THE
CHEM AW A
AM ERICAN
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“ Painted Desert’’ more frequently, and less often the small alfalfa patch
on a great reservation. We should at least tell the whole truth. It is
prejudicial to the Indian to emphasise the small part of their possessions
that are productive and withhold from the public the very large unpro
ductive portion. In this wise it becomes wrongfully understood that
they have vast and valuable possessions unused by them which should
be otherwise utilized.
A few words on the moral side of our Service. Every employee in
the Indian Service should be a constant object lesson of sobriety that the
Indian may by comparison understand the demoralizing and disastrous
effects of the use of intoxicants, by whatever name they are known.
After I addressed my letter to the employees of the Indian Bureau, pro
nouncing liquor the greatest menace to the American Indian, I received
a communication from the Honorable Joseph H. Choate, warmly com
mending the sentiment, and saying, “ You are absolutely right in your
position, that if we can save the American Indian from the curse of whis
key, we can save him from pretty much all the other ills that threaten
him.” No better proof of the evils attending the use of liquor can be
given than to cite the attitude of the present War Lords of the Old
World. Liquor is the instrument commonly used by the unscrupulous
who reach out to get the Red Man. Every effort within the power of
all the employees in the Indian Service should l>e made to save the In
dian from the curse of the liquor traffic.
I have never announced a policy, but if I were to declare one today
it would be in these few words: In dealing with Indians and Indian
problems, under like conditions, treat all questions practically the same
as if white people alone were involved.
Sometimes it occurs to me that I take my job too seriously, but after
all do you think it possible to take too seriously responsibility involving
the health, education, property, and in some measure, the destiny of a
human race? The Indian Office deals with a people numbering ap
proximately 335,000 souls. We have virtually a Government within a
Government. Our Bureau deals with every social, educational, eco
nomic, and contractual relationship. It has some feature of nearly
every Bureau or Department in Washington. It is original in its opera
tion, constructive in its action, and frequently without precedent. A
Commissioner of Indian Affairs might to advantage be a lawyer, doctor,
teacher, farmer, stockman, lumberman, oil expert, and mining engi
neer—have practically all of the equipment within the range of human
affairs. There is no phase of life upon which he does not have to act
practically every day. In addition to his activities in connection with
the life of the Indians, he has to deal with the varied relationships of
almost six thousand employees, and there are numerous perplexing and