Page:Visit of the Hon. Carl Schurz to Boston, March 1881.pdf/61

48 Another fact which we must recognize and allow is this: Whatever course our Government pursues toward the Indians, be it the very wisest and most humane, will have about it the essential element of arbitrariness, dictation, and compulsion. If we consult the Indians about it, as with a purpose of having their consent or approval, it will be under the implication that they have got to yield to it. We are not ready to assume that they are competent judges as to what is best for them. Our judgment in the case will have sway, whether they accord with it or not. And when in wisdom and humanity our plans for them are decided, they will be compelled to comply. This element of arbitrariness is unavoidable, because it is our judgment in the case, though it may or may not be theirs. And something more than human in generosity and unselfishness would be expected of us, if in planning and deciding as to what is the best disposal to be made of the Indians, we are not largely influenced by considerations of our own security and interest. The greeting which our honored guest received from the Indians at Hampton is but the first note of the eulogies which will extend through the centuries to come, for the initiation of his Indian policy.