Arizona silver belt., 1890-04-26
MORE RED TAPE,

Senator Cockrell, of Missouri, en- deavors to antagonize the wide West by his bill, introduced April 18th, in the branch of the Federal Congress of winch he is a member. If profanity would arrest the progress of his bill and insure its not becoming 8 law, we would not hesitate to out-swear the gentleman who could not do justice to the occasion upon discovering his ash cart empty by reason of his neglect to affix the tail-board before ascending the hill to the soap factory. Many of the claims which the Senator proposes shall become a permanent source of doubt and uncertainty, like delibera- ticns of courts of cbancery, bullion returns, clean-ups at quartz mills, and lnquests," have, years ago, when times horn had fewer wrinkles than now, been investigated and approved and reported to Congress as 70. K.," and all that was necessary for Con- gress to do was to make the appro- prlation for thelr payment. That, Congress has not done, and seemingly It IS in sympathy with Cockrell in his legislative bombardment of Western men who have braved the perils of the frontier as the advanced guard of civ ilization.
 The following Washington telegram explains the provisions of the bill: Senator Cockrell to-day introduced a bill to provide for the establishment of a court to investigate claims on ac- count of Indian depredations. The President is authorized to appoint three Commissioners, who shall re- ceive $6000 year each, and sit for five years from the date of their first meeting, when the court shall be dis solved. They shall have jurisdiction over all claims against the Govern ment on account of Indian depreda- tions. Any claims may be presented for adjudication arising out of occur rences as far back as January l, 1647. and regardless of the previous action ot the Interior Department thereon"
 As we never attended Yankee guess ing school, we are unable from the dispatch to say where the six thous and dollars court is proposed to be held, but presume as remote as possi- bls from attainable witnesses, and, therefore, we. would suggest their proper place would be in hades.
 The object of such a judiciary tri- bunal should be to administer justice but not, as in this case, to delay It for years and to render litigation so ex- pensiVe as to deter claimants from pursuing just claim to a final con- clusion.
 Such court as is intended by Sen ator Cockrell is suggestive of numer- eus broods of 'gamecocks of the will derness" armed with approved rifles who, rather than depend upon the Government for redress for loss of property, will become their own arb- ters, and then there will be curses both loud and deep in Eastern evan gelical circles against Western white men who demur to being robbed by saTageS, and now that Cockrell's bill, should it become a law, will banish hope of redress, domestic traffic be- tween the whites and reds will be solely in leaden pellets. We suggest that before the Missouri Senator's idea how not to pay victims of Indians for losses incurred should become stat ntory provision, he should familiarize himself of the early history of the State he represents. He will there learn much in regard to savage devil try, which will lead to his discovery that St. Leuls was once saved from capture by the fact of its being for tiied village. Then, as now, the h. dians had their white allies.