New-York tribune., 1901-03-03
RACY OF THE SOIL.
TALES TRULY AMERICAN.
INDIAN LEGLSLAI IURE.S.
LOBBYISTS WITH BUL4GING POCKETS
MAKE THE SESSIONS PAY-THE
WHITE BACHELORS LOBBY.

ton StdT.
If you ask an Indian boy belonging to of
the five tribes what he hopes to be when he
grows up, ne will. in he feels cOmmuni-
cative, express ambition to become some
day a member of his council Do not, however,
infer from this that il is the honor of the
place which fires his youthful heart. His views
are far more practical What he looks forward
To is the financial consideration Tor wen ne
knows that in no other capacity, with an equal
absence of effort on his part. can he make as
much money as by getting elected to the coun-
Gil. There is always money in it.
Five councils rule the affairs of Indian Ter
rtory. the Cherokee. Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek
and Seminole councils All of them are money
r'akers The salary of councilman is only ~
a day. yet few of the members quit the service
of their country poor, although many OF them
are almost without visible means Of support
when they enter upon legislative career How
do they achieve this? Ask the ingenious. insinuat-
ing and highly prevalent lobbyist. No session
could or would care to do bu uiiness without him
He or the interests which ne represents, through
him. furnish the Sinews of legislation NO man
goes To the Indian capital unless he has some
axe TO grind No corporation company, hrm or
individual attempts to get a bill passed without
the expenditure or considerable sums Oh money
In ''jolyng up the redskinned legislators. In
plain speech, the Indian council meetings are
the of the most general and open bribery
&c Toe found anywhere in this country.
HOW THE COUNCILS ARE CHOSEN.
The Indian council in each OF the five tribes
meets once a year usually in the fall and winter
There two houses-a lover house of forty
members and an upper house. or senate, OF
tWcnty-eight members. tOuncllTncn are elected
by vote of the Indian citizens for a term of two
years and the chief or presiding officer of each
council is also chosen by the electors OF the
tribe The constitutions of the tribes differ
somewhat. For instance. that IF the CrceHs is
based the constitution of the State of Mis-
sissippi while the Cherokee constitution follows
closely that of Arkansas These constit Ltion'
Were originally drawn up by Indian lawyers
when the councils first took charge of Indian af-
fairs, about fifty years ago Each c"In'il re-
mains in session as long as there Is any business
to transact. The longest sessions DO not last
more than two months
Lobbyists with pockets fun Of money flocl, to
the capital when the council Is convened. and
many of them thcT" throughout the session
Firewater is distributed freely. Money is scat
tered literally right and left Sometimes votes
come high and the bidding is lively. II is by
no means unknown for two rival lobhyis to bid
for n hestatins councilman in the open streets
on the other hand, the legislative market
sumps occasionally. and votes may be- had as
low as $50. Never below that figure. however.
An Indian member who sold his vote lower :han
that would be- an object Of dcrIsion. II not or
actual wrath, to his fellows
ROTATION IN OFFICE
No man ever serves more than twice on the
founcil bench because II is understood that as
many as possible shall have chance at the
pie counter" There is sentiment among the
mass OF the Indians against the acceptance 10y
their lawmakers of larg- sums OF money from
lobbyists; consequently the work Of buying
votes is carried on at the councils openly Ind
ians are not subject 10 arrest fnr hrihetaklng,
and that is perhaps one reason why they arr SO
bold There is u law. however. which annuls
ali bills passed by fraud. If fraud can be proved
As President Mckinley now passes on AL acts
Of the Indian councils before they 70 into fun
force ard effect, ~ is the who decides
whether measures were Tass q by fraud or not
Just this time the Indian department has
m Inspector at Tahequah, the capital Of the
Cherokees looking into a special privilege bill.
which, il is claimed. was iohhird through. The
bill provides for the collection Of 81 ~ 10 uop from
the United States which Is due the ChcrohccS
Any who could write bill for Congress
could get the money appropriated but the Ind
ians Impressed with the fact that they
must he paid To turn that collection account over
to some outside party. So they advertised for
for the highest bidder. Two wealthy bankers.
both Of the Indian untry. age nts to Table
quah. and agreed To pay 5000 if 4 bill
passed paying them 10 per cent. or ETif,oto, for
collecting the money from the United States.
Each laWmaFcr was promised any where from
81 600 to SIHp - vote for the measure. conSc-
qucntly il went through without dissenting
voice. Then il developed that some of the red
skins who voted for the measure had not been
paid. Thty sent word to the bankers that they
must have the money. The bankers told them
that they could not get il. as the bin
a law, and that all they wanted.
But the bankers did not reckon wisely These
aisgruntled lawmakers sent "A quiet tip to the
United States inspector. and told him the facts.
The inspector is now making AN investigation.
and says he will have To aEnul the hill So the
bankers will be out Of pocket the price of IA
siderable number of Legislators.
SOME UNIQUE LAWS
Some Of the laws of these Indians unique.
For instance. if two more persons meet to-
gether in the Creek nation and talk over the