Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1895-09-19

ments) there remains nothing
further for the government to do
under the law respecting the par
ticular class of intruders described,
but to remove them when the
Cherokee nation has performed its
part OF the agreement by paying
them the value of their improve
ments x sit is therefore
INV opinion that the tender of pay
ment should be made by such Of
the Cherokee authorities as may
by the laws of the nation be
charged with such duty"
In this we find sufficiently sex
traordinary occasion" for conven-
ing you in extra session before the
regular term so very near at hand.
1t is very evident that The prepar-
ations to be made for the removal
of intruders, January l, 1896, de-
mand active work at your hands.
As to the manner of paying or
making tender of pay for improve
ments, | suggest the plan recon-
mended by the commissioner of
Indian affairs in his letter of Au-
gust %, 1898, be adopted.
The commissioner in reply to an
interrogatory from this department
says:
In reply l have to say, that the
tender must be in legal money of
the United States; it will not be
legal otherwise. l would suggest
that for the purpose of ready proof,
that the officer of the nation max
ing the tender secure receipts in
duplicate from the intruders there
for; in case the intruder accepts
the amount and in case the award
be rejected by the intruder have
him sign in duplicate a statement
giving the date, the amount ten
dered, and the form in which
it was rendered. These
duplicate statements might
then be filed by the Chero-
kee officer, one in such Office of
the Cherokee nation as may be re-
quired by the law of that nation
and the other in the United States
Indian agents office, in order that
the government can be officially
informed as to the matter in case
it should be necessary hereafter
for any action to be taken with
respect thereto"
In addition to what the commits
sioner above suggests as to the
manner of rendering the value of
improvements, | recommend that
should the intruder refuse to sign
either OF the acknowledgements,
two disinterested witnesses be pro-
vided for to attest that the money
was rendered and why refused by
the intruder. This should be done
in the form of a statement 20 be
used as proof of such refusal and
the intruder's reason therefor.
By what authority of the ma
ton the pay of intruders' improve
ments should be rendered may be
question. The treasurer, in my
opinion, is the proper person, aid
ed by as many assistants as may
be deemed necessary to tender, as
early as practicable. to each in
truder in person the appraised
value of his improvement. One
assistant or more for districts in
which greatest number of intruders
are holding improvements may be
advisable.
The act of congress. March 2,
1895, suspends the removal of all
intruders until after January 1st,
1896, and in view that their i'm
provements will be left vacant, l
recommend that you authorize the
sale Immediately after tender for
appralsement OF said improve
ments to citizens of the nation pos
session to be taken after the date
above mentioned for tn intruders'
removal. In my opinion, it should
be the aim in legislation upon this
matter to place these improve
ments in the possession of such
citizens as are without homes. To
DO this it would be necessary to
enact such law as will give them
the exclusive privilege of purchase,
guarded and protected by provis-
ion against underhanded or clan
destine purchase by those provid-
ed with homes. | would further
recommend that in case the citi-
zen purchaser shall retain the in
truder upon the premises so bought
by him, some severe penalty
should be provided. In making
disposition of these improvements
it is recommended that one pur-
pose be to guard against the posi-
5ility of speculation in this char
acter of property, as provided in
our constitution. The convey
ance of right or title to these i'm
provements should mean none
other than what the same instru-
ment contemplates in other i'm
provements made on the public
domain.
As class our homeless citizens
are in the most Strengthened cir
cumstances. In accommodation to
such cases. | would recommend
that pay for these Improvements
to be in three annual installments,
and that the places stand good for
the purchase money.
The act Of congress, March 2,
1895, says: "But this provision
shall not be construed to eXted the
time for the removal of intruders
according to the foregoing agree
ment beyond the first day of JAN
uary, 1896"
This with previous agreements
certainly oblipates the government