Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-03-16
THE NATIONAL DISGRACE.

From the day when Thomas Jeffer-
son recommended that the American
Indian, despoiled of his land,
shonld be pushed farther west and
south, thus removing him from the In
fluences of civilization, to the present
moment, our treatment of the red man
has be en- q national disgrace.
When the first settlers came to our
shores they treated the Indian none
too we'll, but there was an excuse for
them. Self preservation may not be
the first law of Christianity, but 1t Is
that of nature. To preserve their own
lives it was necessary for our fore
fathers to take those of the forest saw
ages. To-day this is occasionally per
mis- lble on our frontiers, notwithstand-
ing that our advancing settlers have
the whole power of mighty nation to
back them.
What nothing cen ever justify is our
national policy, constantly and wick
edly pursued for at least three quarters
of a century, of pushing the Indian
ever ia: ther and away from what Id
feels to be his own, and from what we
have by repeated treaties declared to
be his own, to ever wilder and less
valuable aads What wonder that in
his eyes we are greedy, perfidious
wretches with no sense of honor OF
obligation to to those who are so touch
ingly called "the nations wardsP Are
not these defrauded wards justified in
thinking that treacheries are allowable
in return for the i'll treatment they can
see no end TO?
Our feelings are especially aroused
Just now by the fact that there Is an
other disgraceful bill before Congress.
.Defeated last year, it raises its kissing,
venomous head again, this year.
This time the proposed victims OF a
greed that is without a shadow of an
excuse, are the poor little remnant of
less than thousand Utes of Colorado,
located on a narrow strip of fertile land
on the southwestern edge of that
State, 10 miles long by 10 wide. When
the Utes were restricted to this small
remainder of their original range In
1850 our Government made an agree
ment with them, ratified by Congress,
that they should have full and lssting
possession of this land, with horses,
cattle, implements, mills and schools.
Not one word of these agreements
has been kept, save that the Utes have
been allowed nearly twelve years peace
full possession of lands rendered almost
useless to ,nem by the Government's
failure to provide the implements,
materials and instruction it had
promised.
Now it is proposed to remove them
still farther away from the influences
of civilization to a cold and mountain
,ous region, where game would soon
be exhausted and crops can not be ad-
vantageously raised.
But even If the Indians we're to be
removed to an earthly Paradlseit would
not make it any less fact that, as q
nation we are as dishonorable and
grasping as Great Britain has ever been
| in her treatment of weaker naIions.
And a worse accusation than this 1t
would be impossible to make.
There is even less justification for a
| Governments failure to ratlfy its agree
I .ments than for that of an individual
| National bad faith is even worse than the
bad faith of segregated men In fact as
well as in effect. Our treatment of ths
Indian question, though not without
the efforts of some magnificent men to
change its character, has been from
first to last burning dlshonor. The
! effort of every woman in the land
should be directed toward its removal.
Women can do much. There Is nothing
more worthy of their Efforts.