Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1913-12-09
Superintendent Johnson Removed for Cause, Not
Because of Ills Politics. Indians Had
Preferred Grave CHARGES
II Indians Story is True This Reservation Needs
More of a Shaking Up than Merely
Changing SuperintendentS

alOnS tne Deacn, ana walt Tor thfz
tide to go out before we can get .
doctor when we want one Then the
doctor is 40 miles away, when we do
want one, and we must pay lot OF
money before we do get one, and thai
is not right. / am now in very poor
health. I have got land and l cannon
get money. have to rub my eyes al!
the time. They hurt me- There il
something growing over them both
and ] cannot see at all pretty soon
besides they hurt me more all the
time. l have told Mr.. johnson (H. Fl.
Johnson, recently dismissed) lots OF
times about this, but he don't do any
thing. He don't care. Will you
please tell these people and get my
eyes we'll? I wish my eyes did nof
hurt me so. Tell them to take care
of me. I have lots of land. There
is plenty there for me. l do not drink
whisky. have not long to stay. Tell
them to help my people. They are
good people. They are no trouble
to the government They are no
trouble to anyone. All our young feI-
lows are away to work for the ou.-
side white people and make NC
trouble there. That is all.'
Administration Is Atroeious
James DeK. Brown, who visited tha
reservation with government agents
tells the story of the wrongs to those
Indians, as we'll as policy that tends
to retard the development of the
western part of Chehalis county. II
the Tacoma Tribune of last Sunday,
which follows in part: -------.-
The administration of the reserva.
ton has been atrocious. For in
stance: The Indians live by their
fishing. They sell their fish. 1t is
the only thing they can sell lawfully.
But under the late administration this
fish could only be sold to licensed
trader. This licensed trader was
given the store at the village and the
right to buy all of their fish.
The traders increased their prices
80 per cent above those at Moclips, re-
fused to buy the fish at market price,
the Indians declare, in fact, giving
only few cents where the same men
at Aberdeen and on the outside were.
paying five and six times as much, anG
in this way, by allowing the Indians a
loose rein on credit at the store, and
failing to provide money by taking
their fish, soon had the entire village
bankrupt. The same traders are
keeping it so. But after squeezing
the last pound out of the village, the
credit was shut down, so that the In
dians are forced to practically give
their fish to the traders in order to
live even in poverty. This is the In
dians complaint.
Another complaint is in the land
allotments. The Indinans declare
they were not allowed to make their
own selections, but were forced to
take worthless land, the valuable lane
being held back for settlement by the
whites when all of the land is allotted
The Quiniaults have suffered from
both the state and the federal govern
ment. improvements have been de-
MED. Every effort on the part of
themselves to better their conditions
has been promptly quelched.
Is it then no wonder that in their
tribal councils men, who have ed,i-
Gated themselves in the logging camps
and mills, will stand up and say, as
heard one in most impassioned
address:
I'VE are only poor Lo' the Indian
What does the government care fofr
us? The government is afraid we wiK
learn something, that we will grow up
and our children will be educated and
will know as much as the white man.
They are afraid of us. We are honest
and they don't want honest people to
increase The government is not our
friend. It does not want us to be like
white people. We are not children
but the government would make us
like that. They want US to all die.
They don't want our people. to whom
all the land and all the timber and all
the fish and oil here belongs"