The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1905-04-20

the result has been disgrace, loss, mis-
cry and lives of hate.
One of the primary causes has been
the United States court at Omaha.
The result of the management of that
court has been to make it a fee mill.
The United States marshals go up to
the Indian reservations in that county
and subpoena about twenty witnesses
in each boot Logging case and then
charge up 20 cents a mile for mile
age. It's fortune for the happy poll
ticians who get appointed as deputy
United States marshals. What makes
this a continuous, as well as a profit
able business, is that the penalties in
flicted upon those selling liquor to the
Indians are far less than it would cost
to take out regular license. That
sort of thing has been going on for a
decade or two If penalties CORE
spending to the crime had been in
flicted, the whole character Of the peO-
pie up there, both Indian and white,
would have been different, and instead
of being a disgrace to the nation in
which they live, the community would
have become upright and happy. Now
one crime presses SO close on the heels
of another that time between is like
the presidents constructive" congress
sional recess.
Anyone travelling along the line OF
railroad skirting the reservation will
always find drunken Indians in every
town from South Sioux City to Ban
croft. That has led to innumerable
crimes among which there have been
several most horrible murders. Besides
that, combinations OF white men have
been formed, the purpose being to
swindle the Indians in every sort Of a
deal, from getting the land away from
them, to selling them horse. The re-
suit has been a Generalization among
both whites and Indians that is at
tracing attention outside as we'll as
inside the state. In this community,
so lost to all sense of Righteousness,
there appeared not long since an hon
est Catholic priest who undertook to
protect the Indians. from the rapacity
of combinations of white men and i'm
prove the moral condition of all the
people. 1t was not long until this
priest was removed by his bishop and
a fake Indictment procured against
him in the courts; How was this &C.
complished? Catholics who had been
engaged in the criminal conspiracies
and who are always liberal contribu-
tors to the church, were likely to be
brought to account as well as others
by this honest priest, and they made
such representations to the church
authorities as to cause the removal
of the priest.
But the priest was so wrought up
over the crimes as he looked upon
the decentralization of the whole COM
munity that he went on with his work
without the sanction Of his church.
Last week he was assaulted and near
ly killed for aiding in the prosecution
of the worse than murderers who fur
nish whiskey to the Indians.
This state of affairs in Thurston
county means financial disaster and
poverty, just as certainly as it means
degeneration. There will be SO much
criminal work for the courts that the
costs of the litigation will swamp the
taxpayers. Indeed the county is in
desperate straits already. It has a
greater debt per capita than perhaps
any other county in the whole west
and nothing to show for it. It's court
house is a shaky old shack, and liza
bilities of the county still increase.
Some day there must be an account
ing and the whole county will be sold