Arizona weekly citizen., 1882-10-01
TELIsR,s INDIAN Po1IcY

''HNt4 NAAdA AlG hht III laNOT Ol
 punlshiDg Indians for crimes in the
 same way that white men are punished
 and of having them tried before the
 cIvll authorities for such crimes. O,
 course it woald require the enactment of
 a law by Congress before Indians could
 be so tried and punished; but NIT.
 Teller could cary out his plan of dis
 arming the Indians without any addi-
 honal authority from that body. Soon
 after receiving his appointment ard
 before his seat was well warmed in his
 new position, he made himself very
 popular with thousands of squatters
 and mining men on the Western
 frontier by his statements in favor of
 disarming Indians, but every day since
 those ststements were made his voice
 on this and other declarations on the
 Indian question have steadily grown
 weaker and weaker until the unfor-
 tunate people above referred to
 have about come to the oonclu- ''AD-- '-0t -ul. Ae4aSE tutu lhlkeU for effect, and that he dId not
 seriously contemplate disarming the Indians, but would content himself as many of his predecessors have done, and settle back in his cushioned chair n the Department of the Intenor and quietly await the announcement of ap- fnF Il | the citizens statements of massacres and tue scalping of men, women and children, which of course he will accept as exaggerated rep'rts," from merciless would-be Indian and army contractors as his predecessors have done before hm-and then be Wl.i await the more truthful and accurate report from army officers. who report only what they see and know, and as 1t Is a notorious fact Ut has been so in Arizona for the past four years thHt 1t Is very uncommon occurrence for detachment of the army to even get sight of the Indians, while the poor raucher, the miner and pros pector do not know whereof they speak. True, they are the ones who see the Indians and can report how many are on the war path. what they are doing and how many have been killed and scalped by the merciless savages, but their words are not worth anything, they are irresponsible adventurers The soldiers invariably follow cold trail, from one to three days old, and so far us any good they may do towards the sav- ing of life or property is concerned, they l might as well be in the jungles of India. 1
 NIT. Teller's latest announcement is I Hn order for the disarmament of the | Indian police. His instructions are | "that rifles are not to be taken from all | Bt once or at any particular time, but as 1 PAST as IL can be done conveniently. 1 They will be allowed to carry revolvers." Now the great objection 10 allowing 1 Indian police to carry arms, IS that they | give their ammunition away to their l brother savages and report it st as used | or lost, which in the course of a few months enables the Apache to obtain | complete stock of ammunition, when | they are ready to go on the war path.
 The Secretary says that 'the Indians zens of Washington have" We would suggest that they have no more need of | revolvers than the citizens of Washing | ton have. These Indian policemen are employed and put under charge of | citizen appointments in many cases, to do the work that belongs to the army; | which they are paid for doing. There is no use in the world ID employing | these treacherous devils in any capacity, much less in a capacity where they are thoroughly sehooled in the methods of our army | soldiery this month, to be turned loose next month to murder and scalp | at will, knowing fu I well that they do not run the least risk of being over hauled by the army which has already | furnished them with just such informa- tion as will enable them to keep them at arms length, while they enrich them selves with the hard earnings of the so-called "adventurer pioneer"
 Mir. Teller made such fine promises, and being a western man who should have some knowledge of Indians and their worthless, trescherous nature, lead the pioneers of the west to hope for change for the better in the Iudi- an Department, but 1t now looks as If we hoped in vain. General Crook, the best Indian warrior in the service, Is in command of the district of Arizona, and fl the Apaches are ever to be disarmed. the time has arrived Mir. Teller now has a chance to endear himself to the people on the frontier by renewing the policy he promulgated on taking his seat in the Cabinet, and bring peace and safety to life, and prosperity to section of Arizona that IS now living in a state of dread, with faint hopes for better days in the future.