Page:Speeches, correspondence and political papers of Carl Schurz, Volume 4.djvu/155

a powerful government, which might accomplish such things if it would only put forth its whole strength. Is this so? The Government is, indeed, strong in some respects, but weak in others. It may be truthfully said that the Government has never been intent upon robbing the Indians. It has frequently tried, in good faith, to protect them against encroachment, and almost as frequently it has failed. It has simply yielded to the pressure exercised upon it by the people who were in immediate contact with the Indians. Those in authority were, in most cases, drawn or driven into an active participation in conflicts not of their own making. When a collision between Indians and whites had once occurred, no matter who was responsible for it, and when bloody deeds had been committed and an outcry about Indian atrocities had been made, our military forces were always found on the side of the white people and against the savage, no matter whether those who gave the orders knew that the savages were originally the victims and not the assailants. Imagine, now, the Government were to proclaim that, from the many millions of acres at present covered by Indian reservations, white men should forever be excluded, and that the National power should be exerted to that end, what would be the consequence? For some time the Government might succeed in enforcing such a resolution. How long, would depend upon the rapidity with which the western country is occupied by settlers. As the settlements crowd upon the reservations, the population thickens, and the demand for larger fields of agricultural and mining enterprise becomes more pressing, the Government may still remain true to its purpose. But will those who are hungry for the Indian lands sit still? It will be easy for the rough and reckless frontiersmen to pick quarrels with the Indians. The speculators, who have their eyes upon every opportunity for gain, will urge