Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1885-08-05

lie And His Policy Responsible For the Scar
dals and Troubles Prevailing,

lie And His Policy Responsible For the Scan
dais and Troubles Prevailing.
From Senator Dawes N. Y. Tribune Letter.
The late administration of the interior de-
partment is as much responsible for the pres
ent demoralized and deplorable condition of
affairs on the leased Indian reservations as
If II had directly set about producing II. That
department is the responsible author of it, |
files are full of the evidence. When scat
tlemen" first came to that department for |
permission TO lease Indian lands, they were |
refused that permission and were forbidden |
TO erect q rod Of fence or appropriate an
acre OF these lands. Strong and convincing
reasons for this position were at the time put
upon the public records and remain there
still. 1t was not long, however, before a
change in this respect came over the interior
department. 1t was announced in printed
letter and addressed to one of these cattlemen
who was seeking In an open and honorable
way to obtain ratification of one OF these
leases by the secretary. This man was told
that while the department had no authority
under existing laws to ratify these leases,
there was nothing illegal In them, and the
department considered them highly advan-
tageous to the Indians. 1t would not there
| fore interfere to prevent the Indians leasing
| their lands to the cattlemen, and would, so
long as there was no complaint on the part
| of the Indians, keep every other outsider off
the lands so leased. Itwould permit but not
| approve This sletter became circular printed
| and distributed among the cattlemen, and
| was the authority and guide under which all
| the leases have been made. Under il there
came TO be a scramble for these leases, and
| the terms of rental in them all were 30 fixed
| AZ TO become most attractive TO the Indians.
| The enormous profits made on cattle ranges
caused every one already I'm the business
and everyone on the make who could COM
mand capital, TO rush wildly in to secure
| every possible acre of these lands under this
shutting g-its-eyes policy of the interior de-
| partment All the leases provided for the
distribution of the rental per capita among
the Indians This paltry rental of one and
two cents an acre covering millions OF acres
was sufficient to make the Indians crazy to
agree to the leases. And thus, In an incred-
IDLY short time almost every available acre OF
Indian lands capable OF grazing Texas steer
has gone under these leases over which the
interior department would assume no control
and for which 1t ostentatiously sloughed of
all responsibility.
The law seemed to everybody else plain
enough. 1t had put all the Indians and theiI
lands under the control or the interior dc
partment IL had declared all contracts with
Indians void unless approved by the secre
tary, and required all money derived from
the use of their lands to be paid into the
treasury to be appropriated for their benef
as Congress should direct Yet here was
secretary standing on the border of proclaim
ing to cattlemen and capitalists treating witt
wild blanketIndians: ~ will neither ap
: prove nor disapprovo your contracts.
think they are good thing. Make such a
! | you please and i will keep peverybody else of
while you occupy the lands. But / will no
: he responsibler' Even the man who guard
ed the clothes of those who stoned the mar
y tyr stephen had sense enough to acknowl
! edge his responsibility.
4 The consequences Of this illegal ant
Illogical policy of asserting indifference ar
now apparent and deplorable. While
was going on it demoralized the whole In
. dian service and unloosed all notions of Off
y cial responsibility and devotion TO the publ
; service on the part of those who came in con
tact with it The cattlemen, left by the dc
: partment to make such terms with the In
' dians as they pleased, could always max
> better ones when the officials on the reserys
u tons were on their side, and the official
were always on the side of their best friends
" 1t was not long before the craze to be cattle
u men and lessees, at least to have som
relative inside the pale, became an epidemi,
. and commissions in the public service wer
made cover for negotiations, and at Tn
> same time passport to the most temptn
alliances. In the absence of all control owe
q the leases by the department after they wer
made, the Indians on the one side, and tn
u lessees on the other, were left to enforce thei
!, mutual agreements ~ best they could. Th
. Indian and the cowboy, each with his griey
= | ance, went forth and established their ow
court for the redress OF their wrong, whil
>, the secretary folded his arms and shut hi
II eyes.