The Tomahawk., 1919-03-13
LEGISLATIVE COMMIT.
TEE IS VICTORIOUS.
CONTINUED from 1st Page.)

it was untrue. There are quite a
lumber of members of the Chip
pewa tribe who need some protec-
ton. They probably number a
thousand or fifteen hundred. But
to say that the entire membership
of the Chippewa Tribe is composed
OF ignorance, Incidence and help
lessness is.a base calumny and. in
suit to the Chippewa people. 1t
has been through that base
calumny that the Indian Bureau,
in apparent good faith, has been
able to loot the trust funds of the
Chippewa Indians annually to pay
a useless horde of employees.
This year, Notwithstanding the
appeals of E. B. Merritt, Assistant
Commissioner, to both the House
and Senate Indian Committees, not
to permit the representatives Of
the General Council to be heard,
these representatives were heard
sufficiently to dispel the false rep
reservations made by the Indian
Bureau ami to enable the commit
tees of Congress to obtain some
facts. AS result the appropria-
ton from the trust funds Of the
Chippewa Indians which has
ranged annually from 100000 to
$l85, 900 for the past thirty years
was stricken from the bill, an
achievement in itself unequaled in
the history Of Indian legislation.
Notwithstanding the most vindica
tive and scandalous fight made by
the Indian Bureau and It's cohorts
on the appropriation for the Gen
eral Council, and the expenditure
of the money by the General
Council, the bill as agreed to in
Conference appropriated the usual
amount for the General Council
and authorized its expenditure by
the General Council. This was an
achievement of great moment and
Importance to the tribe. Had the
Indian Bureau obtained control of
the expenditure OF this money it
would have destroyed the General
Council, for unless the General
Council did as the Indian Bureau
directed it would never have been
given a dollar of its money. In
this way the Indian Bureau hoped
to crush the General Council and
make it a subservient vassal Of the
Bureau through which in the fu-
ture it could better effect annual
prodigal incursions on the trust
funds of the Minnesota Chippe
was.
The Indian Bureau made q de.
termined fight on the item appro'
priating $1,000 for the White
Earth annual celebration, but like
every other item insisted upon by
the Legislative Committee the
attacks of the Indian Bureau upon
this item were futile.
In short the Legislative Commit
tee in the language of one of the
officials of the Indian Bureau
Whipped the Indian Bureau to a
frazzle.' The Commissioner knows
it. f. B. Merritt knows it. Every
; body else knows it, and it is this
! latter conviction that is 50 humila
ting to the Indian Bureau officials
After the General Council hac
achieved success in every instance
the Conference Report on the
Indian Appropriation Bill finally
failed of passage in the Senate
The fight must be gone over AGAR
when Congress reconvenes, but i
is needless to say that the Indiar
Bureau will rot again dare MAKE
the kind of a fight it made thi!
winter against the Chippewa dele
gates.
James l. Coffey and his helpless
ignorant followers, or at least {
part of them, are still hangin,
around Washington pleading will
the Indian Bureau for funds will
,,h; - ~ nou THAR u,nfor>s h. a r.