The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-08-28
TO PROTECT THE INDIANS Secretary Hitchcock Has
 Adopted Regulations. REsTRAINS CREATING"
Methods of Men Who Swindle
 Government Wards.
Land Conditions Will Be Investi- gated by a Man Not Connect ed With the Interior
 Department.

WdSnlnStOH, Aug. Sf.-Iue uetermlua- ton of Secretary Hitchcock to send to the Indian Territory a man not connected with the Department of the Interior to investigate conditions there is understood to be for the purpose of supplementing the work of the Secretary himself and of other representatives of the Depart ment in that Territory. Since early last spring the Secretary has been giving a large share of his personal attention 10 the situation In the Territory and a num- Der of the inspectors and other officials of the Department have been engaged in the effort to ferret out frauds and protect the interests of the Indians. The following is an authorized statement of the Departments attitude toward the situation in Indian Territory.
 The Secretary made a tour of the Ter ritory in May, largely for the purpose of making inquiry regarding reports that had come to him of efforts to deprive the In- dians of their rich lands inheritance and the result of this personal investigation was to confirm the report that there was a persistent effort to secure the Indian lands at a price far below their real value.
 As consequence of this inquiry he made radical revision of the reg1ila- tions for the sale of the allotted lands and the departmental reports since that change was made indicate that he has saved the Indians a large per centage over what would have been paid them if the original regulations had stood. The new rules require that all Indian lands which are for sale shall be advertised and appraised by a competent official. The Secretary has cancelled all sales
 made prior to the time that the new regulations took effect. There were 429 of these deeds calling for an aggregate pay ment of $S6s.O00. All these deeds, with the checks, have been returned to the purchasers and the prices since received indicate that under the new regulations the prices paid will exceed the old prices by from IS to 125 per cent.
 Under the law the Secretary has con troI of the land sales and Is able to throw many safeguards around them for the protection of the Indian owners, most of whom he appreciates are entirely ig- norant of business methods and easily made the tools of designing men, wheth- CT leaders of their own race. or white men. He, however, Is not authorized by Congressional enactment to guard the in- terests of his wards completely in the matter of leases and persistent efforts to secure control of the lands through the lease process have been discovered. In one case he found during his stay in 1n- dian Territory that clerks in the office of an Indian Agent had taken upon themselves the responsibility for denying a hearing to their national attorney who represented some 14.O00 Indians. The Sec retary immediately provided for the ad- euuate punishment of these persons. A faovrite method for securing the leases is to have the Indians approached by merchants who, by offering their wares in exchange can secure the most favor able terms from them and the under standing is quite general that when con- trol of a piece of land Is once secured. by means of leasing 1t will be held by some means until it can be purchased at the lessee's oEn figures. The Secretary is even under the present leasing law. finding means to protect the Indians.
 The surplus lands belonging to the In- dians in the territory are worth many millions and Secretary Hitchcock and his advisers understand how great a temp tation they are to designing men. The Territory Is through a garden spot and farmers are going into 1t in great num- bers. It Is estimated that there are now fully half a million white people in the tions have been made to control the dis posal of the lands
 The Secretary himself discovered that a number of officeholders, many of them outside of his own department, were stockholders and officers in these com pines. and he immediately made known his dlsapproval Of this system. Former Revenue Collector Cobb, on finding an to secure an interest in a of this character wrote to the Department and asked for an opinion as to the propriety of his accepting such an interest. He was told that the De- mt har fv. one of these companies compatible with the holding of a government position and Mir. Cobb promptly resigned his official place to enter on business career. The advice contained in this letter to MT. Cobb indicates the Secretary's position with reference to all such cases. He does not believe that a man holding an office under the government, the duties of which may require him to pass on questions af- fecting the rights of the Indians can properly dIscharg ethese duties if he Is a member of an organization financially in- terested in securing advantages from the Indians. He therefore has not only insti- tuted an inquiry himself into this matter but has made request of other govern ment departments having representatives In the Territory to pursue the same 
 The object in sending a man from pri- vate life to inquire Into conditions is to make the investigation still more search Ing, still more disinterested. and to give the finding more complete credence with the public at large.
 The Secretary's instructions to this agent when secured will be to go into all phases of the question without favoritsm on the one hand or fear of public clamor on the other He takes the position that while it is necessary and right to protect the Indians it is neither necessary nor right to punish innocent officials.
 In this spirit until very recently he has refrained from any especial inquiry into the charges made against the members of the Dawes Commission. Two of them were absent from Indian Territory on their annual leaves when charges were made by the Indian Rights Association and they were allowed to remain away for a time. They. however. have been rec called to their posts for the purpose of meeting the criticisms published against them. The Secretary also speaks of In- dian Inspector Wright who has been placed in especial authority in the Terri tiFY as a man who has been a trusted