The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1899-10-22
WASHINGTON LETTER.
ALLEGED ARBITRARY RULINGS
OF DAWES COMMISSION.
Their Copies of Instructions S6id to
Differ Materially From Those Now
on File In the Interior Department.
Investigation BeRnn.
Special to the Ardmoreite.


refusal of the Dawes commission to
permit applicants for citizenship In
the various tribes in Indian Territory
to be represented at the hearings oy
counsel is the exercise OF arbitrary
authority pure and simple. The in
structions se.5t to the Dawes COM
mission on the enrolment of appli-
cants under the date of July 25 last,
which instructions are all that have
been sent to the commission cover
ing this particular subject. contain
no provision directly or indirectly
,lreventing applicants from being
represented at the hearings, to de-
termine their citizenship, by counsel.
In fact the department officials are
non-plussed over the action of the
commission in excluding attorneys
for the applicants and at the same
time admitting attorneys for the
tribes. An investigation has already
been instituted and the members of
the commission will be called upon
for an explanation.
The Investigation thus far made
reveals the fact that the official in
structions sent the Dawes commits
sion have been altered, or changed
if the report, sustained by affidavits
of prominent attorneys and prom
inent citizens of the Territory, re-
ceived at the interior department,
can be relied upon. The original
instructions sent the commission,
copies of which can be obtained at
the Indian office, contain the follow
ing provisions relating to the ex-
animation of applicants:
For the purpose of this record
you will require each applicant for
enrolment to present himself in per-
son before the commission at one OF
its appointments within the tribe in
which such applicant claims enroll
ment, for examination under oath,
his statement to be taken down by
1.-The commission upon which the COM
mission will determine his right to
enrolment, and such record and ac-
ton of the commission will be pre-
served and transmitted with the
rolls to be considered by this office
and the department., when the rolls
made by the commission are sub
mitted for the approval of the secre-
tary the il terror"
According to letters from reput-
able attorneys throughout the Terri
tory and applicants, accompanied
by afidayits, the rules as promulgat-
ed hx the Dawes commission, and
which are being r1gidly enforced
contain one additional word which
changes the whole serse OF
this provision. According to the
claims made by the attorneys this
paragraph, in the instructions being
followed by the Dawes commission
reads as follows:
"For the purpose of this record
you will require each applicant for
enrolment to present himself IN
person before the commission alone
at one of it's appointments within
claims right of enrolment. etc.
1t will thus be seen that tie inser-
tion of this word "alone" changes
the whole sense of this provision and
accomplishes the very object for
which Judge McKenna commended
while in Washington at the time
these instructions were being pre-
pared, namely, to prevent attorneys
from being present to represent ap
plicants at the hearing before the
commission.
How it is that this word "alone'
appears in the instructions III the
hands of the Dawes commission, ane
that copies of the same instruction:
at the Indian office, printed from the
same type and supposed to be alb
solutely the same do not contain thl'
word is a mystery which the officials
are attempting to solve. The attor
news who have called the attention
of tie department to this question
have been called upon for copies o
the instructions under which thu
Dawes commission is proceeding
and at the same time the DaWe
commission has also been calico
upon to answer the charges prefer
red. If it should turn out that thu
instructions of the Dawes commits
sion contain this little word alone,
which has such far reaching effect
and the interior department is salts
fed that they have been refusing ap
plicants the right of representation
by counsel at the hearing, it is prob
able that all the hearings thus ia
had will be Cancelled ana the Dave
commission instructed to rehear al
applicants who have been rejected
orwho feel that they sustained X use
n n