Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-20
INJUSTICE TO INDIANS.
Com M ISIS Toner Jones on the Outbreak
of the CEippeyas.

The annual report of the commissioner
of Indian affairs William A. Jones, is a
severe arraignment of white injustice to-
ward the Indians. He says regarding the
Chippewa outbreak of last autumn:
For many years Chippewas have been
arrested and taken from their homes to
st. Paul and other points as witnesses or
offenders chiefly in whisky cases. Often
wholesale arrests have been made solely
for the fees which would accrue to the
officials. Indians have been helped to OBJ
tain whisky by the very ones who arrested
them for using Ii. In some cases Indians
carried off to court have been left to get
back home as best they could. The whole
matter of arrests by deputy marshals had
come to be 4 farce. a fraud and a hard
ship to the Chippewas and a disgrace to
the con munity.
But neither does this by itself explain
the outbreak. When delegation of Chip
pswas visited Washington last winter their
most bitter complaint was about injustice
in the use of their funds and frauds in the
disposition of their timber. Without going
into details it is sufficient to say that in
1882 the Chippewas We're with difficulty IN
duCed to Cede to the United States large
tracts of valuable pine lands on the repre-
Sentauon that the sale of the pine would
bring them in a fund of several million
dollars. As is always the case, many IN
dams were utterly opposed to the ncgo-
tiatiOnS. commission was appointed to
make alotmentS on ceded and reservation
lands and to secure removals to WHITE
Earth of those who We're willing to go
there. EStimators We're appointed to APP
praise the Chippewa pine. The expense OF
both is charged to the fund of the In
dams. The expense of the commission up
to date has been not less than S2t9.Wh.
most of it in salaries. The work of the
estimators proved worthless, and a second
SEE of estimatOrs was appointed with no
better results, and a third set of men as
signed to the work. Up to date about $2S).-
ono has been charged to the Indians for
estimating. Meantime large tracts of pine
which had been estimated at from one
fourth to onC-half their value were sold.
and that loss also fell upon the Indians.
Again. under authority to dispose of dead
and down timber, contractors have cur
large quantities of green standing TIMBER.
There are also strong indications that CON
siderable timber was fired to bring 1t nonl-
nally under the head of dead timber
This was another loss to the Indians.
An these and other minor influences
wrought together to produce the general
feeling Of oppression and distruSt and eX-
ASPIRATION which found expression when
the arrests We're undertaken by the aid OF
military force.
There are now 20 30 boys and girls in at
tendance on the various Indian schools
out of an enrolment of over 2jGh, the
Indian population from which these are
taken being IS1.Ea. While the population
has remained stationary there has been
Indians being educated as to warrant the
opinion that the next quarter century Will
witness not a dminution of the lndldh
population. but an extinguishment of In
dian tribes.
There are 1852 employees in the Indian
service and the policy is to employ Indians
in every position TO which they are adapted
by nature and education.
4 thorough investigation Of the Semi
noles I'm Florida has resulted in the dis
continuance of the offices of industrial
teacher and other employees and no school
will be established for them at present.
The real and faneied wrongs emb.ttered
them against governmental assistance
Concerning the Indian territory, the re
port severely arraigns nepotism, lack OF
management demoralz5d conditions and
depIorable state Of affairs generally In ad-
ministering the schools and orphan asy-
lums of the five Indian nations. out OF
twenty-one boarding schools, not more
than four of the superintcndents are re-
ported competent To teach the ordinary
English branches and financial misman-
agement is especially complained Of