The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1915-08-31
Want MORE MONEY
FOR indian WHISKY

\ petition to be addressed to Neva-
ia 5 representatives in Congress has
been sent out by the Nevada Indian
association, which has headquarters at
Eeno, and Will be circulated in the
churches and also placed in public
houses for signatures. The petition
reads:
I'VE, the undersigned, citizens and
II sidents of the sttae of Nevada, res
pectfully represent and petition as fol-
lows:
There are about 5000 Indians now
residing within the state of Nevada.
OF this number, approximately 1000
ere living upon reservations, which are
maintained by and under the direct SUI
pervision of the government of the
United States, while the remaining
1000 are homeless, without support and
have never received any gratuities
from the government, living in novels,
under unsanitary conditions which
menace not only their health but the
health of the communities in which
they live, and leading precarious ex-
lstence. Many of these 5000 Indians
are squatting upon land from which
they are liable at any time to be
| eJected. No encouragement is now Civ
en- them to support themselves or to
t@pr0ve their present distressing con-
dltlOn. There are no available public
lands for their use and the present In
d1an reservations are inadequate for n
larger number than those who are al
ready provided for. We believe that
many of these homeless Indians. with
proper instruction in home-making and
agriculture and with some financial as
slstance from the government will
make useful residents
And we respectively petition your
active support of an appropriation bv
Congress of the sum of 100000 for the
purpose of procuring homesites with
adequate water rights and providing
agricultural instruction for the non
reservation Indians of the state of Ne
vada to the end that they NAV become
self-supporting and more useful resi-
dents of this state
| As to the 1900 homeless Indians
above referred to, they are nearly all
well occupied by government officials
who remunerate them by providing
them with money wherewith to induce
white men, particularly degenerates
and casual visitors to Nevada. nearly
all of whom are ignorant of the law.
to procure intoxicants for them and de-
liver the contraband where an officer
can witness the transfer and make the
arrest
Hundreds of people are thus arrested
every year for "selling whisky to In
dams. The aborigine is summoned as
| a witness before the United States
commissioner and receives payment
therefor. He is called to Carson City
before the federal grand jury and paid
Tor that service and also at the trial.
Ihere are usually from rs to 100 fed
eral prisoners in the Washoe county
jan, the government paying for their
sbstenanee. Then there are trims ,o
McNeil's Island, which gives employ
ment to lot of other people. The sum
of 100000 asked by the Indian asso-
eiation for the purchase of lands and
other things for the Indians is abont
spent annually by the league of "wbis-
Ky to Indians grafters.
Furthermore, it might be noted that
of the 5000 "homeless' Indians. nearly
all are provided for at the reservations.
but they refuse to live there and thew
would also decline to dwell upon the
100000 worth of lands which the ne
titlon proposes to provide for them.
Again is must be remembered that Of
the 5000 homeless Indians, the greater
number are half breeds, as one of the
results of the whisky to Indians
cases.
There are some good Indians in Ne
vada in addition to those that are in
tered by their tribesmen, but they are
an at work and would not accept the
lands proffered or to be proffered if
the petition has the affaot ;n+o,ao1
The Bonanza would prefer to sign 4
petition making it law that the In
dian who solieits white man to pur-
chase alcohol for him be punished as
severely as his victim, and also that all
Indians entitled to homes on the reser-
vations be forced to remain there in.
stead OF abetting crime and disease i'm
the white men s communities. No, the
petition does not appeal.-Tonopah Bo-
nanZa.
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