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Show - 138 REPORT OP THE COMbSlSSIONER OF INDIAN ApFAIR.8. tent or unfaithful agents and employ& shall be discharged; that spoils-men shall not corrupt the service; that theland-grabber shall loose his clu,khes on Indian lands; that cattlemen shall not fatten their herds on 1;idian grass; that traders shall deal honestly; that contractors shall f111fill their contracts; that pnblic moneys shall not be misappropriated; that attorneys shall not despoil the Iodians; that gamblers shall not n)b them uor whisky sellers debauch them; that they sl~alnl ot be lured. to vagabondage by '<wild west" shows; who insists thaL the Govern-ment shall be just and keep its faith, and sl~nlib uild schoolhouses to educate all Indian ohildren; who tries to defeat the schemes of power-ful lobbyists urging hurtful legislation; who demands that the adult Indians sha,ll keep their agreements, give up their savagery, send their children to school, and go to work to earn an honest living-the Com-missio~~ werh o insists on progress and improvement, will be reminded very frequently of the utopian nature of his ideas. He will stir up op-position oneverg side. Criticisim and abuse are the inevitable resnlts of an honest endeavor to rightly administer the business of the Indian Office. I believe it can be done, however, if a, man is willing to pay the price. The work of the present administration ought tomake the next administration easier. When my attention was first directed to the average length of term of the Oommissioner of Indian Affairs (tw6 and one-half years), I won-dered at its brevity; after a service of three years and two months and aIi experience of what is involved, I wonder that the average term of service has been so long. One very encouraging fact in my experience is that I have had the cordial support of the great religious weeklies, of most of the power-ful seculia~ dailies of all shades of political opinions, and of hosts of men and women; whose good opinion I value more than gold. This, together with a consciousness of an honest effort to render a helpful service to an abtbnsed people, has been a great solace to me amid the cares and criticism incident to my .work. I have taken a great deal of pains to investigate any and all com-plaints and criticisms coming to my knowledge in regard to the treat-ment of the Indians. I n some cases s11ch criticisms and compliints proved to be entirely without foundation, and in others they were found to be based either upon a misapprehension of the facts or of t h ~ law in the case. Undoubtedly there have been cases in which there has been a tardi-ness on the part of the Government in fulfilling its obligatious, as well as faults of administration, through which the Indians have suffered l o s ~or inconvenier~cea nd disappointment. In very many cases, how-ever, t,he Indians themselves have misunderstood their relations, mis-interpreted their rights, and have often theinselves been grossly to blame for a failnre to perform their part of the stipulated agreement. |
