Evening star., 1924-11-29
INDIAN WARFARE
FEATSRECA[LED
Army Society Holds Annual
Dinner-Gen. Fountain
Named Commander.

Historic events of Indian warfare
were recounted by Lieut.. Gen. Nelson
A. Miles. Maj. Gen. Joseph T.. Dick
man. Brig. Gen. Edward S. Godfrey
and Brig. Gen. 5. W. Fountain before
the annual dinner of the Order of
Indian Wars, at the Army and Nhvy
Club, last night. Preceding the din
ner a business meeting was held.
over which Commander Brig. Gen.
E. J. McLernand presided.
Gen. Fountain was elected con =
mander for the ensuing year. Other
officers named were: Senior vice
Kerr; junior vice Commander, Col.
J. D. Glennon; recorder and treas
urer, Capt. P. F. Meade; council.
Lieut.. Col. William Baird, Gen. w.
A. Holbrook. Gen. George H. Har-
ries, Col F. S. Foltz, Mai. H. r. Lem
ly. H. S. Mauck and Charles MEG.
Sweitzer, and historian, Gen. God
frey.
The retiring commander, Gen. Nc
Lernand. installed Commander Foun-
tain, who acted as POSTMASTER
Gen. Miles related the incidents
leading up to the capture and death
or Sitting Bull. stating that the In
dian fighters were possessed of the
most heroic qualities of any American
troops He praised those who car
ried the flag to the vast wildernesses
OF the West with no thought of sur
render or defeat. Slow death by tor
ture. he said, was the inevitable re-
suit of surrender.
He stressed the fact that a civilian
has been endeavoring personally to
make complete maps and charts of
the great Indian battlefields, work,
"a col Il u
rided for years ago, as is being done
now under congressional direction
and at Government expense in To-
eating and mapping the Civil War
battlefields of Virginia. He urged
that all graves of Indian fighters be
located and suitably marked.
Indians Are Increasing.
There is no foundation to the be-
lief that the red man is of a van
fishing race, F. NJ. Goodwin. Assistant
Secretary of the Department of the
Interior, declared. They are con-
stantly increasing, he said. OF the
345,000 Indians. $1,000 are children,
$1,000 attend schools-30, 900 the pub
lilo schools. He said the Indian prob
lem has been in existence since the
discovery of America. and the first
step in educating the red man to the
propriety of assimilation of American
ways and customs was taken when
the Government troops endeavored to
conquer them. Since then, he declared,
there has been gradual upward
movement, due to the educational
facilities provided by the Interior
Depa rtment, and the Indian feels
proud to acclaim the American flag
and profits by its protection. The
ultimate solution of the problem. the
speaker added, is their assimilation
by thS5States. Never before, he said,
has a conquered race been so richly
compensated by their conquerors as
has the Indian. The Government has
spent hundreds of millions of dollars.
he said, and will continue to spend
huge sums.
Dickman Makes Companions.
Gen. Dickman compared the State
OF Texas at the time of the Indian
disturbances and at present. Con-
trasted with the meager sums al
lowed for upkeep of an outfit in the
eighties, he said. was the most eX-
pensive outpost he had known. Along
the Mexican border in 1920. Gen.
Dickman said, there was established
an outpost, with every modern con-
venience, on which the transportation
charges alone for the year amounted
to $1,00O,000. Dickman declared re-
spect for the United States was at
such a low ebb on the other side Of
the Rio Grande that troops were for
hidden to approach the border In
bodies less than 100 strong. He, too.
praised the old-time soldiers. saying
that they were not subjected to the
care of psychiatrists. morale officers
and welfare workers.
Gen. Godfrey, the only surviving
officer of the Custer massacre, read a
paper containing the report of an
officer in which Sitting Bulls capture
and death were recorded. This paper
was found in a desk bought by a.
tailor. who turned the papers over to
a member of this organization more
than 20 years ago. Gen. Fountain
read a paper containing Incidents in
battles with the Indians in which he
was engaged in 1885.
A section of the United States Army
Band Orchestra furnished music