Morris tribune., 1912-02-09
FURNISHES GOOD
COPY FOR PRESS
Evidence Given at White Earth
Probe in Minneapolis.
KEEPS POLITICIANS GUESSING
Many Republican Leaders Not Anxious
to Declare Themselves on Roose-
welt Candidacy.
KEEPS POLITICIANS GUESSING
Especial Correspondence.)

st. Paul, Feb 6.-Your political gos-
sip is seldom in want Of material and
just now he is indulging in juicy
morsel in the shape Of the White
Earth Indian investigation, which has
been engaging the attention Of num-
ber of members of congress and the
department of justice for. several days
in Minneapolis. 1t has been furnish
ing some rather lively copy for the
Twin City papers and the END, it is
said, is not yet. Handing Poor Lo"
the short end of the stick is an old
story, but the feature of the inquiry
which has been transferred from
Washington to Minnesota by congress
is not so much the recital of this fact
as the prominence of those involved
and it Is more than likely that the
whole thing will figure in the coming
campaign. 1 know the Democrats are
filing the stuff away for the reason
that those involved are prominent in
state Republican circles. The work of
the committee, which is evidently an
tagOnistic to all connected with the
care Of the redman in Minnesota,
seemed to be directed at bringing Con-
gressman Steenerson into prominence
in the testimony produced and nothing
was overlooked in the effort to put
him and his connection with the laws
permitting the full blOods of the White
Earth tribe to dispose of their allot-
ments in a bad light. Even United
fofn
l0Oked
The mention of Senator Clapp's
name brings to mind the talk that
long ago preceded the present investi-
CATION. 1t was when the senator was
active in an insurgent way and the
taking Of his scalp was planned. When
Senator Clapp entered official life" at
Washington one of his first acts was
to amend the law governing the White
Earth Indians and their allotments
and 1t took the form of bill allowing
mixed bEOOds to sell their holdings, the
majority OF which were very valuable
There was general scramble to get
aboard and sharpers reaped harvest
The amendment was popular as far as
the Indian country was concerned and
It attracted little attention elsewhere
but the activity of the sharpers fur
nished a basis of operations for those
Interested in getting the junior sen
ator. A feature of the hearing last
week was the charges filed by Gus
BeaUtieu, a witness, himself part In
dian. The substance of these charges
is that the government, through the
department of justice, is trying 400
law suits under the mask of suits in
equity. The result of the filing OF
these suits, he charged, has brought
business to a standstilI in the Indian
country.
i. !. i.
The Roosevelt boom has struck Min
nesota and a hundred or more subor
dinates scattered over the state are
wondering where the leaders stand
Lieutenant Governor Gordon climbed
aboard the early part of the week
but so far there has not been a peer
from those behind Governor Eber
AoA u MOuCuS dSOI duu DIT d JlHl6
when President Taft and his policies
had little standing in the North Star
state, Governor Eberhart came out
hatfoOted for the president and though
there has beer nothing since showing
a change of heart on his part yet
understand the mixed presidential sit
uatiOn has him guessing. He will be
one of the principal speakers at the
annual meeting of the Lincoln club .o
st. Paul, which takes place on the
18th, which, according to report, will
be Taft love feast, yet the bets are
even that he will steer clear Of the
presidential subject in his remarks
One of the active ones in the Roose
velt movement is Alex Mckenzie, the
we'll known North Dakota politician
4nd while his activities are confined
20 his own state he has not been idlt
In his efforts to secure converts else
where. Down here the knockers say
the Roosevelt boom is simply
scheme to wipe out the La Toilette
movement, the idea being to secure
an ostensible Roosevelt delegation
out which will declare for Presiden
Taft at the proper time. There i.
tricks in all trades and perhaps they
are right.
+ + +
knute Nelson, the senior United
States senator from Minnesota. was
sKty-nine years old Friday. The &C
caslon did not cause any great stir al
Ahe state capitol, where a marble bus
-Aef the Douglas county man ornament.
the private Offices Of the governor
Several congratuIatory messages
however, were sent to him at Wash
iagton. The story given out a YEA,
ago was that the senator has statet
that when he reached seventy wear,
he was going to retire from Office anC
spend the remainder Of his days II
quiet. That important event shOuIt
come with the close Of his presen
term, but If any one knows that sucl
tc IN hn hnn Al ~ al