The Tomahawk. [volume] (White Earth, Becker County, Minn.) 1903-192?, 1921-06-02
Agency Hospital Is
P|undered.

1t has been brought to our at
tention that the Agency hospital
here, which was closed on July 1st
last year, has been plundered three
or four times within the past two
months, small articles of not much
value being taken in each instance
until about two weeks ago, or the
week of May 10Th to 18th, when
the thieves decided to. extend
operations and succeeded in getting
away with several hundred dollars
worth of property consisting of
mattresses, linen bed sheets, sew.
eral expensive bath robes, pillow
cases, furniture; washing machines,
etc. An iron bar was used to
force an entrance, which was
gained through one of the rear
doors.
While it is not our intention at
this time to place the blame for
this thievery that has been going
on here for a long time, neverthe-
less it seems to US that more
care should be exercised by the
officials of this agency in safe
guarding the properly in their
charge. Not long ago the build
ings of the former boarding school
were broken into and much valu-
able loot stolen. and no effort was
ever made to apprehend the guilty
parties in that instance, and like
wise in the robbing of the hospital
there is no apparent effort being
made. to bring the guilty ones to
justice or to recover the stolen
property. g..
AS regards the hospital and
school buildings here, the matter
Of turning them over to- the state
to be used in some way that would
be beneficial to the Indians and the
community in general; the matter
was recently referred to members
of Congress who took it up with
the Indian Office at Washington,
but only to meet with the custom
ary rebuke from that tribunal
which stated in a communication
to Congressman Stevenson under
date of February 10th,' 1921, that
that Office did not deem it advisable
az this time to take any action in
regard to the hospital building as
there was an item in the Indian
Appropriation Bill then pending
before Congress to turn over to
the state any Chippewa hospitals
not needed in connection with the
Chippewa Indian service, aid that
it would withhold any decision in
the matter until it became known
whether or not the provision re-
ferred to became 2 law: While
all this delay is going on these fine
buildings are going to rack and
ruin and the valuable property
therein is being stolen from under
the very eyes of the agency oMci-
ais. There are several employees
here, including a ight-watchmap.
who are at a loss most Of the time
to find something to do, and while
their duties may not extend to
THAT of keeping watch. over the
hospital and the property therein,
it apparently would have been
better by far bad they been given
this responsibility, for if these
buildings we're watched as they
should be such wholesale thievery
and robbery as that which has just
occurred at the agency hospital
would be impossible.
When the school and hospital
were closed here last July the
property in them should have been
assembled in some place where il
could be watched and a RESPONSE.
BILE man employed to watch it. in
the meantime steps should be
taken to have the hospital and
school buildings here turned ovel
either to the state to be operated
as state institutions of some kline