Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1899-01-10
MUST PAY CHICKAsAWs AND CHOC-
TAWs ABOUT sS,0OO,OOO
COURT OF CLAIMS DECISION
EQUITY IN OVER 100000 ACRES OF
LAND INVOLVED.
Government Would Have Been ST.
100000 Better on by Letting Tex
as Keep Greer COunty-Case
Will BE Appealed to
Supreme Court.

o&N, Jan. S.-tSptCldl.D Inc
court of claims to-day rendered a decision
which probably means the payment by the
government of several millions OF dollars 10
the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians. In
volved in the case is the question of title
to. or at least equity in, over 5000 900 acres
of land in the Indian Territory. Congress
authorized the suit to be brought to settle
this question of title after having paid the
Indians of these two tribes a large equity
claim when the Cheyenne and Arapahoe
lands were made part of Oklahoma and
thrown open to settlement. The style of
the case decided to-day is: THE Choctaw
and Chickasaw nations against the United
States and the Wichita and affiliated bands
of Indians"
Many years ago the Choctaws and Chick
asaws parted with the large tracts west of
their home lands under an agreement that
the United States was to use them only for
reservations On which to settle friendly
tribes. Now that these reservations are
being broken up, the lands allotted in
homesteads to the occupying Indians and
the surplus sold to white settlers, the
Choctaws and Chickasaws claim that their
title still holds and that they should be
recompensed before the surplus can be dis
posed of by the government. To-day's de-
cision is that the lands in the Wichita
reservation are held in trust by the gov
eminent for the benefit Of the Choctaws
and Chickasaws. This s~ustains the claim
of the Indians. Their equity must be ex-
tinguished before the government can ac-
quire a clear title. But while the decision
only applies formally to the Wichita reser-
walton, it must stand as the precedent for
much larger bodies of and.
In the recent agreement made between
the government and the Choctaw and
Chickasaw nations, it was stipulated that
the decision in this case should be The
basis Of settlement as well for the lands
occupied by the Kiowas and Comanches
and also for Greer county. In the Wichita
reservation are about 10000 acres. The
kiowas and Comanches have in round
numbers 100000 acres. Greer county, the
title to which the United States won after
a hard fight with the state of Texas, has
100000 acres. Altogether, the land in
volved is over 5000, 600 acres.
The effect of the decision of the court
probably will be that the lands allotted to
Indians will be excepted from the opera
ton of the trust. This will take out about
300. 900 acres. The Choctaws and Chicka-
saws will probably be charged with $500 600
on account of money already paid on the
final settlement. But even IL these allow
ances are made. the government will still
owe the Choctaws and Chickasaws in the
neighborhood OF 5000, 900.
An appeal wAl be taken by the govern
ment from the decision of to-day to the
supreme court. There seems little doubt,
however, that the findings of the court CT
claims will stand. The Indians, both claim
ants and defendants, as well as the gov
eminent. were fully represented in the trial
of the case and the arguments were very
elaborate.
From this decision 1t appears that the
government would have made about s2,O0O,-
600 clear If ii had allowed Texas to keep
Greer county. For the 100000 acres en-
braced in Greer county it will be necessary
TO pay the Choctaws and Chickasaws s1.25
an acre.
or the five judges constituting the court
of claims, four Joined in the decision. The
only dissenting judge was Stanton ]. Peelle,
formerly a congressman from Indiana.
Representative Little, of Arkansas, has
introduced a bill in the house giving the
secretary of the interior control over the
timber lands in the Indian Territory. The
bill Will be called up in the near future and
count OF the attitude of the Indians. Some
time ago the Choctaw legislature passed a
law repeating all laws relating to contracts
for the cutting of timber and the running
OF sa wmills in the nation. The bill further
provided that the cutting of timber in the
future should be considered a misdemeanor,
and all persons arrested on such a charge,
found guilty, and not paying the fine i'm
given thirty-nine iashes on the pack. When
the bill was submitted to the secretary of
the interior, as is provided under the Choc-
taw agreement, the secretary recommended
to the president that it be vetoed, on the
ground of general policy, and particularly
on account of the penalty imposed. President
the recommendations of the secretary.
There are about forty sawmills in the In
dian Territory giving employment to about
5000 men. The contract made with the In
dian government under which these mills
are now being operated will continue In
S0rCa- and nv fha time they have nynirad
the secretary of the interior will have con-
troll of future leases and will make new
contracts, the royalties derived from them
going to the credit of the tribes.
The action of the Choctaw nation in try
ing TO repeal the law under which the ex-
listing contracts were made. and provid-
ing corporal punishment for persons caught
cutting timber in the future is said to have
been dictated by spite against the whites.