intermingled, and the act of March 3, 1891, creating Annette Islands Reserve for the benefit of William Duncan and the members of his mission colony, has been administered contrary to the true intent and policy of Congress.

Among the statements of scores of distinguished men and women who detail the facts, are those of the late Dr. Henry J. Minthorn, the uncle and foster father of the Honorable Herbert Hoover.

Dr. Minthorn was medical missionary at the Metlakahtla Christtian Mission at the time of the death of William Duncan; and he

THE MISSION STILL CRIPPLED BY UNLAWFUL USURPATIONS

and his distinguished wife, Mrs. Matilda W. Minthorn, were appointed by the trustees of William Duncan's estate to continue the great missionary undertaking of the testator.

Both Dr. and Mrs. Minthorn were compelled to labor under the most serious restrictions imposed by Government officials and the officers and agents of the Bureau of Education. Obstructed by governmental interferences and unlawful regulations, the fortitude and courage of these missionaries were frequently taxed to the extreme, and to them great credit is due for their self-sacrificing efforts in preserving the evangelistic ideals of Father Duncan.

Since the death of Dr. Minthorn on October 11, 1922, Mrs. Matilda W. Minthorn has continued the work of the Metlakahtla Christian Church and Mission as far as permitted by agents of the Bureau of Education and other Government officials.

Such unlawful usurpations and interferences in the affairs of church and State present a situation that is abhorrent to American institutions and an affront to Christianity.

EVIDENCE DOCUMENTARY

The evidence is documentary.

A remedy is sought.

SECTION 2. SEQUENCE OF IMPORTANT EVENTS

Father Duncan and his mission colony seek refuge from politico-sectarian persecutions in British Columbia. Unanimous support by the press. Assisted and advised by committee of distinguished citizens. Father Duncan accepts the hospitality of the American people and becomes a citizen of the United States. Annette Islands set apart as a special reserve for the use of Father Duncan and his mission colony. Father Duncan's continued success at New Metlakahtla

The controversy which led to the removal of the Metlakahtla Christian Church and Mission from British Columbia to Alaska was decided at the bar of public opinion, overwhelmingly in favor of Father Duncan, more than 45 years ago, and the facts relating thereto are matters of history.1

When Father Duncan and his mission colony became the victims of cruel and avaricious politico-sectarian persecutions in British Columbia and were despoiled of their property, his remarkably successful work as a missionary to the Indians was already favorably known throughout the world.

* See The Story of Metlakahtla, by Henry S. Wellcome.

FATHER DUNCAN AND HIS MISSION COLONY SEEK REFUGE FROM POLITICOSECTARIAN PERSECUTIONS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

At the urgent request of his followers and the earnest solicitation of friends, Father Duncan visited this country in the winter of 1886-87, and brought with him a letter signed by several of the most distinguished citizens of British Columbia, including Bishop Edward Cridge, resident since 1854; the Honorable B. W. Pearse, chief commissioner of lands and works of British Columbia, resident since 1851; the Honorable William J. Macdonald, life senator of the Dominion Parliament of Canada from British Columbia, resident since 1850; and the Honorable J. H. Turner, a member of the Provincial Parliament of British Columbia, and later Prime Minister of the Province.

The text of this letter from these reputable and well-known men, who were familiar with the difficulties that then confronted Father Duncan and his mission, was as follows:

VICTORIA, B. C., November 16, 1886.

To the lovers of civil and religious liberty in America:

The bearer, Mr. William Duncan, for 30 years a devoted missionary of religion and civilization in North British America, and during the whole of that period well known to the undersigned, is on his way to Washington, deputed by the native Christian brethern of Metlakahtla to confer with the United States authorities on matters affecting their interest and desires.

Like the pilgram fathers of old, this afflicted but prospering and thrifty flock seek a refuge from grievous wrongs, and hope to find it under the American flag.

They prefer abandoning the home of their fathers, and the precious fruits of their industry, to submitting to the violent seizure of their land, and the intolerable stings of religious greed and interference.

We, therefore, most respectfully commend Mr. Duncan, and his mission, to such brothers and friends in our sister country-the land of the free as may be disposed to use their influence in aid of the oppressed.

