The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-10-01
THOSE TRUST co. s
There Are Good and Bad Ones As
similating the Lands Of the
Indian.
Good Ones, Of Course, Are Those
Managed by Members Of the
Dawes Commission.
Correspondence of Tho Journal.

Muscogee Indian Territory, Sept. 2s.-
A trust company" down here IN Indian
Territory, is an instrument of benevolent
assimilation That 1t is benevolent Is
amply testified to by their promoters and
and that their ultimate purpose
is assimilation no one denies.
The lands and properties. the perquisites
and the percentages of the enfranchised
and citizenized Indian. are the subject
matter on which the trust company feeds.
There are nearly million acres Of de-
vourable lands, all rich and marketable,
within easy reach of the companies, and
the feast Is just about to begin.
Our Tams In a "Good Company"
There are good trust companies. and
bad trust companies. At least that Is
the information which comes from the Of
fcials of the Dawes commission-and they
should know, for the commissioners are !
all interested in such companies. AS all
the world knows that Tams Bixby Of
Minneapolis, the commissions chairman,
is president of one Of the trust companies,
the Canadian Valley, with offices in the
same building. and just a floor below the
rooms Of the commission. In fact, the
rooms used to be occupied by the COM
mission for allotting lands to the Creek
Indians, and there Is still a little spiral
stairway leading below, which has been
blocked up by bookcase and letter file.
The former attorney for the commission,
P. B. Hopkins, is vice president Of the
Canadian Valley Trust company, and it's
active manager The Hon. Thomas
Needles, member of the Dawes commits
sion, is stakeholder and director in an
other trust company. the international
Trust and Banking company with head
quarters at Vinita. I. T., while Major
Breckenridge, another commissioner. and
the legal authority for the commission, is
interested in the Eufala Trust, company
at Eufala, I. T. Even the newest men Der
of the Dawes commission, former Cover
nor Stanley Of Kansas, inadvertently
| cured stock in one of the companies
These gentlemen are all proud to be
counted among the directors and stock
holders of the good trust companies. I
| talked to them, and found them willing
| and eager to be Identified with these
righteous institutions. Their only COM
plant Is that their good companies have
not been differentiated from the bad
| grating" companies, in the accounts
which have gone out to the world.
A "5ad Company" Defined.
A bad grating trust company is one
organized by persons having no connec-
| ton with the Dawes commission, whose
avowed purpose is to make money by any
means not leading to jail. The good trust
companies on the contrary, do not take
leases on Indian 1ands-which IS cor
rupt and heinous practice in the way 1t
is carried on-but are ambitious chiefly
to ''develop the country by lending
money and acting as administrators for
Indians who do not know enough to man
| age their own affairs. Mr.. Bixby's COM
pany, which has only been open for bust
! ness since the first Of July, is a channel
for "eastern capital" AS explained by
Vice President Hopkins the company does
not propose to buy lands from the Indians,
but stands ready to loan money TO per-
sons who want to, buy but have no money.
| This shows the benevolence OF the COM
l nanv. The loan Is made at 8 per cent
interest, or higher, and the mortgage Is
sold to eastern capitalists for a 6-per-cent
investment That leaves 2-per-cent
margin for profit, and makes everybody
very happy If the borrower OF the money
and buyer Of the land Is unable to KEEP
up the interest, or repay the principal
the company will, of course, pe oollseo
to assimilate the land.
5000 Estates to Administer.
Commissioners Breckinridge's trust
company, at Eufala, has an 1dea OF 'spe-
cialzng on the administrator OF estates
t5e estimates that there will be abou'
, 600 estates to be handled, and that the
: courts will ultimately be obliged to ap'
notnt some good trust company to ADMIN.
ister unon them. When it IS considered
| that is, 900 wards of the nation are JUS
i, now having their property turned owe
s TO them, and are being dismissed IRON
a their state of wardsh1p' IT VIII Ne SEE
r that there is a good prospect Tor real
Il Ting the majors anticipations. Up L
this time these Indians have been treate'
as children. Their property has all peel
g pooled as one big estate; now the federa
- government has decreed that the tim
o has come to settle up the estate, and I
give to each of the children the amour
| of land and money to which ne or she
entitled But many Of the Indians ar
- still little better than children. The1
q ideas of business are childish and vague
N Unless somebody is at hand to DO incl
~ business for them they are likely to D
ri overreached and robbed. Hence tn
& necessity for benevolent trust compan!
81 Major breckenridge, in a spirit Of philan
81 thropy, and of zeal to protect the India
~ against the wicked and designing trus
II companies of outsiders, has organized tn
81 Eufala. .
81 Besides, there are minors among tn
81 Indians There are small children VIII
u are entitled to participate in the genera
81 distribution, but who will not be able
" DISPOSE of the property for many years
q come. These children must have guart
III Eians, and their guardians must gt>
I'LL bonds and who is so competent to g1N
81 bond as a trust company, or so kind
81 disposed toward the lad Item" Interest
@ of children?
ii Commissioners Have Valuable knowledg
~ The Dawes Commission trust comps
81 MES should particularly competent to de-
nj with the property Of these Creek Indian
@ for The Dawes commissioners who dire
mi them have had peculiar facilities for a.
IA curing information In regard to tt
@ property. They have been over tt
II ground, literally, with surveying partie
H and have supervised the plotting, a
IA praisement and distribution Of every &C
@ 70 be sold. They know, we'll as it
@ possible for anybody to know, where a
E located the best farm lands, the timbe
n the stone, the oil, the coal and the mine
81 ais They have been trustees of the e
"a tate, in the government pay for a numb
u of years, and they know all about t
- value of the estate. They also know t
- Indians and the $4,000 negroes who a
members of the tribe and classified
Indians, having had them all before the
one by one. In their capacities as trr
~ directors they can turn to good use
~ knowledge acquired as commissions
- and should be able to do good line
- business for their co-partners in trust
- A lot of money is going to be absorb
- by somebody In this vicinity-and at
- 1or1xr t~ fe r = +