A Scandal at the Simcoe Reservation
Protests erupt over the dismissal of religious personnel at a Washington Indian Agency.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
We received a communication criticizing the action of our Superintendent of Indian Affairs regarding his removal of employees upon the Simcoe Reservation without consultation with the worthy man in charge of that agency. We have been shown letters from prominent members of the M. E. Church detailing the arrogant treatment by Mr. Kendall of the Rev. Jas. H. Wilbur and the agent in charge. We have also read a letter from the Agent, Mr. Bancroft, to a friend in Olympia, complaining of Kendall’s discourteous and unwarrantable assumption of authority. It appears Kendall has a settled purpose of driving from his superintendency all 'praying men' to make room for a man who now stands indicted for fornication and adultery and is awaiting trial. Mr. Bancroft states he had made arrangements for replacing his drunken, licentious surgeon, but the request to discharge him was promptly refused by Mr. Kendall.
“To this latter opposition may be attributed his settled purpose of driving from his Superintendency all 'praying men.'”
This 1861 controversy over political appointments versus community-trusted staff at the Simcoe Reservation mirrors ongoing modern debates regarding the politicization of public agencies and the balance between federal authority and local stewardship.
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