“I am glad you have a farm. It is the only way to live.”
Faithfully yours,
Jacob A. Riis.”
Representative of the National Game
Jockey with Cigar Box
Hunter
Policeman
VI
HERE’S a New York Politician’s opinion about the Indians he knew. “Say, Spielberg, were you in the Assembly at Albany in 1901?”
“No, this is only my second term. Let me explain how they do things up there. I went there, full of enthusiasm for the public service. Being a new member, I scarcely expected to get on one of the big committees, but I thought I was entitled to something. The Speaker put me on the Indian Affairs Committee. The only Indians I knew anything about were the braves of the Tammany tribe, but I was willing to learn. I read the works of J. Fenimore Cooper so as to get posted on Indian Affairs. When I got a pretty good grip on the subject I waited for a meeting of my committee, but couldn’t find any. Near the close of the session I went to an old member of the Legislature and asked him if there were any Indians in the state and if so what was I supposed to do for them.