Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-07-05
REACH PRESIDENT
WITH THEIR PLEA.

Secretary Of the Interior Fall recently
announced that he saw no reason for
permitting hearings Of the protests Of
the Individual Indians insisting, as have
all other supporters OF the project, that
the whole thing was intended for the
benefit Of the indians. Consequently,
things looked pretty dark for the tribe
until they reached the President with
their plea that he appoint some man In
whom he had confidence to listen to their
story.
sNo. sir" the President is quoted to
have replied to the spokesman for the
Apaches. I will not appoint anybody
to pass upon your matters. I will do It
myself"
Persons they are afraid OF are the
Water-users Association on the Salt
River irrigation project, and the city Of
Phoenix. which would like TO have the
Verde water for home use. Joseph Lati-
mer, q Chicago attorney, representing
church and other organizations. formed
to protect the Indians is in Washing
ton conducting the fight.
When be was President, the late Theo-
dore Roosevelt took an active interest
in seeing that the Indians, who mum
Der about 800, were secured in their
rights on the Camp Mcdowell reserya-
ton. II. became their property partly
as the result of an act Of Congress and
partly By an executive order.
In 1910 Walter L. Fisher. then Sec
rotary Of the Interior. approved the
Identical scheme that is now threaten
ing the Indians.
With the assistance Of white friends,
however. the Mcdowell dwellers sue
ia
BIZ the House Committee on Expendi-
lures in the Interior Department. Lati-
mer, who served as examining attorney
for the committee. succeeded IN getting
a mass Of papers from the Indian Blu
reau, ard the committee went 10 the
bottom Of the matter.
SECRETARY ADMITS
HE WAS WRONG.
AS a result Latimer was permitted to
take up the matter personally with Sec
retarv Fisher. When all the facts were
laid before the Secretary he promptly
acknowledge his error. having meanwhile
had an investigation made on the ground
By ". II. ROsecrans, a well-kuOwn irriga
ton engineer. with q view of determining
whether a permanent irrigation could be
built on the Camp Mcdowell reserva-
ton.
Matters ran along for q number Of
years in this status, no change being
made until after the resignation Of the
late Franklin K. Lane as Secretary OF
the Interior. During the brief regime OF
John Barton Payne as Secretary of the
Interior. however. the forces which for
many years had been endeavoring to dis
possess the Indians became again active
Secretary Payne had an order signed by
former President Wilson on May >. 1920
putting into effect the original scheme.
Latimer declares in a brief which has
been submitted to President Harding that
this order was obtained secretly by the
Indian Bureau, and never made public
until it was accidentally discovered q
year later.
The land which It is proposed to allot
the Mohave Apaches on Salt River Is
eleven miles from their present home
While they would not, according to dec
larations made in official letters, be
compelled to move from Camp Mcdowell
unless willing TO go voluntarily, if they
wanted to continue living there they
must make z journey of twenty-five miles
4 day to cultivate five-acre tracts.