Arizona citizen., 1879-01-11
Secretary Schurz on the Situation.

eral Carl Schurz, the Secretary of the
 interior, narrates the following conver-
 sation as having taken place:
 General, are the military officers r really desirous of adding the Indian
 Bureau to their other sponsibilities !''
 They are perfectly crazy on the
 subject" said Schurz.
 | "Why don't you let them have it
 then, and be rid of burdensome and
 thankless job%'
 Because 1 don't believe that the
 pubic 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 CherOkees from Geor-
 gia to the Arkansas, and it is a matter
 of record that it cost $7 ,000, 00,-the
 most fragrant expenditure in our his
 tory. That was considerably more
 than $100 head, although the transfer
 was comparatively easy, down the Ten
 nessee River and Ohio, and down the
 Mississippi and up the Arkansas. The
 soldier is a cavalier by avocauon. He spends money without any of the sense
 of economy which civil officers feel "I
 General" said I, I used to be of the opinion when 1 paid some attention to this subject, that the army did better for the Indians than the politicians and agents?"
 I know that view is held by very many" said the Secretary, but l don't think 1t arises from a correct knowl- edge of the facts Now, there is al notion abroad that nearly all the h. dian wars arise from defalcations orl swindles by the Indian Agents. That is not true at all. Almost all the In dian wars sprang out of the encroach- ments of whites upon the Indians country, and out of the imperfect exc cution of treaties frequently occurring through the inadvertence or ill-timed parsimony of Congress. The Sioux war of 1S52154, for example, which in its different reyivals and continuances cost fifty millions of dollars. arose from stealing one COW. The Indians found the COW rowing out of herd and killed it to make a meal. There were good many of them engaged in it, and it was no very great otfense and not committed in the spirit of mis- chief. The military overlook the In dians and demanded the COW; as the COW was in the stomachs of a score or more of them, they naturally replied: . We have no cow Then we want the man who took the cow,' said the officer. There was no man individu- ally who had done that thing. The then attempted to arrest the Indians, and a skirmish and loss of life enSued which cost the Government fifty millions"
 Have you been weeding out the Indian Agents who were here betore you came into office, NIT. Secretary ?"
 "Yes. Out of 270 have kept about one-half or a little more." (Probably l have the figures wrong here).
 MT. 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 indus l -ries, agriculture and arts 2" I
 That is the only respectable and he cheapest method we can adopt. Itl las been success often in extreme ,ases. It used to be said that the Apa- T ;hes, for example, were too wild ever q O go to work. Nevertheless they have : luietly settled down, at present raising | :rops and giving us no trouble. The [ id tribes in the Indian Territory are I lot only industrious, but, in many |, ases, rich. Even the Sioux, who were hy as the deer and prowling like the VOlf, are now carrying their own sup O dies from the Missouri River great & istances across the plains to their - Odges. We give them wagons and - ley supply the ponies and tEe team C iers. 1 suppose you know that sev- t' ral of the older tribes have large il eposils of money-many millions o lvested by the Government to their count" Il
 Do you fancy that the letters of a Ieneral Sheridan and others have been A directed against yourself" .,
 Well, Gen. Sheridan has been to IL se me, and we had very affable con- ersation. He said: General, my let 1T did not refer to you, but to things 2 hich have been done in the past by le Indian Administration Why q idn't you say that? said I. The :, eople interpret i: as meaning me, and u won't stand it" ' " MT. Secretary, were you not little tr
 disadvantage for the controversy in + Ot having made the tour of the plains ', nd looked at the Indians ?n dI mean to do that next season, K id Gen. Schurz. At the same time fl have kept myself informed on all the ., atistics and bearings on that question. "'
 am honestly of the belief that the Tar Department has no business with tll e Indians. We have to be mean n, ere in the disposition of money, and ., e whole Indian expenditure has been oi It down to about $7,000000. ID