Mr. SCHENCK. While I trust the discussion of so important a subject will not be closed even within an hour, without reference to the possi bility of that I shall submit very briefly the reasons which have induced the ComMilAffrs for it is from that counmittee this substitute I offer comes, the subject having been referred to them to offer it as a substitute for the bill reported from the Indian Committee. The bill which I offer as a substitute is a bill with amendments added to it by the ComMilAffrs, introduced into the House by the Gentfrom Iowa [Mr. KAssox] originally, and referred to the committee of which I have the honor to be chair man. It Presents now, being offered as a substitute, the antagonism between the 2 schemes of managing the Indians, consisting on the one hand in leaving their management to the interior Dept, or on the other of transferring it to the Dept of War. The gentleman has explained his bill to the House. It is simple; it is no doubt designed to correct the evils which he and I and all of us admit exist in the Present management of our Indian affairs, evils which result from the dishonest practices of the Indian agents. Perhaps, sir, I used too strong language yes. terday when I spoke of the Indian Bureau as constituting little better than a nest of thieves. But I do not understand that the gentleman who rePresents the Indian Committee differs with me on that point. The original bill was introduced for the purpose of breaking up a system that entitles us to characterize it in that way. When I speak of this matter, I want to be understood as not referring particularly to the management of Indian affairs here in Washington, but to all the ramifications of wrong, injus tice, opPression; and fraud which run through the various Indian agencies and employees of the Government in any way having charge of or dealing with the Indians. Now, sir, what is the mode of correction which is proposed by the bill of the ComIndAffrs? It is proposed to appoint 5 boards of inspection for 5 inspection districts, these boards to consist each of 3 men, to be appointed by the President. One of each board is to be an officer detailed from the Army; so far admitting the justice of our claim that the Army should be rePresented in this matter. Another member of each board is to be selected directly by the President. The 3rd member of each board is to be selected from those recommended by the churches of this country for the purposes or if they fail to make such recommendations the President is to select the 3rd member as in the case of the other civilians, directly without the intervention of the church. Now, the 1st objection to this plan is that it is too cumbersome a piece of machinery. There are to be 5 inspection boards, consisting of 3 inspectors each, and comprising 15 members in all, who are to be scattered all over the country and to be charged with investigating and reporting upon the frauds practiced in relation to Indian affairs, so that they may be guarded against. Another objection is the mixture of the various interests in the plan, which interests, if not antagonistic to each other, certainly will hardly tend to promote harmonious action. You are to have the politician, the priest, and the warrior upon oboard of inspectors. I suppose the politician is to wink at the contracts to be made for cheating the Indians; the priest is to pray for the Indian who is to be cheated, and the warrior is to kill him if he does not behave himself. [Laughter] However that may be, I take it for granted that the churches in the selection of persons to be recommended to the President will ordinarily recommend those of their own cloth. This is the 1st instance, I believe, in which any legislation has been attempted in this country to bring the church and State so completely together. A man's eligibility for appointment to one of these places is to depend upon his getting the indorsement of some of the churches of this country. As a matter of course each church will recommend one of its own faith; and equally as a matter of course we shall have a great many candidates made eligible by these recommendations, from among whom the President must make his selections. A squabble will take place, therefore, between the Quaker, the Methodist, the Presbyterian, the Baptist, and the Episcopalian at the very initiation of the attempt to organize one of these boards. But oall that out of the question there is another difficulty, the want of economy in this proposed system of inspection. In the 1st place, these 15 inspectors are to be appointed. 5 of them, it may be said, will not have any salary paid to them in conse. quence of their performing the duty of inspect. ors, because they are already officers of the Army, and are to act without additional compensation. But the other 2 members of each Qard are to be paid $4,000 each per annum. Then there are to be ten inspectors at salaries of $4,000 each, making $40,000 a year for the inspectors alone. The Gentfrom minnesota [Mr. WINDOM] has said, and said very properly, that if his scheme be a good one the $40,000 paid for these inspectors will be as nothing compared with the millions which will be saved by it. I concede to that argument all the strength there may be in it. But I meet it by saying that not only is the expense of $40,000 added by the appointment of these inspectors under this system, and which is contrasted with the proposition to turn this whole matter over to the military supervision of the War Dept, but all the Indian agents are to be paid as they are now paid, each of them a yearly salary. Now, by com. mitting this matter to the supervision of the War Dept you save not only the $40,000 for the inspectors, but all the salaries to be paid to the agents and sub agents, for all these duties will be performed by officers of the Army, according to my substitute, without any additional compensation whatever. But I think the gentleman is mistaken, upon the score of economy, in supposing that his plan proposes only $40,000 additional annual expenditure. I think $300 is added to the salary of each Indian agent; they now receive $1,500 a year each, whereas his bill proposes to raise the salary to $1, 800 a year each.