El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-08-23

I Editor Fl Paso Herald:
The Aescalero Apache Indian res
eryation comprises 2135 townships,
which in plain language IS approx
/ mately $4,000 acres Of land. The
] agency Is in charge Of Capt Ernest
! Stecker, retired army ctricer with
over IS years OF service, much OF
z which was at old frontier stations
I where he was constantly in contact
] with the Indians Since January l,
1905. he has served as Indian agent
! at the kioTa agency Oklahoma, and
I the san Carlos agency IN Arizonas
! prior to his assignment to the Mes
+! IN his efforts TO help the Indian
I he always plans to do that which
would help himself II he were him
{ puts himself in the Indians position
I before he acts
The very Indians OF which he IS to-
day guardian. he had 20 years ago
prisoners at Fort Sill These indians
are the descendants OF the Apache
warriors who fought under the lead
ership OF Geronimo, and are by in
stlnct a warning tribe The captain
is assisted in his humane work AZ
Mescalero by 30 Q S civil service
employees. There are SOC Indians,
men. women and children OF these
there are not more than 80 able
bodied men available for necessary
These Indians live in tepees, have
few cattle, and the 66o0-foot altitude
makes the raising OF ToE crops inn
possible. J. Arthur EDDY Of Fort
Worth, Texas, in his il-timed article
in the Literary Digest, and the edi-
torial OF the FL Paso Herald few
days ago are Misunderstanding. pure
and simple The sale OF timber On
this Mescalero Apache Indian ressr-
at all, neither is It an outrage" I
protest against the use OF such IN
warranted epithets-
The people Of Ell Paso, the people
Of Texas, the people OF the United
states are paying taxes 10 support
these INDECENT Indians.
Our forefathers paid taxes before
Us to support these Indians fathers.
The children Of the present generation
viii have TO pay taxes 70 support the
unless some sensible, feasible plan IS
devised 70 enable these Indians TO
support themselves. Tie proposed I
plan TO sell part OF the standing tim I
for the purpose OF relieving this de- /
tendency.
have studied this proposal from
every angle, and see in II great bene-
fit to these Indians Out OF the as
600 acres. only 10000 are 70 be cut. |
and the cutting Is to be done in the /
presence Of a trained q s govern
meut official on a restricted contract I
Of Il inches, and larger IN diameter /
at breast height leaving sufficient !
trees standing to propagate a future !
growth The cutting viii take 10 !
years; and $4,000 out OF $4,000 acres !
VIII not be missed, because the part I
Of the reservation from which this /
timber is to be cut is utterly unfit /
for e park. as there Il no surface 4
water in the form OF rivulets, lakes. 4
or streams. and no tourist or wan /
derer ever happens in this uninvitilg 4
Ruidoso river, where tourists and 1
rendezvous, IS IS miles as 4
the crow flies, from where the tin
Der is to be cut The $4,000 acres IS 1
IN an isolated part OF me res5ervatle,2'
unfit for anything else IN the world, /
except grazing which VIII be made
the better BY thinning cut the tim
The sale Of this 10000 acres Of
timber viii net 100000 Congress
can be depended On TO set aside this
sum for the benefit OF these Mesca-
ZERO Apache Indians; and the treas
1ry will be refunded as collections
IRE made from the contracting lun-
PIRATES this money s250,o00 will be
Immediately invested In purchasing
additional Hereford cattle which
with cattle now on the range, VIII
lows The yearlngs OF this hero /
vii produce yearly revenue o.
s1So. 900. This income viii provide
for the care Of the herd ana range
lzd a monthly per capita payment Of
so 70 the Indians This regular in
some. with what they can earn
through labor, wiz bring them
Of a new life, and real,
satisfying protection against want
and hunger which harrassed them
turing the past year
Two hundred and fifty thousand
iollars wiz be used in the construc-
ion Of real sanitary, comfortable
homes to replace the unsightly
.epees; and suitable barns TO protect
heir work stock This action will
remove these Indians from a depend
able cliiss &c a producing class. II
Wiz put an end to the expensive and
unsatisfactory issue Of rations, and
finally result in making the Mssca-
ero agency a selt-supportingo one
Pity the poor sentimentalists who
would deprive the lIescalero Apache
indian Of the benefit OF this wise
proposal Capt J. D. Dickson