The Press., 1886-03-18
TIE WRONGS aF TIE IApLsNs.


 and the difficulties in the way of progress. He said
 "There are great many things Icould say, but the question Is, what are the per tlnent things with reference to the object for which we have come together l could give some account of my visit among the Indians of the wonderful progrts ss I have seen, and also the difficulties and hardships, as among the mission Indians in California; my interview with Mrs. Helen Hunt Jackson few days before her death, and how these people lay upon her heart, and how her interest and prayers were all n this work; and could tell of of the condition of those Indians-a condi- tion that would appeal, not alone 10 Mrs. Jackson, but to the hardest hearted per- son you could find, unless 1t be Cali fornia land-grabber. Their condition is very sad.
 ssThe problem does not lie withIheI In dian as a physical, intellectual, or moral being The difficulty is not in the Indian. I could give illustrations of this, where Indians have had half chanca. The it. lustrations are few, will admit, but 1 could show that the difficulties do not lie with them, but in Washington they be- gan with the policy that treated the h. dian as foreigner with whom we could make treaties, and with whom we need not keep our word. They began when we left the Indian outside our institutions and the protection of our lawss with no opportunity as man, and no protection as a citizen; with no chance to take root, and no chance to show that he could do anything. Look at our treaties with the Cherokees in the south. A successful ex- ample of nulliication when the pres ident laid his hand upon nulllfcation there; when the supreme court of Georgia decided this was wrong; and when John Marshall said The president has given his decision let us see him execute 1t. We could illustrate with the Delawares, of Ohio, but there IS not time. We have torn the Indian up, and given him no l chance to take root anywhere. We have l formulated this problem in such a way that the Indian agent Is the factor in it. Dr. Rhoads refersto some agent as doing all he could to get the Indian lands in sew crafty, but that depends upon the man. When he begins to do that, he will find himself tied hand and foot he will find difficulties in Washington he can't do it. That agent has been selected and put in d position under which, if he succeeds, it will be by wonderful Providence. The present system allows the selection of an agent with no reference to the Indian whatever, but to political considerations and political rewards. l am amazed that We have so many good men as we have as Iudian agents. Congress puts an obstaclt in the way of success by granting pit. tance to a man who has to take his family leave civilization, and go out among In. dians to live. It is bid either for imbe cility or rascality; bid for man who i- not worth anything else, or for one who Sees his opportunity to cheat. If the agent be honest, he is yet tied up hand and fool if he attempts to do all the good he can. He undertakes to d. thlng, and he can do it. He reports his difficulties to Wash ington; the Indian commissioner feels tha the system ought to be reformed, and he finds that he himself is tied
 1 'tAnd so the matter comes back to mem bers of congress, who undertake 10 reform it by legislation. Well, would like tt have you undertake to secure Legislation rn regard to the Indian. There is d,ffieui ty Tn procnrlng arg fegisfatiou, bur ps- culiar ones are found here. So far as tht Indian is concerned, legislation, till quite recently, has been controlled in large measure by the greed of the western land grabber. But we have better condition of things now. If something Is to be dont in the way of legislation, and somebody introduces bill and 1t Is refarred to th' Indian committee, one side of the story i ' given, but the Indian has not been heard so that there may be security that the ob ject proposed is really good one. Th' bill is introduced, and if it does not COZ flict with any white mans interest it hal some chance to get through; but If ther, IS that antagOnlsm from any source, tn, friend who has introduced good bill find himself tied up by the rules of the house On special days, when his committee hal | the floor, and he has the. consent of tht committee of which he is 8 member tt bring forward that measure, it may b.
 aken out of the regular order by, be lleve, two-thirds vote of the house. But in the regular order, 1t is buried under fv hundred bills. Now, such a bill does no stand much chance on that one day, be cause there are railroad corporations ant moneyed men who will occupy the atten tion on that day. The legislator is ham pered, tied j; he can't do it. Where ar those bills in which we have been so inter ested? Why haven't they passed? Sim ply because there is no time for this on bill for the benefit of the Indian who Ina no voice, and few wfriends-nobody to pusl it against the interests of the white man.
 '"Then responsibility for Indian matter IS so divided that 1t rests nowhere. It i over in the treasury department, and it i not in the treasury department. It is il the Indian bureau, and it is not in the In dian bureau. It is in the department o ] justice, and it isn't there-it is somewher else. will not undertake to say how tn
 commissioner of Indian affairs makes hi 5 estimates as to money needed for the In dians, and how 1t goes to the appropria tion committee. If you take the estimate l of the Indian commissioner, and then talk the bill prepared by the house committe
 on appropriations, you will see that tn : latter take the liberty to think they kno,
 more about the Indian than the Indial commissioner himself, and they cut dow
 his estimates fearfully.
 ''In every case the estimate is cut down unless, perchance, a member of the com
 mittee comes from the state to which thi appropriation would go :; in that case, stands The committee make the report and it goes into the house. Somebod
 there concludes he knows more about than the committee, and insists upon cut ting 1t down still further.
 They know nothing about the merits C the bill, but they must make record fo economy, no matter if it cuts down int the life of the people, as 1t did two year ago in Montana, where 482 Indians, out Q a population of 8 little less than 2,0OC died in nine months. With that warnin,