When the facts in regard to the persecution of William Duncan and his converts became known, a storm of indignation and protest appeared in the press of the United States and Canada, which was echoed throughout the continent in condemnations from the pulpit and denunciations by prominent and influential American citizens, in both private and official life and without regard to political faith or religious creed.

Among the prominent clergymen in the United States who took an active part in bringing to the attention of the American people the situation which then threatened the destruction of Father Duncan's work were the Right Reverend Phillips Brooks, bishop of the Episcopal Church in Massachusetts; the Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, pastor of the Plymouth Church, in Brooklyn, N. Y.; Rev. Edward Everett Hale, of Boston, Mass.; and Rev. William A. Bartlett, pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, in Washington, D. C.

Among the many religious congregations throughout the country that took part in having Father Duncan remove his mission to the United States, was that of the Plymouth Church, in Brooklyn, N. Y., which adopted formal resolutions and forwarded them to the

proper authorities at Washington, D. C., setting forth, among other things

That it is the sense of this congregation in every way desirable for the future welfare of the Indians in question, and the building up of our Alaskan possessions, that so large a body of people, grounded in Christian and industrial principles, should be welcomed to our soil;

The following is quoted from the remarks of the late Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, introducing William Duncan to his congregation, as recorded by the Brooklyn Eagle on January 17, 1887:

*

*

I desire to introduce to our Christian brethren Mr. Duncan, who is certainly a missionary, a minister, a priest, a bishop, and a ruler by the grace of God, without the imposition of human hands, or any external civil ceremony He comes to us well recommended, not to raise money but to devise means of transferring his people to Alaska, so that they may be got beyond the reach of ecclesiastical despotism and avarice of the men surrounding his settlement. I think the least the Government can do is to allow someone to settle in Alaska.

UNANIMOUS SUPPORT BY THE PRESS

The newspaper files of that period show the spontaneous manner in which the cause of William Duncan and his native converts was espoused by both the religious and secular press.2

