The Scandal Of Scandals

According to Monday's dispatches an official of the Interior Department has made the statement that nearly every man now in the government service in Indian Territory is suspected of being more or less implicated in the the frauds upon the Indians. Yet it is only a few weeks since Secretary Hitchcock started the investigation imperatively suggested by the startling disclosures of Samuel W. Brosius, general agent of the Indian Rights Association.

Of late years there has been a general public impression that the United States government was at last squaring its acts with its promises and dealing fairly and honestly with our Indian wards. It is humiliating and discouraging in the extreme to have our confidence so rudely destroyed by disclosures which point to the existence of a scandal compared with which those of the Postoffice Department and government contracts are trivial and insignificant.

Connection with land companies that are charged with having swindled the Indians, even thus early in the investigation, is alleged against President Tams Bixby of the Dawes Commission, Thomas B. Needles, a member of the commission; United States District Attorney Sopor, Assistant United States District Attorney James A. Huckleberry, Clerk C. A. Davidson of the United States Court at Vinita, Internal Revenue Collector Guy P. Cobb, Indian Inspector J. George Wright and a number of minor officials. In fact, one of the suspects, dismissed several weeks ago "for the good of the service," says that several members of the Indian committees of both houses of congress may become indirectly involved in the scandal.

That any employee of the government, sworn to see that proper allotment and distribution of lands is made to the Indians, should have an interest in any company that deals in these lands is, to use the mild language of Indian Commissioner Jones, "extremely bad taste." But when such connection, which gives unusual opportunities for getting "inside information," is used to exploit and defraud the ignorant and helpless wards of the people, something infinitely worse than bad taste demands the fullest inquiry and the most exemplary punishment.

The investigation now under way must uncover and make public every one of these frauds, no matter how high or how low may be the position of those concerned in them. The people are growing sick of corruption, rascality and dishonesty in their public officials, and they demand that the sternest measures shall be taken to purge official life of corruption, which is approaching perilously near to the proportions of national disgrace and dishonor.

Secretary Hitchcock has begun the probing with commendable vigor. He has made good progress thus far, but Le still has a great and important duty to perform to the public and to the Indians. - Chicago Post.