The Golden Fox

John rose abruptly from his chair, a personal meeting with the President of the United States was beyond his wildest expectations; he stared at him in astonishment. Little did John know that the President and the Senator were long time close friends and their encounters were always informal. “Allow me Abe, to present you to Mr. John Staff ord,” said the Senator, with fl uent ease. John quickly regained his composure and eagerly clasped the President’s hand. “Mr. President it is a great honor to meet you.” “It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Staff ord.” After the formal greetings were exchanged the business at hand began. “Mr. Staff ord,” expressed the President, explicitly. “We badly need a man with wisdom, courage and adeptness to undertake a job of clearing the western territory of the many transgressions committed against both whites and Indians. I took the liberty to make inquiries into your background and capabilities, and I am very much impressed. I have been told, Mr. Staff ord that you are that kind of man; just the kind of man I am looking for.” John blushed slightly. “My friends fl atter me,” he said, amusingly. “I am wholly concerned about the desperate plight the Indian people are experiencing. Th ere are others in government who also harbor sympathy for their woeful cause, and on the other hand there are those who are motivated by greed or special interest that constantly impede our eff orts to provide suffi cient assistance. Willing hands are bound by budget woes and administration red tape for that turbulent area; also, we seem to be embarking on a confrontation with the southern states, regarding the slavery issue.” “All those formidable adversities have sorely hindered my being able to provide any appreciable aide through normal channels; therefore, I must venture into an alternative procedure. I believe a complement of government sanctioned individuals, operating independent of government and military control, could lend itself to solutions, and far greater results than our present conventional means. I will provide offi cial documents, authorized by me, that will grant complete authority over all personage, government and civil. I sincerely believe it to be a necessary tool to combat the many individuals in authority who are operating beyond their jurisdiction. Th e power given is immense and must be granted to only a person of highest integrity. Secondly, that person must be well acquainted with the Indian dilemma. If I may ask you, Mr. Staff ord, what is your religion?’ “Mr. President,” John replied, fi rmly. “To be frank with you I really do not think I have any religion. If I had I suppose I should call my self a Christian, though judging from the behavior of Christians in general, I can not be of them after all, for I belong to no sect, I go to no church, however, I have a profound reverence and admiration for the character and doctrine of Christ and I believe if I had had the privilege of conversing with him, I should not have deserted him as his timorous disciples did. I believe in, an all-wise creator, so you see I am not an Atheist. For instance, I’m not afraid of death, lots of very religious people are horribly afraid of it, though they all the time declare it’s the only path to heaven. Th ey’re not consistent at all. I respect everyone’s philosophical convictions and try never to adjudge those convictions.” “You may be wondering, Mr. Staff ord, why such a query. I have been greatly concerned lately, with respect to the infl ux of missionaries out to convert the Indians. I wanted to reassure myself, you would not yield to the temptation to become a spreader of the faith and lose sight of the main objective. I am genuinely impressed with your perspective on human rights.” “Th ank you Mr. President. I believe there are myriads of sorry plights the Indians are facing, that it would be a gross injustice to waste time and eff ort trying to change their beliefs. Th eir religion has endured for centuries and I don’t think they have a mind to change.