Omaha daily bee., 1920-02-18
Indians for the Army
From the New York Times.

The proposal to organize "one or more di-
visions of Indians for|the regular army, which
has been brought to the attention OF congress
and may be made part of the reorganization
bill, is commended by General Pershing and
other officers, who know how brilliantly the In
dian soldiers acquitted themselves in France.
Maj Thomas Reilly of the l65th infantry thus
sums up their merits: They are expert IN rifle
fighting, game, strong brave, resoute. They
were superior in scouting and patrel work.
They were unexcelled in every phase OF every
fight" In short, there were no better soldiers
| in the American expeditionary forces. 1t IS
said that most of the 10000 Indians in the serv-
ice enlisted. Only Indians who were citizens
could be drafted and considerable majority
of the, Indians were not citizens and are stll
outside the pale. 49,
In the last annual report of Indian Commis-
sioner Cato Sells there is stirring passage IN
which he describes the review of a brigade OF
American troops that had returned from
France. in that triumphal scene" he wrote,
were the descendants of men who were Ameri-
cans before 'Attila's fierce Huns were beaten at
Chalons, perhaps before the Siege of Troy"
And there was this reflection:
Probably nothing more helpful has come to
this ancient Indian race than the enrolment of
10000 of its sons simply as American soldiers
to challenge the barbarous rule of Central
Europe"
In the readiness of the American Indian to
fight the battles of the white man, at whose
hands he has suffered such wrongs, there is a
reproach which should bear fruit in justice to
his race in the future. The nobility of the Indian
character was expressed in the service often
heroic, that he rendered on the battlefield in
France. 1t vlndlctiveneSs had been the doni-
nant trait of the Indians character, he would
never have worn an American uniform. It
should turn out to be true, as Commissioner
Sells has said, that nothing more helpful has
come to this ancient Indian race" than the serv-
ice it gave and the sacrifice it offered on fields
where civilization trembled in the balance. Con-
gress is disposed to do the fair thing by the In
dians at last. The Carter BILL comforting citi-
zenshlp as right upon all Indians born within
the United States and providing for dstribu-
ton OF tribal property among Indians judged
competent to administer their shares, was
passed by the house of representatives on jan
uarY IA. After this measures becomes law
therA will still be Indians who must be pro-
tected as wards of the nation, but the purpose
is steadily to reduce their number by training
and education.
Whether Indians under the new dispensation
Will desire to wear the army uniform in time
of peace can be determined only by the test
now proposed 1t will be the policy of the
War department to recruit units from localities
and organize them into regiments to be identi-
fed with those localities Therefore it would be
appropriate to enlist Indians for service where
there are reservations. But is not the Indian
too restless and active, too little used to re-
straint, to endure the routine of peace duty?
Time will tell if Indian reg iments are to be or
gained. AS All American division consists of
about $4,000 men, it is not to be expected that
enllstments for more than one division could be
obtained, but possibly two peace-strength di-
visions could be organized. Many Indians would
naturally prefer civil occupations. 1t must be
remembered that the number of Indians of en-
listment age would probably not exceed the
strength of two full divisions.