The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-12-15

eligibility to enrolment is thereupon de-
termined. A committee selected by g
convention OF Chickasaw freedmen has
been in attendance at the sittings of the
commission, and has rendered great as
sistance. This method is necessarily slow
and consumes much time and labor; but
the commission is giving such careful
consideration to the work as will result
in producing correct and satisfactory re-
suits. The Choctaws had made rolls of
their freedmen, and the enrolment Of
| that class is thereby much facilitated.
The tribal rolls Of citizens in the Choc-
| taw and Chiekasaw nations are to be
| found more accurate and in much bet
ter form than those of the Creeks. Each
nation has provided citizenship commit
! tees to represent the nation, composed
of men of established integrity and wide
acquaintance, and they have rendered
very material aid to the commission.
Incident to the enrolment Of inter
married citizens in the Chickasaw and
| ChoctaW nations arise many complex
| questions, the determination which
! necessarily consumes much time. In this
! connection may be noted the necessity
NO.
riages have been contracted in conform
ity with tribal laws and that the parties
thus contracting are living together as
husband and wife. The acts OF the legis-
lative bodies Of both nations have made
abandonment on the part of an inter
married citizen cause for a forfeiture Of
citizenship. and 1t lies with the commits
sion to determine in such cases which
spouse has in fact abandoned the other
Many Of this character have been brought
before the commission and the hearings
present the appearance Of trial before
United States court, so formidable is
the array of counsel. witnesses, and spec
tators a special hearing for the deter
mination of such cases was held at Ard
moro in November, 1898, and again in
March. 1899, at South McAlester.
Upon the close of its appointments in
the Chickasaw nation in November, the
commission returned to Muscogee, where
the next three months were devoted to
the negotiations out Of which grew the
agreements with the Creeks and Chero-
KEGS and to the Identification of Aiissis-
sippi Choctaws, all of which appears IN
der separate heads.
In the month of March, 1889, appoint
ments were fixed and advertised for en-
rollment work in the Choctaw nation,
commencing with April H. 1889, and ex-
tending over the entire summer, with the
exception of the month of July, which
was reserved for the purpose of enabling
the commission to dispose of such mat !
ters as required the joint consideration
OF its members.
The commission has not been able dur
ing its enrolment engagements to give
hearings to cases requiring special con- /
sideration, and many claims to enroll /
ment are yet undisposed of and will neces- /
state future appointments in order that /
a proper determination may be had before |
the rolls can be closed. There also re- /
main a few cases yet to be determined !
by the United States court.
1t is exceedingly important that date /
be fixed in all the five tribes after which /
no more names can be added to their |
membership Especially is this true OF
the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations, /
where a desire on the part Of non-citZens /
to acquire an interest in tribal prop /
erty has, in many instances, been the sole /
with citizens, the consequences OF which /
need not be detailed here. Almost, If |
not quite, as serious in its consequent !
ces is the situation with reference to the |
increase in tribal membership through /
births Of children, which applies to all
the five tribes Each addition to a fam |
lily in this way entities the head Of such |
family to the selection of an additional |
allotment, varying from approximately |
500 acres in the Choctaw and Chickasaw |
nations to 100 in the Cherokee nation. |
The opportunity thus afforded for the &C
QUESTION Of wealth is readily seen and |
embraced by the more degenerate classes, |
and as a result the birth rate is high.
Citizens are required to report births
of children to the commission for enroll
ment under sworn statements. For this
purpose a blank is supplied.
The commission win seek to effect an
agreement with all the tribes at an early
day which shall fix a date for the clos
ing of rolls.
The method adopted by the commits
sion for securing and preserving the data
necessary to the enrolment Of the vari-
Gus tribes is as follows:
Each head of family is required to ap-
pear in person before the commission and
give the information necessary for the
enrolment of himself, his wife, and minor
children When deemed necessary, this
examination is conducted under oath, and
witnesses when required are summoned
and examined for verificatOn Of appli-
cant's statements If found eligible, the
enrolment is entered on a blank card
which was designed by the commission
and which embraces the information or
data required in the smallest practicable
amount OF space. These cards are Il
inches long and : inches wide, and are
preserved in boxes long enough to con-
tain the requisite number for any one roll
standing on edge. similar to the card
index system. The cards are printed to
conform TO the requirements Of the roll
for which they are intended, and those
for each roll are given a separate color
to aid in distinguishing them. The de-
positary boxes. being portable. can be
transported from place to place where
needed. and when not in use are kept
in a fireproof vault az the general Office.
The boxes are supplied with lock and
kew. and the cards are accessible only 70
those who are authorized. These cards
when filed constitute preliminary roll.
and when enrolment in any one nation
has thus been completed, the data viii
be transferred to bound volumes for trans
initial TO The department The practi-
csbiiitv Of this method Of enrolment will