New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-02-03
Is Uncle Sam Good Indian Chief:

1.-THE underlying purpose OF all this was 80
good that it deserved happier fate; but
tho very independence OF the territory pres
emily attracted to 1t the most depravcd class
of whites-the thieves, murdercrs and other
outlaws who could no longer be tolerated
in any of the Southwestern States, and who
we're seeking place of refuge where grand
jures and sheriffs would be powerless to
lay hands on them. When these conditions
had grown to the proportions of national
scandal our government strobe into the ter
ritory, planted courts of justice in every part
Of it, overhaulcd it's resident crew OF male
factors and launched systematic movement
to convert it into state.
zone Of the most obstinate forms of vice
with which, till about ten years age, every
Administration had to deal, was the drink
habit. The Federal statutes forbade selling
or giving intoxicants to Indians, or even
carrying them into the Indian country with
out a government permit. These restrictions
had been enacted while every Indian was
still helpless dependent; with the admission
Of man to citizenship, however, it was
claimed that no one had tho right to say
that he might not drink whskey if he chose
"The courts not long in putting
damper upon this logic, but in the mean time
tho illicit dealers had built up q thriving
trade No law executes itself, and the in
genuity Of the dram sellers could be met only
by the cleverness and courage of competent
detective force. Urged by one Of the great
temperance societies, Congress voted a
goodly sum to start such organization,
the prompt success of which led to larger
and larger appropriations with every session,
till now the unlawful traffic, though not
completely throttled, is pretty we'll under
control.
after freeing the Indian and educating
him. the next step was to find him something
of the larger sort to do.
"An employment office for Indian labor
was established, with functions like those Of
an ordinary intelligence office, except that,
instead of waiting for applications from en-
poyers and workers, its agents began hunt
ing up outside jobs and then securing the
reservations for Indians willing to tackle
them. By this we had in season
between six and seven thousand Indians out
at once, working on railway embankments
and irrigation canals and in the sugar beet
fields, herding sheep and cattle for white
farmers, helping harvest crops of hay and
grain, numbering and road making, earning
wages that aggregated hundreds of thou.
sands Of dollars.
This undertaking Of the governments has
a double Importance: it stimulates the In
dams to industry and thrift, and, by bring
ing them into competitive contact with the
whites, gradually prepares them to fill their
normal place in social order; at thu
same time it helps build up the country an-
by making the Indian a conspicuous facto
in this development wins for him the re
spect of his white neighbors:
"lhe only essential difference between tn
Indian laborer and the white laborer in thes
frontier country enterprises is that, OWN,
to the Indians u1familiarity with the way
Of the world, the government keeps pater
nal eye ON him, supervising his contract
with his employers till he is able to transac
business intelligently, watching over hi
health and sobricty, and saving him from
imposition in the purchase Of food supple
by maintaining ccmmissary stations wher
he can buy his necessaries at low cost.
"What both the government and its critic
most need now, in dealing with the India
problem, is patience In that particular the
could we'll afford to study the example O
l the Indian himself, who never attempts t
l do anything by force in hurry whic
will come of itself if given time"