New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-12-03
TREATMENT or THE INDIANS.

The Secretary of the Interior in his report,
devotcs much space TO the Indians. He recon-
mcndS many changes in the government policy
toward them. lie advises that whore treaties
with them have proved impossible of fuliilment
they should be repealed. We fear that If the
non-fulflment of such treaties were taken TO
show the impossihility of carrying them ont,
very few would escape abrogation. And If the
Government is to decide what constitutes inn
practicability in these treaties an easy way will
bc found by which to get nd of the ethical diff
cutics arising from notorious and long sustained
bad faith toward the Indians. The Secretary of
the Interior holds that the Indians should be
compelled to become seif-supporting; that they
should be made 10 cultivate their reservations
when possible; that they should be made sub
iect to the laws and that the courts should be
as free to them for the protection of person and
property rs to their white nciGhbors. But he
is not altogether consistent in carrying out
this theory of sclfsuppOrt, for he observes else
where in the report that I" the practice of paying
"cash to the Indians is pcrniciOus one, for as
a general rule the money is expended for use
less, if not injurious, articles" This argument,
if il has any force at all. is just as applicable to
Indians. Everywhere are found great many
white men who "as n general rule p" spend the
cash paid to them for wages for useless if
not injurious articles" as for instance, whiskey
and beer but no political economist has yet
ycnturcd to suggest that the progress of these
th0ughtless and foolish pOplc would be more
rapid if they were not allowed to receive any
money at all, and if the Government undertook
to do their Saturday marketing for them and
invested the surplus of their wages in their in
tcrcst.
L; is indeed curious that the Secretary of the
Interior, while ostcnsibly favoiing Il policy
which would teach the Indians independence,
yet continues to recommend all manner of
economic sWaddling clothes for them. They
are to be put and kept in manual labor schools.
They are to be in some way cOerccd to adopt ag-
riculturc. They are TO be deprived of money.
They are to be subject to laws in the framing
Of which they are to have no hand. In short, they
are to be treated as children and as grown men at
one and the same time, and this is very diff
cult programme to carry ont. Some of the rec
concentrations, as for instance those IN regard
to the allotment of land among the Indians, are
sound. The Secretary might, however, have
HtNlStu INC IItSlltHl 10 Suggest 10 NOlEItSs
the prOpricty of paying the debt it owes to many
of the tribes-a debt for the accrung of which
there never was the slightest Justification and
which could be paid off now without the least
Inconvenience. He thinks it impossible to make
any treaty with the Sioux which would satisfy
them. The trouble is that they have acquired
some white mans notions of the value Of their
lands, and that they will not consent to sell
them for a song. We have been so accustomed
to get the better of the Indians in fand trades
that the moment they begin to talk like white
real estate agents we begin to think them crazy
and hOpclessly impracticable.
There has been trouble through treaty clauses
allowing Indians to hunt outside of their rcser-
vatiOns. They have naturally enough, come
into collision with st6ckmcn and settlers, and
so it seems necessary TO repeal or amend the
treaties. This, perhaps, is the effect of the rapid
settlement of the country, but it should have
been thought of when the treaties were made
Mr.. Teller thinks the Indians may DC par
TALLY civilized, but we fear that it will take n
more carefully considered and harmonious
policy to bring about that contamination de-
vOutly to- be wished In the meantime there
seems some danger that they may find them
selves deprived of their land, their treaties re-
pudatGd, and payment of the Governments debt