National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1886-03-16
The Red Men.

Consideration Of the Indian appropriation
lill will be resumed by the House Of Repre-.
sentatives-and perhaps completc1-to- .
day. The debate that this measure has
called forth has attracted unusual attention
throughout the country, for there is gen
cral feeling that the cost of caring for the
Indians is too heavy, and that the progress
they are making toward self.maintCnance is
tediously slow.
But while 1t cannot be denied that large
sums are expended to support ablo-bodlcd
men and women in idleuess, and while II
seems hard that white labor should be
taxed for such a purpose, 1t is nevertheless
gratifying fact that thousands of Indians
have learned to work, and other thousands
are beginning to incline in the same drec-
tion. True, the progress IS slow, but It is n
great gain that some real, substantial
progress has been made.
1t is next to impossible for persons who
have little knowledge of the red man TO
understand how difficult II is to induce him
to work. All that there is of nature in him
cries out against work. His soul rises up
in rebellion against what he esteems u deg
radiation. Labor is as unnatural to him rs
flying is to fish. lie has to be recast,
made over again, before he becomes an in
dustrious, selfsupporting citizen. Ills bar
baric pride does not take olrense at pauper-
ism, hut 1t fires up when he is invited to
make acquaintance with the AK, the plow,
or the hoe.
And yet there are nations and tribes and
scattered remnants Of tribes who have been
made anew and are pretty good citizens.
Tie ChoGtaws, Chickasaws, Seminoles,
Creeks, and Cherolees are very reputable
ard well-Ordelcd communities, having a
! good system Of local government, churches,
schools, printing establishments, and all
the appliances Of advanced civilization. 1t
| IS believed that all the tribes, including the
| various branches of the Sioux and most Of
the Comanches and Arapahoes, are steadily
! improving.
The enormous expenditures that were
| formerly cntailed by Indian wars are no
| longer necessitated. Only few marau1ers
now break away from control and 90 out
on murderous expeditions. The leaders
| of these should be put to death at almost
any cost. They sinned away their day Of
grace long ago. Mercy to them would be
horrible cruelty to peaceful whites on the
southwestern border.
There Is much force IN the fact stated by
| Mr.. Cannon, that Congress votes more
money for the maintenance Of the Indian
| than the same number Of common white
| l0borers can earn. The fault has been
with the management. We have kept the
| Indians in i1lcness without sufficient effort
to teach them to work and push them
along toward Independence We have set
apart great tracts of land for them to roam
over like wild kings in royal parks. We
have, from the first, pcrpetrated the tre-
mendous blunder of making treaties with
these objects Of pity as If they were inde-
pendent nations. The public mind has
been deludcd with romantic nonsense, aud
the legislation Of Congress has been redo
lent Of sloppy sentimentality. All this, 1t Is
now seen, must come to an end. II there
is to be any future for the Indian, 1t must
lrd lin q self-supportlng citizen.
To this end we urge that liberal appro.
priations he made for Indian schools, so
that the children now growing up may be
taught how to earn living-taught the
honor, dignity, and necessity of work.
| MIR. Holman is IN the wrong IN his opposi-
ton TO Indian schools. To abandon them
would he TO give up all hope for the
| nlCTigiuals