2 SUPPORT OF WILLIAM DUNCAN BY THE PRESS

Among the journals in the United States that espoused the cause of William Duncan and his followers, when they were invited to accept refuge on American soil, were: The New York World; the New York Herald; the New York Sun; the New York Times; the New York Tribune; the New York Evening Post and the Nation; the New York Star; the New York Morning Journal; the New York Evening Telegram: the New York Observer; the New York Graphic; the New York Epoch Godey's Lady's Book, New York; the Art Amateur, New York; the Book Record, New York; Literary Chat, New York; the Rural New-Yorker, New York; the Magazine of American History, New York; the Medico-Legal Journal, New York; the Age, New York; Truth, New York; Church Press, New York; the Church Union. New York; the Jewish Messenger, New York; the Evangelist, New York; Episcopal Methodist, New York; the National Baptist, New York; Standard Union, Brooklyn, N. Y.; the Argus, Albany, N. Y.; Evening Journal, Albany, N. Y.; Morning Express, Albany, N. Y.; Evening Post, Albany, N. Y.; the Post Express, Rochester, N. Y.; Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, N. Y.; the Union and Advertiser, Rochester, N. Y.; the Morning Express, Buffalo, N. Y.; Northern Budget, Troy, N. Y.; Morning Dispatch, Auburn, N. Y.; the Times, Trenton, N. J.; the Journal, Newark, N. J.; the Advertiser, Newark, N. J.; Evening News, Newark, N. J.; Boston Herald, Boston, Mass.; Morning Journal, Boston, Mass.; the Globe, Boston, Mass.; the Advertiser, Boston, Mass.; Commonwealth, Boston, Mass.; the Home Journal, Boston, Mass.; the Woman's Journal, Boston, Mass.; the Morning Star, Boston, Mass.; Unitarian Review, Boston, Mass.; the Educator, Boston, Mass.; the Boston Traveler, Boston, Mass.; the Christian, Boston Mass.; Zion's Herald, Boston, Mass.; the Homestead, Springfield, Mass.; the Household, Brattleboro. Vt.: the Transcript, Portland, Maine; the Advertiser, Portland, Maine; Christian Mirror, Portland, Maine; the Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine; Daily Whig and Courier, Bangor, Maine; the Commercial, Bangor, Maine; Lewiston Journal, Lewiston, Maine; the Register, New Haven, Conn.; the Palladium, New Haven, Conn.; the American, Manchester, N. H.; the Inquirer, Philadelphia, Pa.; the Press, Philadelphia, Pa.; the Bulletin, Philadelphia, Pa.; the Times, Philadelphia, Pa.: the Call, Philadelphia, Pa.; the Record, Philadelphia, Pa.; the Evening Star, Philadelphia, Pa.; Christian Woman, Philadelphia, Pa.; the Christian Standard, Philadelphia, Pa.; the Independent, Harrisburg, Pa.: the Telegraph, Harrisburg, Pa.; the Post, Pittsburgh, Pa.; the National Republican, Washington, D. C.; the American, Washington, D. C.; the Capital, Washington, D. C.; the American, Baltimore, Md.; the News, Baltimore, Md.; the Methodist Protestant, Baltimore Md.; the Sun, Baltimore, Md.; Evening Capital, Annapolis, Md.; the Peninsula Methodist, Wilmington, Del.; the News and Courier, Charleston, S. C.; Florida TimesUnion, Jacksonville, Fla.; the Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill.; the Chicago Times, Chicago, Ill; the News, Chicago, Ill.; the Inter-Ocean, Chicago, Ill.; the Journal. Chicago, Ill.; the Herald, Chicago, Ill.; the Current, Chicago, Ill.; Saturday Evening Herald, Chicago, Ill.; the Occident, Chicago, Ill.; the Christian Cynosure, Chicago, Ill., the Free Methodist, Chicago, Ill.; the School Journal, Chicago, Ill.; American Commercial Traveler, Chicago, ; the Enquirer, Cincinnati, Ohio; the Times-Star, Cincinnati, Ohio; Journal and Messenger, Cincinnati, Ohio; the Christian Standard, Cincinnati, Ohio; the Herald and Presbyter, Cincinnati, Ohio; American Grange Bulletin, Cincinnati, Ohio; Ohio State Journal, Columbus, Ohio; the Leader, Cleveland, Ohio; Toledo Blade, Toledo, Ohio; Evening Bee Toledo, Ohio; the News, Indianapolis, Ind.; Christian Herald, Detroit, Mich; the Review and Herald, Detroit, Mich.; the Sentinel, Milwaukee, Wis., the Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wis.; the Journal, Minneapolis, Minn.; the Review, Mankato, Mian; the Journal, Mankato, Minn.; the Post, Rochester. Minn.; Missouri Republican, St. Louis, Mo.; the Observer, St. Louis, Mo.; the Evangelist, St. Louis, Mo.; the South

Among many similar expressions by the press throughout the country, the New York World, of June 12, 1887, declared:

Those whose eyes have been moistened and whose indignation has burned over the pathetic story of "Evangeline" and the exiled Acadians will be surprised to find its counterpart or worse in the "Story of Metlakahtla", a settlement of converted Indians on the coast of British Columbia. It is a recital of even greater injustice and oppression of a people than moved the world in Longfellow's rhythmic tale. The Acadians had within them the resources of a civilized people. The Metlakahtlans, grouping in their way under a noble and self-sacrificing leader, from a state of barbarism and savagery to an industrious and orderly community, find their path of development blocked by the bickerings of a clique of professed Christians, the tranquillity of their settlement disturbed, their lands invaded, their property practically confiscated and their natural rights disregarded.

The same journal in a later issue (June 30, 1887) said:

We can only say that the work of Mr. Duncan has never been equalled in the history of missionary effort; that the thousand Indians under his charge are victims of an oppression more cruel and shameful than that which drove the Pilgrim Fathers to New England; that the cause which they represent should appeal to every true American heart * *. To such a cause The World is always ready to lend its assistance.

*

On September 4, 1887, The New York Tribune said:

They [the Metlakahtlans] were attacked on two sides. Church and State were banded against them. * * *

This model settlement has been treated by the Governments both of the Dominion and of British Columbia in a way which must be characterized as infamous. The State has upheld the church and the church has given its sanction to the State in a program of spoliation and tyrannical abuse and interference such as might well have justified an Indian war. Nothing stupider, nothing more dishonorable, nothing baser in the long list of outrages committed by the powerful of the earth against the weak can be cited than the story of Metlakahtla.

