Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-11-22
A REMARKABLE REPORT.
Indian Self-Govcrnment Declared to
be a Failure.

De Failure.
The commission. of which ex-senator
Dawes of Massachusetts Is chairman has
filed, with the Secretary of the Interior a
report recommending that the so-calIed
governments of the five civilized nations in
the Indian territory. so far as they claim to
he distinct nationaiities. and so far as they
assume to exercise. and do exercise, indie
pendent sovereignty. be destroyed by the
United States government, and that the In
dams. who comprise those several so-called
nationalities, BE treated by the general
government as Individuals. as justice
shall requre.ss The report proposes that
the United States shall abrogate the Urea
ties" which these Five Nations claim to
have entered INTO with the United States
as independent natfonalities, whatever may
be the views, or wishes, of these several
nations or their individual members.
The Indians Best Friend.
Mr. Dawes is the best friend the Indians
have ever hadin Congress He represented
for more than a quarter OF a century In the
two houses OF Congress what practical
western men have pleased TO call the ''sen-
timental side'T Of the Indian question. The
reasons for this change are not set forth at
length in the synopsis of the report which
the Secretary rof the Interior permitted to
be given to the public. 1t said that the fun
report. when it shall be sent to Congress,
Will be found to contain startling dis
closures of the failure Of these five tribes
in their attempt at Self-government, or the
reign of lawlessness, of robbery, Of absence
of protection for life and property and or
the degradation and abuse of the great
majority of the Indians by petty OIL
garchy of shrewd, avaracious and corrupt
white men, who, in the name of the several
Indian nationalities, practically dominate
the Indian territory, and have, even In the
A.. ,lN,r, % Dc Want
commission, in effect, defied the United
States.
Perverted q Rich Trust.
The report concludes as follows: THE
United States put the title to domain
of countless wealth and unmeasured re-
sources in these several tribes or nation
alities, but it was a conveyance in trust
for specific uses, clearly Indicated in the
treaties themselves and for no other pur-
pose. 1t was for the use and enjoyment
in common of each and every citizen of
his tribe of each and every part of the
territory, thus tersely expressed in one Of
the treaties: To be held in common, SO
that each and every member OF either
tribe shall have an equal undivided interest
in the whole The tribes can make no
ether of 1t. They have no power to
grant it to any one. OF to grant to any one
an exclusive use of any portion of 1t.
These tribal governments have who'll
ly perverted their high trust, and it is
the plain duty of the United States to en-
force the trust it has so created and re-
cover for it's original uses the domain and
all the gains derived from the perversion
of the trust, or discharge the trustee.
1.-THE United States also granted to these
tribes the power of Self-goyernment not
to conflict with the Constitution. They
have demonstrated their incapacity to so
govern themselves, and no higher duty can
rest upon the government that granted
this authority than to revoke it when it
has so lamentably failed"