.
burgh's men we must deal with the In Iii; q |
on the same principle. Every tribe must |
be held responsible for the acts of its
mbers. Our agents do not deal with |
the Indians as individuals They deal
with bands through their chiefs. copse |
quently they cannot know the persons or
names of the various men concerned 10 |
these murders, and cannot follow them.
But they are known in the tribe, and the |
tribe must surrender them or take upon |
itself, as unit. responsibility for their of |
fences. If every Indian war meant the |
extirpation of one tribe we should at least /
500 aur NOR, ebo ,x,1