Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1905-03-07

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{ thing they sell to them.
"The justice of the peace and tn,
marshal Of Homer mako their living
from the arrests or drunken Indians
When the justice, with his eyes wide
open, finds out that the marshal takes
; money from the drunken Indians and
lets them 90 he proceeds to the specu
lators and threatens them with denun.
! citation If he does not get his share out
! Of the Indians. The Indian who is ar
rested and fined goes TO the spectators
and borrows the money and signs a
note for three to six times the amount
that he receives. When the marshal
knows that n drunken Indian has no
credit with the spectators, who know
hs income and relationship, he will not
arrest the Indian. When the specula.
tors see an Indian drunk and whose
credit is good they tell the marshal to
arrest him so that they can make the
Indian sign a note. If an Indian is
slow to buy or sign notes the specula-
tors give him "A few dollars for moth
ing. He gets whisky and when he feels
good he is ready to buy out the whole
town aud to sign all kinds Of notes and
mortgages Thus, horses that are not
worth tho feed are sold for $4OO and
$500, notes are signed and the money
collected at the agency.
Lawbreakers Not Caught Mapping
"The local court commissioner, with
a deputy marshal,pays. a visit to Homer
about three or four times year. They
announce their coming to the ringlead-
ers, who inform the saloonkeepers and
the bootleggcrs. The town is cleared
.of the Indians and the bootleggcrs 20
TO sleep. The carnival begins again
half an hour after the officials have
left. The ringleaders have confessed
to me that the arrivals of these officers
cost them a great deal of money. II
has happened that those officers have
found ON the road a drunken Indian. |
They took his name, made out a case
on the records with fictitious Indian |
names as witnesses and collected from
the government large sums for imag
nary eases, witness fees aud transpor.
tation, etc.
"The spectators are buying the In. !
dian land, aud before the deal is ap. |
proved in Washington the Indian in
question has signed notes in favor of |
the spcculator, who gets the land as
well as his money again. The agent
Is but tool In the hands of the specu.
lators and he does an within his power
90 keep the Indian land aud Indian
money within the ring Of the specula.
tors.
q" But who will blame the agent ad
the officers when the commissioner of
Indian affairs in Neutrality-suspicious.
who lately resigned has done an with.
in his power 60 favor the Homer riug
aud has sent personal order to the
agent requesting him To q. X. an the
graftcrs fraudulent notes. No wonder
that the agent says: IL | fight the
money power I'm lose my place. An
Indian will pay $1,000 cash rather than
TO lose his mortgaged ponies, worth
$40 aud the spectators know II, aud .
always see that they hold mortgage .
pa the Indians teams, l have seen
notes that were collected three times
With threats of taking away the mort. /,
gagged ponies.
Through the influence OF the agent t,
md the county Judge these ringleadcrs
nave been appointed the guardians of h
minor Indians, and the shameless rob.
'orics that took place iu this liue would f.
'e a revelation 20 the world.
"Jim Davis, an Indian. is in the
His afflicted mother ,
lgned a note of $1,000 70 ono OF the
pcculators, who promised her that he ,
would get him out. he go, him out on
'arolo lately and made him work and
ut his winter wood. This Indian wa.
sam was made 90 s5ll her heirship land h,
hd 'h's samo speculator bought il. he n
hen returned the Indian Go tho peni .
'u'iary again with a PROMISE 10 gct
'm out again if his mother would sign
mother note 60 balance with tho prige D.,
e gave Tor her land. IL
" lud'ans who are unwilling 90 give
p their government cheeks are Kent A
r'son'rs n the agency buildings mta
boy arc willing % hand them over. ,.
" What effect, then. has the arrest y.
at The conviction Of saloonk,epers ana
ootleggcrs What good does ID dot
ltsle al ALL They are the tools Of the
hg' This Fiug will and must get d.
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