Smyrna times., 1933-02-08
GIVES FINE TALK
TO CLUB WOMEN
Herbert Welsh Tells of Indian
Rights Association In
Address at Century Club
PROMINENT SPEAKER

evening, January 27, at which time
Herbert Welsh, President Emeritus
of the Indian Rights Association,
Inc, of Philadelphia, delivered an
address as was announced in our
issue of last week on THE Indian
Question in the Past, Today, and
the Future" His speech, in part,
follows:
Il have been actively interested
in trying to work out a practical
solution of the Indian Problem for
just fifty years. This evening
want to give a brief outline of how
this interest began and what it led
to in the formation of the Indian
Rights Association and the activ-
tiles of the Society during this long
period Of time.
This is an old, oft-repeated story
now and it has comparatively lit
tie value compared to the present
work of the Society which is car
ried on by my old associate, Mr.
Matthew K. Sniffin, Secretary of
the Association, whose center is
995 Drexel Building, Philadelphia,
Samuel M. Brosius, Esq, Washing
ton, d. c., and Lawrence E. Lind
ley, Associate Secretary. Philadel-
phia.
In the autumn of 1882, Miss
Elizabeth N. Biddle, with whom I
had been associated in work of the
Protestant Episcopal Church, call
ed on me to help her raise SO, 9,000.-
90 for the defense of Rt. Rev. Ho-
bart Hare, who was then Bishop to
the Sioux Indians of Minnesota,
Dakotah and Nebraska, against the
suit for criminal libel brought
; against him in the city of New
York by the late Rev. Samuel D.
Hinman. The latter had long been
a missionary to the Indians in
, what was then called the diocese
of Niobrora This section is known
!, to us today as South Dakotah
This action brought against Bishop
Hare by Mr.. Hinman was based or
Z a printed paper published by the
Bishop giving reasons why he dis.
: missed Mr. Hinman from the staff
Of Missionaries. The lawyer who
defended the Bishop was the late
Stephen Nash of New York City
Ny uncle, William Welsh died il
I 1878, He knew intimately Bishop
Hare and Mr.. Hinman, but i knew
from my aunt, Mrs. William Welsh
who survived her husband, that ht
!, had lost confidence in the mora
: integrity of Mr.. Hinman just be
fore Mr.. William Welsh's death
: Having all these detailed facts il
my mind, / undertook with vigol
, and enthusiasm to help Miss Biddlt
raise the $4,000, but we only sue
J ceeded in raising $4,000. In June
: 1882, a Sunday issue Of the New
York Tribune announced the fac
I that the jury had found verdic
against Bishop Hare for $4,000
and until it was paid he was liabl'
to arrest if he undertook to ente
} New York City. II was most nee
i essary that he should do this be
! cause many of the wealthy con
8 tributors of the Mission resides
there. The verdict was also yer,
{ severe blow to the prestige of tn
{ Bishops Mission among the In
u dians, because up to this time tn
g Bishop was scarcely more know
. than Mr.. Hinman who was an old
u er man than the Bishop and ha'
= had more experience in the mission
: field than he.
"On a Sunday morning in Jun
of that year, the late Henry S
5 Pancoast and / went into the cit,
} and called on Bishop Hare at hi
e sons house, where he was staying
e, to express our regret at this dis
4, appointing termination Of the tria
It and to ask him if there was any
! thing which we could do to al
D him. He said "Yes" and invite
i us both to take trip out to visi
II his jurisdiction and to see for Gus
r. selves the state Of his mission. MI
IS Hinman had circulated his opinio
n that the Bishop would be SO cas-
d down at the result of the trial tha
4 he would never dare show his fac
P again in the Mission.
= I'VE accepted the Bishops inv
L tation and in that month of Jun
~ we went out to visit the Grea
ie Sious Reserve, making our er
= trance to it by the little town I
ie Chamberlain, South Dakotah.
I This small town Of some thre
& & hundred inhabitants at the tim,
y lies on the east bank Of the Grea
! Sioux Reserve which was at ths
I time four times larger than Ii
State of Massachusetts,. It's cas-
! ern boundary is the Missouri Rive
!, its western, the Black Hills; i
= southern the Nebraska line; and il
: northern, the Cannon Ball Rive
- The Standing Rock Reservation Ii,