Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-05-11
BY ELSIE WE'LL.

Indian grievances or urging investiga-
tions of conditions on various reserva-
tons throughout the country.
To that room come defenders of the
Indian cause, pleading for legislative
reform. A picturesque Indian Of the
old type. In buckskin and bead regalia.
drifts in now and then. He is eloquent,
the old Indian, tireless and timeless in
his native tongue. but he is also little
disillusioned He no longer quite be-
lieves in the myth of the Great White
Father.
Here he comes into contact with edu-
Gated, well informed Indians who are
learning to substitute law for mythology.
Keenly they follow the progress and
final disposition of every bill introduced
into Congress which affects the welfare
Of their people.
Several interesting witnesses have
been called to the Indian committee
room in the last year or so. Florence
M. Patterson, who had been appointed
by the American Red Cross to make a
study of the need for public health
nursing on Indian reservations. de-
scribed the appalling health conditions
in Indian boarding schools, homes and
hospitals. She found the manifesto
tons of malnutrition among the In
dian children as acute and general as
tated regions of Eastern Europe, where
she worked for the Red Cross.
Tremendous Infant Mortality.
Among the northern Pueblos the in
FAINT death rate was 278 per thousand,
four times the rate for the United
States for the same period. Miss Pat
terson estimated the tuberculosis death
rate on the Indian reservations to be
six times that for the rest of the coun-
try. These statistics represent only a
few Of the dark spots brought out in
Miss Pattersons testimony.
The late Louis Marshill, the great
constitutional lawyer, appeared before
the committee to represent the Pueblo
Indians in the Middle Rio Grande Co
servancy case. He volunteered his serv-
ices as a matter of simple justice, be-
| cause from his study of the reciama-
ton project he was convinced that the
Indian interests were not being safe
| Indian Bureau. The Pueblos were 10
carry the chief burden of charges for
| flood control and irrigation, which was
| to benefit white land owners, towns
| and railroads.
The Barnett Case.
The celebrated case of Jackson Bar
nett, the poor rich" Indian of Okla
homa, also was thrashed out in the
Indian committee room. Jackson Bar
nett, declared by the courts a mental
incompetent. was, according to the
| testimony brought before the Senate
| marriage with white woman of ad-
/, venturous background and persuaded
| to thumbprint away fortune of more
\ than q million dollars to his white
wife and the American Baptist Home
! Mission Society. without any compre-
hension Of the Importance Of the trans
| action.
The unfolding Of this melodrama, to-
| gether with the broadcasting of the
! schools. attracted public interest to the
| inner workings of the Indian Bureau
under the regime of former Commits
| sioner Charles H. Burke and his as
sistant Edgar B. Merritt. Not many
months after the jackson Barnett dis
| closures Burke and Merritt resigned
and President Hoover appointed Charles
i j. Rhoads as commissioner and j.
| Henry Scattergood as assistant commits
| sioner of Indian affairs, to bring their
social vision and experience to the
! Indian Bureau.
In talking to members of the Senate
| committee on Indian affairs, who have
been conducting investigations on the
| reservations, found them sympathetic
| to the new commissioners. 1t is not
| their intention to hamper any construc-
| tive and progressive proposals suggested
| by the new heads of the Indian Bureau
| for the benefit of the Indians, but they
| feel that they must continue irlvesti-
| cations which have already disclosed
| emphatic need for a complete reor-
ganizatioii of the Indian service. They
point out that the Indian committee
| Of the Senate has power to recommend
| findings and new legislation to Con-
gress, regardless and entirely independ-
! ent of the Indian Bureau.
General Survey Ordered.
In February, 1928, the Senate was au-
| thorized to make general survey of
the condition of the Indians" and to
study the great body of Indian laws
and the administration of the Bureau
Of Indian Affairs for the purpose of
recommending legislation to correct
abuses and encourage the progress Of
the Indians.
The senate Indian investigating COM
mittee is composed of Lynn j. Frazier
Of North Dakota, chairman; Robert
M. La Toilette, jr wisconsin: w. B.
Pine, Oklahoma; Burton K. Wheeler.
Montana, and Elmer Thomas, Okla
homa.
Five volumes published by the COM
mittee cover their hearings in the States
of Washington, Oregon, California,
Utah, Wisconsin and at Washington,
D. c.
But the published record has been
completed only through July. 1929.
Since that time the committee has
conducted investigations in Montana,
Nebraska and North and South Dakota
Toward the end of the year and at
the beginning Of January, Senators
Frazier and Wheeler held hearings
among the Indians of New York State,
cause of the Marchand witch" muir
der and the two pitful Indian de-
fendants--wrinkled old Nancy Bowen
and tubercular wasted Lila Emerson.
The committee spent the month of
February in examining witnesses in
Oklahoma, whose Indian affairs have
long been tossed between the Indian
Bureau and the courts.
Championed by Wheeler.
Senator Frazier, the chairman, and
Senator Wheeler of Montana have been
the most active members of the COM
iflittee, travelling to remote sections of
the country to hear the complaints Of
the huniblest Indians and to sift EVIL
defce pointing to corruption. exploita-
ton and administration on Indian
reservations.
Senator Wheeler is a consistent and
enthusiastic champion of the Indians.
In his ONCE In the Senate Building he
expanded on his experiences and OBJ
servations as a member of the Indian
investigating committee. Sometimes he
read from personal notes jotted down
during his trips. Frequently, warm
ing to his subject. he paced up and
down the room as he related tragic and
criminal instances of Indian mistreat-
ment.