St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-03-15
AS TOLD AT ASHLAND.
Agent Gregory's Actions De-
Tended by Friends at
Home.
An Entirely Different Phase
Put Upon the Whole
Matter.
The Charges Dissected in a
Pointed and Pithy Man
ner.
General Northwest News
Gathered by Globe Cor
respondents.

Special to the Globe.
ASHLAND, Wis, March 14.-While
Thad Pound and Senator Chandler's
committee are threshing tall timber
upon the Indian reservations Of the
Northwest in search of grains of eyi-
dence to prove the maladministratlOn of
Indian affairs by Agent Gregory of this
city, that gentleman has been enjoying
the pleasures of a Southern winter eli
mate with brief vacation from the
onerous duties of his office. The public
is surfeited with daily rehash of what
Washington politicians and claim agents
hope to prove the disgrace of Mr.. Greg
ory and the confusion of Coils. Villas
and Knight, and may be interested i'll
knowing something of the situation and
the influence which created it upon the
much-advertised reservation. The sys
tenn which it is alleged is robbing poor
but honest Lo, and wringing great
throbs of sympathy from the tender
hearts of Thad Pound and William E.
Chandler, did not originate with the
Democrats nor spring up with the pres
ent administration. 1t is legacy be-
queathed to men now in power by
Republicans, by virtue of the law passed
by Republicans and approved by Re-
publican president. Nor has the prac
tice changed in any perceptible manner
except that the Indians are now receiv-
ing about twice as much for pine as
they did when the plan was first put in
operation by the Republicans. The
law under which logging upon reserva-
tiOns is allowed was OStenSibly de-
signed to give the Indians to whom
lands had been allotted an opportunity
for employment and to realize upon the
pine upon such lands. To this end the
department ruled that
ONLY INDIANS SHOULD BE EMPLOYED
in logging operations upon the reserva-
tions. Those who undertook to comply
with the requirements found the VEN
ture disastrous to themselves for OBJ
vious and excellent reasons The pre-
disposition of the abort glneS to work
has never been marked. Assured that
no one else could be employed, the In
dians had the lOggers at their mercy and
would work day and pow-wOw three,
at their pleasure. The agent who un-
tractors greedy for pine upon one hand,
and Indians greedy for wealth upon the
other, and governmental privilege for
transactions behind both, could not eX-
ist. If Wa-Sad- Wash h-Ko-Gi-JiGo-Kwe
upon the Lac Court d'Oreilles may sell
his pine, Old-Man-Not-Afraid Him
self upon the Kad river reservation may
also. The result is that there are not
Indians enough to bank logs which In
dians are determined to sell. The In
dians have not the capital necessary to
put the logs upon the banks, and job
bers who had would not invest it, know
ing that Indian Incidence, coupled with
governmental provisions, was likely to
sink it. The assertion telegraphed and
published broadcast that Agent Gregory
has so fashioned things as to turn all
the logs over to the Superior Lumber
company, in which Coils. Villas and
Knight are interested, is as preposter-
Gus as it is prejudiced. There are four
reservations, only one of which is ac-
cessible to the mills of the Superior
Lumber company, even by the widest
stretch of Imagination in the city Of
magnificent distances. The cut of logs
upon the reservations the present
season will aggregate about 100000, 600
feet. The capacity of the Superior COM
pany's mill is about 25,00O,0O0 feet.
Further, the Superior Lumber company
IS NOT INTERESTED
or engaged in logging upon the reserva-
tionS, nor in saving logs from them,
and has not been for two years. Agent
Gregory is absent from the city, but
your reporter received assurances from
authentic sources which were cOrrObor-
ated by the Indians, that he had never
tried to influence the Indians to sell
their pine to any lumberman, person or
firm, nor to prevent them from selling
to whomsoever they chose. So far as
the employment of white men in the
camps is concerned. there is ON file in
the agents Office letter from the de-
that only Indians should be employed
in logging so far as to authorize the en-
ployment bf white labor whenever the
inability to secure Indian labor might
jeOpardiZe the heavy capital necessarily
invested by contractors. Here it is con-
sidered trifie strange that the iniquity
of the system was not discovered while
Republicans were perfecting and prac-
ticing it and when under Agent Dur
fee, Republican, stumpage was bought
for One-half the price now paid, and
logs were bought by his partner in busi-
ness and sawed in their mill. But upon
the eve of presidential campaign the
Republican senate is prompt to make a
noisy investigation OF Democratic off
Gals carrying out the policy which the
Republicans themselves inaugurated
and handed down to their successors.