Gresham's Lawlessness

The American Indians are winning some battles with the white man these days, and while at first glance that might seem only a just historical retribution, the rule of law is suffering in the process. The latest incident took place last week near Gresham, Wis. There the nearly two-month-old occupation of a 64-room, 237-acre Catholic novitiate by a band of Menominee Indians ended with an agreement by its owner, the Alexian Brothers Order, to yield its property to the Indians.

Though the Alexians acted out of a commendable desire to avoid possible bloodshed, the precedent was not a happy one. At the time its property was invaded, the order was in the final stages of negotiating an agreement to lease the abbey to another group of Indians. The Menominee hotheads who simply moved in were in fact initially condemned by their tribal elders. But in the end revolutionary rhetoric and the blackmail of violence prevailed, and the

Menominees will get the abbey for a nominal $1 plus a vaguely worded pledge to give the brothers "fair reimbursement" for the property. The price of compassion in this instance will be to encourage any group in U.S. society with real or fancied grievances to take the law into their own hands.

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