The Irish standard., 1916-05-20
Amazing Statements
Of Senator Gronna

Recently in a discussion in tn
Senate, of the conference report O.
the still-pending Indian Appropriation
Act, the following statements, whicl
are reproduced from the Congress
sional Record, were made:
The Vice President. The question
is on agreeing to the conference re
port.
Mr.. Gronna. wish to ask the
chairman of the committee what dis
position was made of amendment
numbered 1877?
Mr.. Ashurst. In response to the
question propounded by the learned
Senator from North Dakota. will
state that amendment 1877, made by
the Senate committee and adopted by
the Senate, provided for an appropria.
ton of $25O,O00 to be used in the cree.
ton of buildings and the acquisition of
sites for further school buildings for
the Sioux Indians. do not know
whether l am permitted to disclose
what took place in the conference
committee, but assume that it is the
only way l can answer the question.
The House conferees simply would not
consent to the amendment the Ian
guage in lieu of the Senate amend
ment 1877 was suggested as compro-
mise. 1t was believed finally by the
conferees, after they had been in ses-
sion nearly month, that it would not
be wise to appropriate $250,0O0 with
out an investigation, without any
letter from the department. So an
amendment was agreed upon provid-
ing for the appropriation of $1,000 to
be used by the Secretary Of the Inter-
ior and requiring and directing him to
make a report as to the school facili-
ties or lack of school facilities on the
Sioux reservations, and to report on
the first Monday in January 1917.
ask the Secretary to read the matter
proposed to be inserted in lieu of the
Senate amendment.
The Secretary. In lieu of the
matter proposed insert the following:
The Secretary of the Interior is
hereby authorized and directed to
cause investigation to be made as to
the probable cost of providing on the
various Sioux Indian reservations
adequate school facilities for the chill
dren of the Sioux tribes who are now
without Government or public-school
facilities on the respective reserva-
tions, and to make a report thereof
to Congress on or before the first Mon
day in January, 1917, together with a
complete and detailed statement of
the per capita cost per annum, includ.
ing mileage paid, now expended for
the education of the Sioux Indian
children in all the schools, whether
on or off the respective reservations,
and there is hereby appropriated for
the expense of such investigation and
report the sum of $1,000, or so much
thereof as may be necessary to be i'm
mediately available.
Mr.. Gronna. Mr.. President, l did
not object to the immediate consider
alton of the conference report, but
l had hopes that the conference COM
mittee would adopt the language pro-
posed by the Senate committee and
agreed to by the Senate. AS the
Senate knows, this has been a very
vexatious question, which has come
before Congress every year since 1899.
Mr.. President, the appropriation of
100000 for mission schools is not ap.
preparation to carry out treaty stipu-
lations with the Indians. l want the
Senate to know that since 1909 there
has been no such treaty. 1t expired
10 years before that time, and was ex-
tended for period of 10 years. This
has, as l said, been q vexatious ques-
tion pending before this body, and
had hopes that the House conferees
would see the benefit Of this amend
ment. 1t was thoroughly discussed
before the Senate Committee on Ind
ian affairs. There was not a single
vote passed against it. Every men,
Der of the committee favored the
amendment. was somewhate curl
Gus to know why the conference COM
The late Alexander Campbell, a
L. L.