"Here is one of the very few examples of successful missionary work to be found on the globe. It was doing well in every way. It was a nucleus around which, if intelligent methods were used, might eventually be gathered a comprehensive system of Indian settlement and Christianization. Its founder was a man who deserved every honor and consideration. He had, by the exercise of most rare judgment and skill, accomplished a remarkable and a noble work." A number of eminent American citizens, including the late Senator George Graham Vest of Missouri, personally visited the scenes of the outrages in British Columbia and, in their private capacities, made a first-hand investigation.

With complete knowledge of the facts, the American people encouraged William Duncan to remove his mission to Alaska and reestablish it on American soil, where it was promised that the religious and property rights of the missionary and his converts would receive the protection vouchsafed by the Constitution of the United States.

Western Methodist, St. Louis, Mo.; the Central Baptist, St. Louis, Mo.: the Times, Kansas City, Mo.; the Gazette, St. Joseph, Mo.; the Argus, Louisville, Ky.; the Christian Observer, Louisville, Ky.; the Heathen Helper, Louisville, Ky.; the American, Nashville, Tenn.; Christian Advocate, Nashville, Tenn.; Cumberland Presbyterian, Nashville, Tenn.; Memphis Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.; the Picayune. New Orleans, La.; the City Item, New Orleans, La.; South-Western Presbyterian, New Orleans, La.; Daily Express, San Antonio, Tex.; the Review, Clifton, Kans.; the Eagle, Williamsburg, Kans.; Omaha Bee, Omaha, Nebr.; the Deseret News, Salt Lake City, Utah; the Chronicle, San Francisco, Calif.; the Alta California, San Francisco, Calif.; the Bulletin, San Francisco, Calif.; California Christian Advocate, San Francisco, Calif.; the Argonaut, San Francisco, Calif.; Daily Record-Union, Sacramento, Calif.; the Oregonian, Portland, Oreg.; and the Alaskan, Sitka, Alaska.

ASSISTED AND ADVISED BY COMMITTEE OF DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS

Among the members of the committee of distinguished men and women who assisted and advised William Duncan in the removal of his mission colony from British Columbia to Alaska were:

Gen. John W. Foster, chairman, later Secretary of State, Mrs. Foster, and their daughters.

Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite, of the Supreme Court of the United States, and Mrs. Waite.

Mr. Justice Stanley Matthews, of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Mr. Justice Samuel Freeman Miller, of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Hon. Shelby Moore Cullom, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

Hon. William Windom, Secretary of the Treasury, and for many years United States Senator from Minnesota.

Rev. William A. Bartlett, pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, Washington, D. C., and Mrs. Bartlett.

Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, pastor of the Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Rt. Rev. Phillips Brooks, bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church of Massachusetts.

Rev. Edward P. Goodwin, pastor of the First Congregational Church, Chicago, Ill.

Rev. Edward Everett Hale, Boston, Mass.

Mr. George W. Childs, publisher, Philadelphia, Pa.

Hon. William Eleroy Curtis, author and journalist, Washington,

D. C.

Hon. Henry L. Dawes, chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and Mrs. Dawes.

Miss Anna L. Dawes, author, journalist, and officer of various missionary, philanthropic, and civic organizations.

Mr. Anthony Joseph Drexel, banker, Philadelphia, Pa.

Hon. Charles B. Farwell, United States Senator from Illinois. Miss Alice Cunningham Fletcher, ethnologist and author, Boston, Mass.

Mr. Henry Oscar Houghton, of the firm of Houghton, Mifflin & Co., publishers, Boston, Mass.

Hon. Darwin Rush James, Member of Congress from the Third Congressional District of New York, and later a member of the Board of United States Indian Commissioners.

Miss Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore, author and traveler, Washington, D. C.

Mr. Edward Isaiah Thomas, Brookline, Mass.

Hon. George Graham Vest, United States Senator from Missouri. Dr. Henry S. Wellcome, of New York City and London.

And other distinguished clergymen, statesmen, journalists, professional and business men.