The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1912-04-22
IS 8 = =

equivalent in property and some have
greatly increased their share. Those
WEo have spent their share have gone
to work and are making a living just
as they did before. None of them are
starving and few of them are doing
any complaining. Many Of them have
braced up and are taking a new start,
having learned the value Of having
money by the loss of it.
After the removal of restrictions
and the thrush of land buyers and
spectators, and tho total abandon
ment of all restraint upon the liquor
traffic, such scandal resulted that the
interior department called on the de-
partment of justice to furnish govern
ment lawyers to straighten cut the
complicated land frauds in court
Judge M. c. Burch, who had Just been
displaced as division chief, was given
this Indian litigation, as he says as
his last case," and he at once pro-
ceeded to so plan things as to make
it last for the balance of his natural
life. He invented a new definition of
"mixed-blood," contrary to the estab-
llshed rule, SO as to make it include
only persons who had more white than
indian blood. This enabled him to
bring several hundred suits which no
one had dreamed of before, until he
mas now Instituted more than 1900
suits in equity, involving as many
eighty acre tracts of land. It is true
that only one question is involved In
all, and that is: Who. is a mixed
blood, within the meaning of the act!
This litigation and threatened litiga-
ton unsettled all titles, stopped all
Improvement and development, to the
detriment OF all the people, including
the Indians, stepped payment of taxes,
and threatened to close the public
schools. Congressman Stevenson was
appealed to and he introduced bills
for remedial legislation. One of these
provided for commission to make
authentic rolls of mixed-bloods and
1ull-bloods separately, and was intend
ed to equltably and justly dispose of
the apparently endless litigation. But
here Mr.. STEVENSON ran against
snag in the shape of a lot of hungry
government attorneys and their as
sistants whose occupation would be
gone If the 1000 suits were disposed
of. Their chief very shrewdly went
before the committee to investigate
the interior department and asked for
an investigation of his own client, the
interior department, and when he got
IT, after revanlping the old scandals
growing out of the administration Of
the Nelson and Morris and other acts
Tor the disposal of Indian timber, pro-
ceeded to lay all the blame for mis-
management of Indian property to the
law and to congress. In this way it
was sought to not only discredit Sen
ator Clapp and Mr.. Stevenson, but to
defeat the proposed remedial legisla-
ton, which threatened to cut short
the salaries Of these hungry lawyers
and their dependents.
But Mr.. Stevenson, by reason of
his Independence and fearlessness,
had incurred hostility in still higher
quarters. BY his opposition to admin
1stratlon measures, notably Canadian
reciprocity, he had put himself beyond
the pale of executive favor, and ne
doubt these men who are now doing
the dirty work were given free hand
in the attempt to destroy the political
regulations of Senator Clapp and Mr..
STEVENSON. -s-.
This is the real animus of the whole
matter, but the people will understand
that this hostility is but an incident
OF the fight their representative has
made In their behalf, and will rally
to his support more strongly than ever.
Tribal Funds.
At the present rate it will be only
question of few years anyway, I'm.
til the tribal funds of the White Earth
Indians will be all spent by the In
dian Bureau. The best that could
happen to them would be division of
the funds. after enough is set aside to
care for the old and the infirm. Then
among the ordinary citizens of the re.
public. The tribal relations are of no
value to them, and sum so insigniff-
cant as $685. per year is of little value.
And the most peculiar feature of the
Graham investigation was the reports
sent out Of the discovery of disease
and restitution among the full-bloods,
in view of the fact that the govern
ment has 109 employees on the reserva-
ton looking after the welfare of the
1ndians-one for each ten full-bloods.
Among these are five doctors. II this
little army of Indian protectors could
not discover disease and restitution
after spending years in the work,
could it be reasonably expected that
Congressman Stevenson could know
of it?