The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1899-07-04
Special to the Ardmoreite.

Washington, d. c., July 2.-The
of large number of appli-
cations for citizenship on the tribal
rolls of the Choctaw and Chickasaw
nations, recently completed by the
Dawes commission, and the refusal
of the commission to forward the
records in each case to the Secretary
of the Interior for final considera-
ton bids fair to become the most
important problem that has arisen
under the operations of the Curtis
law, and results in some drastic
measures beingl. taken by Secretary
Hitchcock.
The question arose by the refusal
OF the Dawes commission to forward
to the Secretary of the Interior the
records of all cases wherein appli-
cants for citizenship in the Choctaw
and Chickasaw nations had been re-
jected. Sometime ago Secretary
Hitchcock sent an official communi-
cation to the Dawes commission re-
questing this information and the
other day received a reply, stating
in effect that this was question over
which the Dawes commission had
exclusive jurisdiction and declining
to forward the records desired. Upon
the receipt of this letter Secretary
Hitchcock drafted and has forward
ed a per-emptory demand for the in
formation. Section 81 of the Curtis
law provides for the preparation of
the rolls Dy the Dawes commission.
and then adds:
The rolls so made, when approved
by the secretary of the Interior, shall
be final, and the persons whose
names are found thereon, with their
descendants, thereafter born to them,
with such persons as may intermarry
according to tribal laws, shall alone
constitute the several tribes which
they represent.
In the Choctaw and Chickasaw ma
tions there are between 500 and 200
applications for citizenship which
have been rejected by the Dawes
commission. Under their decision
the action is final, but under the
Curtis law the decision of the Sec
retary of the Interior is final.
A test case has just been filed at
the Indian Office by prominent at
torney of this city, Chester Howe, in
behalf of Ann L. DENLY and Oza } !.
Wingfield. The Dawes commission
refused tosconsider the the applica-
tions of these parties upon the
ground that they did not make ap-
plication as Choctaw citizens in time.
The petition filed prays for the ex-
ercise of supervisory authority, ask
ing than an order be issued to the
Dawes commisson to make a record
of the cases!to be forwarded to the
Secretary of the Interior for final de-
cision, or Ethat the Indian office
through the Secretary cf the Inte-
rior, take up the cases, de noyo, by
reason of the refusal of the Dawes
commission to grant the parties to it
q hearing in court. The IDdian Office,
al . dCCAoAOh Jdob ooo
tains the petition and has forwarded
it to the Secretary of the Interior
with a favorable recommendation.
The question at issue is the super
visory authority of the Indian office
and the Department of the Interior
over the action of the Dawes COM
mission, and as this case, has been
made a test case it is of the greatest
importano to every applicant who
has been rejected il this country.
The petition was fled after the re-
ceipt of the letter of the Dawes com
mission to the Secretary of the In
terror stating in effect that he had
no authority over their action and
refusing to make a record in these
cases which Rad already been decid-
ed against the applicants. AS the
Department of the Interior is the
guardian of all the Indians, those iE-
cluded in the Five Civilized Tribes
and elsewhere, and as the Curtis law
specifically designates the Secretary
of the Interior as the final arbitrator
of the rights of the Indians in the
Five Civilized Tribes the action of