The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-25

directed-and this was rnandatory-to
make these allottmentS, and an appro-
priation of $4,000 to defray the ex-
penses was provided in that same bill
AS soon as the allotments were made,
the lands were to be thrown open for
settlement That is the situation OF
those lands OF these Indians at the
present time The president or the sec
rotary of the interior may at any time
by executive proclamation-and IL IS
their duty under the provisions of this
act-declare these lands open to entry
under the public-land law 10 do just
what this bill provides.
The distinguished senator from Ar
kansas (Mr. jones' states that this leg
islation has not been submitted to the
interior Department for its considera-
ton or report. He is certainly mis-
taken u9on that subject For more
than six months this very matter was
under the consideration of the Indian
bureau. of the secretary of the interior
and of both branches of congress. 1t
was fully discussed both in the house
Of representatives and in the senate.
After such discussion the senate and
the house decided that these Indians
ought TO take their lands in severalty,
and that the unallotted lands should be
thrown open TO entry under the public
land law In respect 10 the asphaltum
or mineral lands. it was provided that
they should be disposed of substan-
TALLY. almost precisely as is provided
in the pending amendment to this ap-
preparation bill.
The only necessity for this amend
ment grows out of the fact that there
has been apparently a deliberate at
tempt on the part of the executive Of
ficers of the government to thwart and
defeat the positive direction of the leg
seI~ i.
the interior. while he recommended the
passage of this law and approved it in
the first instance, after il had been en-
acted, appointed commissioners and
then. in the instructions which were
given to those commissioners. as shown
by the report made on yesterday morn
ing by the present secretary of the in
terror. proceeded, by his Instructions
virtually to tell the commissioners not
to do that which the law said in man
datory terms they should do. Why
was this legislation thus defeated?
l we'll remember the opposition which
was encountered in the Fifty-third con-
gress in respect to this legislation 1t
then developed that certain individuals
had procured lease from these In
dams for all the mineral lands in the
Uncompahgre reservation. and they
came before the secretary of the in
But in the meantime the lease had
been assigned TO a corporation known
as the American Asphaltum company,
the object of which was to gain the
monopoly and control of all those min
eral lands.
1t was pointed out at the time this
application was made that if the In
dams had an interest in those lands 1t
was competent, as held by the officers
of the interior department. for the sec
rotary to approve the lease, thus vail
dating all the lands. hundreds of thou
sands of acres, embracing all the min
erals, in the hands of a single corpora
ton. The contention was then made
that the Indians had no interest in the
lands and, therefore, could not make
lease which would be validated by the
approval of the secretary, and the law
officers of the government decided that
that was true. When that measure
came into the senate, the opposition of
the asDhaltum company. who thus ex-
pected to gain monopoly of the lands,
was made manifest. They insisted that
before this legislation should be en-
acted there must be provision APPROX
ing this very lease, thus giving mo-
nopoly of all those lands to that cor
poration. 1t seems that some influence
or other has been potent enough from
that day to this to defeat the clear and
explicit direction on the 9art of the
government TO allot to the Indians lands
suitable for agriculture and grazing.
and then throw open the residue of the
lands free to citizens, not allowing any
citizen of the United Staes to take in
excess of one claim.
Now. the objection which I under
stand has been urged to this measure
is that there is danger that the lands
will fall into the hands of some great