Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1902-04-10

feht 1Vou tub parry toto Wnooo
hands they were originally placed
BY the law for safe keeping he
principal chief. Yet we are slov
TO believe that the man who ccou-
pies the place Of chief custodian
Of the nations honor could be gull
ty in these premises Of anything
more than merely reprehensible
neglect to adequately guard the
valuable contents Of bis Office
against the fingers OF rummage
and depreciation. We are much
more inclined to believe that some
poor, dwarfed branch Of the legal
profession, skilled in the art Of
ooked practice, cunningly pene.
trated the vaults Of the executive
Office and, capturing these papers,
spirited them away, in pursuance
Of a general plan for fixing the
guilt Of corruption upon the clerk
Of the Tehee commission; certainly
the vicious simplicity Of an act Of
that kind could furnish no ground
at all for an inference OF innocence
on part Of al least OF good por.
tion of the standing that is en-
gaged in the management Of these
matter on the side Of the nation.
The singular disappearance Of
these papers is not without sig-
niicauce aud some rational inter.
probation.
The last known Of this written
evidence, II was in the hands of
the national authorities now rep.
resented by the attorneys who are
prosecuting the review OF these
cases. II was certainly either suf.
ficient, or not sufficient, to justify
the judgment rendered by the
Cherokee commission; II sufficient, A.,
then clearly there could have been
no need of putting money into the
hands of the clerk for the purpose
Of corrupting the court in the in.
terest Of the claimants; indeed II
would have been a complete de-.
tense againt a charge of that kind.
II, on the other hand, it had been
insufficient, then il would have
been at least very strong circum.
stance in support of such an &C.
cusation, and nothing would the
attorneys for the nation have done
with greater alacrity than to plo.
duce it at the trial before the
Dawes commission. The fact that
they did not do this warrants the
inference that they knew, if pro.
duced, damage their case; nor can
this inference be satisfactorily of.
set by their simply saying that, at
some former time, they had the
i'll luck to lose these papers.
The form Of corruption insisted
upon is this case by the attorneys
for the nation involves not only
the good name of the clerk, but
the honor Of every officer EN-.
braced in the composition of the
court itself. In order to rid the
natiUn OF CERTAIN uUuUAIUus cIu-
zens, they propose to morally de-
molish one entire branch of the
civil government. A far more
sensible plan Of procedure would
have been to treat the case as a
Legislative question and enlist the
strong arm OF the national council.
The sovereignty of the Chero.
kee people in all matters pertain.
ing to the rights of Cherokee oiti.
Eenship is absolute and unques-
toned. In the exercise of that
sovereignty, they have gone so
lar as to prescribe IN their consti.
tuition the ultimate condition upon
which a Cherokee can be made a
citizen at all: He must live per-
peiually within the territorial lin.
IT'S of the Cherokee nation. They
make a citizen of white man on
condition that he will marry a
Cherokee woman; again they take
his citizenship from him when he
re-marries to a woman who is a
non citizen. Acting through their
national council. they review and
correct all Cherokee census rolls:
Whomsoever they put upon the
roll are to be accepted as citizens;
WhomsoeVer they strike of, are
rejected as aliens. The famous
authenticated" roll of 1880, that
infallible test Of Cherokee citizen
ship, was made in this way. This
sovereignty on part OF the Ohero.
kee people has also been acknowl.
edged by the United States, aud
congress has impliedly approved
Il. In the act defining the duties
Of the Dawes commission, they
are instructed that, in making
roll Of Cherokee citizens, they are
not to regard the abstract rights
" the applicant, but 10 test his