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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (June 20, 1902)
The Commoner. ."June 2o, 190a 9 White Man' Avarice Toward tho Indian. 'Ig the whito man's greed going to wipe the Indian out altogether? "Everything seems to indicate that tho prospects favor the whito man rather 'than the Indian, but our rec ord in subjugating the red man is Biich that we have nothing to be proud of. ' Our relations with, tho Indians have been governed chiefly by treat ies and trade, or war and subjugation. m By tho Urst we have invariably over-reached tho Indian, and we find a record of broken promises all tho way from the Atlantic to the Pacific, while many of the fortunes of New York. Chicago, St. Louis and San Francisco can be traced directly to Indian trader ship. By war the natives have been steadily driven toward the setting sun, a subjugated, doomed race. In council the Indians have pro duced men of character and ability, while in war they have displayed cour age and sagacity of a high order. Edu cation, science and the resources of the world have enabled us to overcome the savages, and they are now at the mercy of their conquerors. In our treaty relations most extrava gant and sacred promises have been given by the highest authorities, and yet these have frequently been disre garded. As to the question what is tho very best plan to bring the Indian to citi zenship or citizenship to the Indian. In the statutes at large of the United States an act of February 8, 1887, says: "That upon the completion of said allottments and the patenting lands to said allottees, each and every member of the respective bands or tribes of Indians to whom allottments have been made shall have the benefit of and bo subject to the laws, both civil and criminal, of the state or territory in vhich they reside, and no territory shall pass or enforce any law denying any - such Indian, within its jurisdic tion the equal protection of the law. And every Indian born within the ter r.torial limits of the United States to whom allottments shall have been made under the provisions of this act, or under any law and treaty, and every Indian born .within the terri torial' limits of the United States who has voluntarily taken up, within said limits, his residence separate and apart from any tribe of Indians there in, and has adopted the habits of civ ilized life, is hereby declared to be a citizen of the United States, and is en titled to all tho Tights, privileges and immunities of such citizens, whether such Indian has been or not, by birth or otherwise, a member of any tribe of Indians within the territorial limits of the United States, without in any man ner impairing or otherwise affecting the right of any such Indian to trlbwl or other property' -A compliance with the provisions of this act gives every Indian the right to become a citizen, and I cannot think of any better plan to effect this end. " Do I think that education of the Indian hag been a failure? By no means, but no body- of people whose language, religions and customs are so widely different from our own can bo expected to cheerfully and sud denly adopt ours. Tho change must be gradual, con- I a HEADACHE At as ttug stores. 2SDMM 25c Be Your Own Dealer Why not buy goods at wholesale prices, and save from IS to 40 per cent on everything you use? You can beyourown dealer If you wish, and buy your goods direct from the manufacturer with only one small profit added to the manufacturers' cost, and what Is better, our $2,500,000,00 stock gives you a chance to select goods accord Ing to your own Ideas, Our stock consists of everything for everybody, In all styles and at all prices, and all qua lit L s except trash. We will not sell trash at any price. Our big 1000page catalogue tells the stmty. It quotes over 70,000 different articles and has eoer 17,000 plates and illustrations te help you understand lust what the goods took like. This catalogue Is free, but toe ask you to send IS cents to partly , aytt.e postage, asthe actual postage Is 33 cents. Send 15 .ents in either stamps or coin and ute will forward our complete cata togue, all charges free. This catalogue can be found In the homes of oocr 3,000,000 thinking people aad should be In yours atso. Why not send for It to 'day? bBbbw A IV Want You to Try Us ta aaai s atrial erder aad teat ear aWHty is sat iery yta in titty Mrtieular, We kave special huImim mi aImmc everr iiae rea eta tkiak ef. Tell as what Idad ef reeds Tea are iBtereeiedia aad we trill eeadyea, ahsetately free, aay ef the I fellewUr illustrated eaUleesifveHisfwheleaale 1 arieee. Be tare U saeatie the ee yen want If I yea waat ear eestplete eatalefae, aeaa la eeats aad ask far eatalefae XamVer Seventy, Jaralture Silverware Farm Ipleata Carpets and Baji Yekieles TJaderwcsr Sewing XaeklaM Groceries Hardware BJcyclea Greekery Baby Oarrlaf es Glassware Dry Geeds Sieves T ketarrapkie Geed Sponiag Deeds Notions laraeu looks Drugs Skees Stationery Xilliaery Teya Cloaks Leather Goods Skirts Xasleallastrameata Vara ilea's aad Boy's Salt (betk Beady-Xade aad Kade-te-Order) iaelaaiag Saaales. Montgomery Ward 8p Co., Chicago Thm house that tells the truth, M H H tinuous and in accordance with na ture's law. I think the method of sending Indian children to eastern schools gives them an opportunity to realize the great numbers and power of the white race, as well as the advantages of higher civilization. In regard to the alleged evil of fur nishing rations for the Indians, I do not think there is any foundation for tho charge that the fact that the Ind ians receive rations should degrade them. Wo have deprived them of the opportunity of making a livelihood Tor themselves in their own way, and un til they shall have adopted ours the rations are necessary, and tho dimin ishing of them should depend entirely on circumstances and treaty obliga tions. As the government has in its employ men who by long and faithful service have established