The Florence tribune., 1899-04-01
DECIDED BY INDIANS.
Status of North Carolina Cherokees
 Determined by Election.
The State Senate in Settling a Con. test Case Takes the Vote of the Indians-Relation of In-
 dians to Suffrage.
The Cherokee Indians of North Caro- lima numbered by the last federal cen- sus s,ss5, and there were by the same

Sus t.sS3, and there were by the same census in Worth Carolina s3f 'Indiens not taxed" this being he distinction between Indians having he right 10 vote and Indians not having that priv ilege. Ine.ans not taxed are tribal h. dians whose relations with the govern mer of be Cpitee S.a.es are reguAted by treaty; in1iaus paying taxes are ln- dians who lave surrendered their ale glance to their chiefs and have become American citizens with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities which that relation implies.
 The state senate of North Carolina at Raleigh has recently decided contest ed election between Cannon and Franks from the extreme western or moun.Ain district. Cannon, democrat, contend cd that the election of Franks, a repub- lican, was obtained by the votes of Cherokee Indians in Swain county who were not qualified electors. The com mittee on elections, 10 whom the matter was referred, decided that those In- dians are not tribal under the treaty of 1895, and should be recognized as citi- zens of North Carolin. Franks retained his seat.
 Swain is one of the small mountain counties of North Carolina. having a total population of less than 1000 in an area of 425 square miles, about the same as Chemung county, \. r., and inhabit- ed chiefly by backwoodsmen in the re- zion of the Great Smoky mountains, which constituted the boundary line be- tween North Carolina and Tennessee, though they do not constitute any boundary line between the inhabit- ants, those on the Kentucky side being in fact the same as on the North Caro- lima ledge.
 The relation of Indians to the sui frage has long been subject of dispute and matter of controversy in the cleo tion laws of the United States. In Arizona all Indians are excluded from territorial suffrage n Michigan and Minnesota unfnxed Indians are ex- ciadea from rights which iu the former state aliens enjoy In Mississippi uu- taxed Indians are included ia the same official category with idiots, fel- ons and insane persons and citizens who have not paid their taxes. ln Mon tana and Nevada all Indians. whether retaining their tribal allegiance Or not. are excluded. In New Mexico al, ludi- ans are excluded except Pueblo Indians who are exempted. In Oklahoma h. dians having tribal relations are ex- cluded from the rights of suffrage, as they are in Wyoming, while in Wash ington the untaxed Indians are ex- cluded and the taxed Indians are per mitted 10 vote. It is a somewhat marked peculiarity of Indian election laws that in those states or territories in which the Indian population is con siderable the suffrage of Indians is rig idly provided against, whereas in those states in which the number of Indians is small, they are admitted to the rights of suffrage under terms similar to those prescribed for other citizens. The total number of Indinas in the United States is substantially 25G, 900, or NnOn 11o,ODu are OH TeseIN dtlOHss 65.0G0 are members of civilized tribes not on reservations, and the balance are either taxed Indians or Indians en- toying some governmental exemption, the Pueblos of New Mexico, who num- Der S,200; the Apaches at Mount Yer non, who are under the control of the
 war department, and the Six Nations of New York, who are to be found chiefly in or near Onondaga county.
 In a close election contest, such as the one which has been recently deter mined in North Carolina, the impor- tance of the Indians and their status might, in some closely contested coun- ties be decisive, and it is worthy of con sideration that the Raleigh senate, which has determined this question, comprises ten fusionisfs and 40 demo- erats, whereas the Raleigh house of representatives has an overwhelming democratic majority, large enough to l override the republicans in that body. Indian voters have never been factor in elections in the state of New York, though there are nearly twice as many Indians in this state as untaxed Chero- kees in North Carolina.-N. Y. Sun.