The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-06-28
INDIAN RESERVATION LANDS
EFFORTS OF SENATOR RAWILNs
TO PREVENT THEIR LEASING.
Regards the Matter of Greater I'M
portance Than That of Hawaii,
and He Is An Annexationist, Too.
Washington Office of The Herald,
1915 G Street, N. w.

Washington, June "a = Senator
Rawlins has been making a vigorous
effort to prevent the leasing of Indian
reservation lands, particularly those Of
the Uintah reservation His speech
against this feature of the Indian ap-
preparation bill was a peculiarly
spirited one.
He said: .This matter is of far
greater significance than the question
of the annexation of Hawaii, and / am
in favor of annexation. The supreme
court has decided that Indians upon
reservations have only the right of oc-
cupancy. They are tenants for life
and no more They have no right to
the timber standing upon land in the
reservations If they cut it for the
purpose OF sale, it is waste. 1t is
equally we'll settled that a tenant for
lire has no right TO open mines or to
extract and carry away or sell mineral
from the land. That rule is laid down
in elementary textbooks. The law
therefore is we'll settled that a person S
having the mere right Of occupancy
like reservation Indians, have no title
to the minerals or timber on the laAo.
Notwithstanding this well established
law it is proposed to reverse the policy
which has. hitherto prevailed and
change the Indians from having the
rights of tenants for life TO an estate
in fee, giving them not only all the
timber on but all the minerals in the
reservations.
1.-The land embraced within these In
dian reservations amounts to 81, ,345
acres In the mining states and terri
tories alone there are 100000 acres of
reservation lands. If this policy of
leasing is adopted and mines Of i'm
mense value are discovered in these
various Indian reservations the queS-
,tion will arise as to obtaining a cession
OF the lands from the Indians. 1t will
be claimed that congress has recog-
nized their right to these minerals and
that they possess the lands in fee. Be
fore any treaty can be obtained the
Indians will demand compensation fer
the full value both of lands and of
minerals. Before these vast areas CO
be reclaimed, settled and made sub
ject to taxation, the government must
therefore expend untold millions of
dollars.
1.-The motive which inspires the
springing of this matter on the aIien-
ton of congress at this time is not
difficult to fathom. Spectators have
got into these Indian reservations and
by contrivanceS and corrupt means,
have obtained consent of the Indian
councils by which large areas Of land
are to be leased to them II tney can
procure the adoption of this legisla-
ton. We are not prepared to cede to
q, 200 Indians (there are not to exceed
that number on all these lands) all the
minerals within this vast area Ct our
country. The Indians have no estate
or interest in these minerals. They
therefore have nothing to lease ind the
lessees would derive no higher right
than they DosSeSS
These minerals do not belong 20 the
secretary of the interior and to enact
this provision comedies him the right
by act of congress to grant $4,000 In
dams all the minerals in 50,000,00O acres
of land. The senate ought never to
consent to the adoption of this report.
The only remedy is to vote for the re-
lection of the report and thus throw 1T
back to the conferees in order that
they may reconsider it.
Senator Rawlins also called atten-
ton to the fact that in addition to the
were vast areas in Alaska that would
mitted the various provisions of law
relative to reservation lands for in
corporation as part of his remarks.
There is great danger that the Goa
ference report may be adopted, not
withstanding the vigorous opposition
to it. This is because of the lateness in
the session and the fact that the pres
ent parliamentary status of the Indian
appropriation bill prohibits a motion
to strike out any particular paragraph
of the bill The question must come on
the adoption or rejection Of the entire
rar1 nrt