reputations for in tegrity, character and ability which cannot be disputed men who have commanded armies, reconstructed states, controlled hundreds of millions of public property and who during years of experience on the frontier have opened the way for civilization and Christianity it is believed that the services of these officials to ele vate the Indian race would be ju dicious and be the means of accom plishing great results. Every effort should be made to lo cate the Indians by families, for the ties of relationship among them aro much stronger than is generally sup posed. By this means the Indians v111 become independent of their tribal re lations, and will not be found congre gated in large and unsightly camps as are now usually met with. But the great work of reformation must be mainly through the youth of the different tribes. The hope of ev ery race is in the rising generation, and this important work might well enlist the sympathy and support of all philanthropic and Christian people. The children can very easily bo taught the English language, habits of industry, power of the white race and after a few years return to their peo ple with some education, with more intelligence and with their Ideas of life entirely changed for the better. They would in turn become educa tors of their own people, and their In fluence for good could not bo esti mated, while the expense of educating them would be trifling compared to tho benefits reaped. The Indians as they become civilized and educated, as they acquire property and pay taxes toward tho support of the government! should certainly have tho same rights of citizenship as all other men enjoy. The white man and the Indian should be taught to live side by side, each respecting tho rights of the other and both living under wholesome laws, enforced with ample authority and ex act justice. Nelson A. Miles, in New York Journal. Volcanoes. The most important scientific fact proved by the St. Pierre and St. Vin cent eruptions is the underground con nection between volcanoes. This is also the most important fact to be remembered by all who live near these treacherous destroyers of life and property. Almost all volcanoes are like man holes along a sewer. They are lo cated in rows above long cracks or Assures in the earth's surface, so that when one of the volcanoes in the row begins to throw out lava and fire the others are very liable to follow suit and become equally dangerous. These fissures are not, as might be imagined, actual crevices or gaps in the crust of the earth. They are, as geologists say, "lines of weakness," whero tho crust of tho earth is unus ually thin and pierced at intervals by the shafts of volcanoes. As the earth's fires cool tho earth shrinks. Its hard crust cracks and the gas and molten lava explode where the crust is weakest, thus forming volcanoes and mountain ranges. These immense fissures or "lines of weakness" are often hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles in length. Wherever they extend there is danger of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. There are a number of these cracks or fissures in the United States, most of them running from north to south. Prof. It. P. Whitfield, head curator of geology at the museum of natural "history, said recently: "A line of fissures runs from tiie Aleutian islands southward through North and South America to Tierre del Fuego, and all along tho course of this gigantic crevico there may bo an earth quake at any time." According to the experts of the United States geological survey there is a fissure or "line of weakness" whlcn begins at Troy, N. Y., and runs south ward through Baltimore, Washington and Richmond, Va. The 'principal' rivers of the Atlantic coast have their source near this long break in the earth's crust. Tho chain of eruptions on each sldo of Mont Pelee has shown the practical importance of this discovery by the United States geological survey. It has made the fact known that Vir ginia, Maryland, District of Columbia and Now York are in the same danger zone. Tho same connection exists between Troy, N. Y., and Richmond as that which has recently been shown to ex ist between Martinique, St Vincent and Jamaica. & Compared with the Adirondacks the Rocky Mountains are but of yesterday, as their sharply defined peaks and jagged sides show. Consequently, the whole course of the Rocky Mountains and of the Andes as well, marks out the longest "line of weakness" in tho world, extending almost from the north polo to the south pole. From Mt. St. Ellas, tho giant moun tain of Alaska 18,000 feet, to tho vol canic region of T.ierra del F.uego, there is a "line of fissures" nearly 10,- 000 miles in length. A series of short fissures runs paral lel with the great Rocky Mountain fissure. The Cascade Mountains mark a volcanic belt. From Mt. Hood to Lassen's Peak there is a line of ex tinct volcanoes, several of which hava had eruptions since the glacial epoch. The Sierra Nevada and San Fran- Cisco Ranges are also located along a "line of weakness" and have a number of burnt-out craters which were in their day as dangerous as Mont Felea and La Soufriere. The famous Yellowstone Park rep resents a tract of weakness rather than a fissure. The whole region is volcanic and in a constant state of eruption. A short "line of weakness" extends through Colorado and New Mexico, containing several extinct volcanoes. And from Guatemala to Costa Rico is a volcanic belt with cones from 8,000 to 10,000 feet high. No scientist can predict when ono of these disturbance? is about to oc cur, but when- one has occurred it is very probable that there will be oth- ers in the same danger zone. Tho sympathetic eruption at S. Vin cent might have been predicted as soon as the explosion of Mont Pelco was known. . As Prof. T. A. Jagger, of Harvard university, saye: "A thorough study of volcanic mountains would be tho means of saving life in this and other countries. "New York World. ' T4 "i , .' )'