Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1880-12-31
Secretary Schurz on the Indian Cues
ton.

That portion of the report Of Sec
rotary S,hurz which discusses the In,
dian question deserves more attention
from the press than has hitherto been
given it. We had only brief sum
mary of it by telegraph, which hardly
did justice to its comprehensive excel
lcnce. Some of the eastern news
papers attack it as wanting i'll humani-
tartan spirit toward the Indians.
Others, as the New York Herald,
treat it as new and wise departure
In our Indian policy With this last
view the people Of the west, who are
brought in contact with the Indians
will be disposed to agree, since the
secretary substitutes the suggestions Of
practical common sense for the senti-
mental palpita.ions of those who seem
to regard the Indian as superior
creature on account of his very vices
and brutalities. And yet Mr.. Schurz
T. not wanting in proper humanity.
He proposes to improve and civilize
The Indian, not to exterminate the
race. TO accomplish this it is necos-
sary to change our methods Of dealing
with the Indiansmethods which we
adopted when the conditions of the
problem were vastly different from
those which now exist. Gan the
great facts which bear on the Indian
question:" the Herald justly says,
shave been changed. Our former In
dian policy was more or less suited to
the circumstances which existed at the
time of it's adoption. But it never
worked well except for short periods
The changes in it from time to time
under the pressure of new eXigencies
have been makeshifts which the pro
gress of events soon outgrew" The
time has passed when the Indians
could live ny the chase. They must
raise crops and herds or starve. 1t is
apparent that the reservation system
under which the Indians are kerded in
common is not suited to the changed
conditions that have isolated all the
reservations from which the Indians
can no longer 60 forth to obtain sub
sistence by taking game, fish, and the
natural products of the country All
those natural sources of subsistence
are cut off. The pressure of enter
prising white settlers into the western
country has annihilated them. The
philosophy which is to govern the In
dian, like that which controls the
white mans existence, il resolving it
self rapidly into the alternative ex-
pressed in the homel} phrase, Root
hog, or die" Secretary Schurz has
the penetration 70 see that the Indians
can battle with life under the new
conditions only by dissolving their
tribal relations, abandoning the rese,-
walton system, and seeking the advant-
ages of individual property in land.
Only in this way can they be led to
methodical industry, and only in this
way can their industry be made avail
able. The Herald says again: "The
reservation policy cannot last in OPP
position to the unanimous will of the
powerful communities which are grow
Ing up in the west. Nobody p, rc,iv, $
this SO clearly as Secretary sch;,rz, be-
cause nobody Of equal intelligence has
50 carefully studied the Indian ques
ton in the light of new and emerging
facts But all rejecting men must III
timately adopt his conclusions, unless
they prefer the extinction of the In
dian tribes.
The secretary says frankly, that
when he took charge of the depart
ment over which he presides the
opinion generally prevailed that it was
Best for the Indians to be gathered to-
get fr upon a few reservations where
they could be kept out of contact with
the white population. He virtually
admits that he himself entertained
this view but more extensive obser-
walton and experience have convinced
him that it is a mistaken policy. He
sees that maintenance of the system
OF large reservations against the pres
sure OF white immigration and settle
mcnt is becoming impracticable.
Hence he urges policy which win
introduce among the Indians the vari
GUS kinds of work necessary to their
condition, which will inspire them
with 4 sense of individual response
bility through the ownership of pri-
vate property, and build up in them a
spirit of growing dependence for their
support upon their own efforts. But
in his opinion success IN these direc-
tions depends on abandonment of the
present system and the distribution of
the lands in severalty, with sale for
! the benefit of the Indians of all sur
plus lands Such policy, he argues,
will for the first time secure to them
fixed homes under protection of the
same law under which white men hold
theirs /; it will eventually open to set.
Element by white men the large tracts
OF land now belonging to the reserva
tions but not used by the Indians; il
will put the relations between tn.
whites and Indians on q now bas;s J.,