The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1903-09-04
NATIONAL NEWS.

istration Of Indian affairs, and in
voIving both the Department o
the Interior and that of Justice, j
growing daily, and the revelation
have caused the gravest concern tt
the Administration, which apprecl
ates that the discovery Of corrup
ton in two important department.
of the Government, following Sc
CLOSELY on the heels of the Post
Office scandals, cannot but have
serious effect on the fortunes o.
the Republican party at the polls
With a view of otfsetting the dam
aging effect of recent revelations
Secretary Hitchcock has announced
that he will Immediately appoint
a commissioner to investigate all
of his employees involved IN the
irregularities and also the mem
hers of the Dawes Commission,
and the Acting Attorney has stated
that special commissioner will be
be promptly sent to the Indian
Territory to investigate the alleged
connection of several officials of
the Department of Justice with
concerns organized for the pur-
pose of making profit at the ex-
pense of the indians.
An example of the condition of
affairs now existing in the Indian
Territory is shown by the situation
at Muskogee, where the Dawes
Commission has an office. The
Canadian Valley Trust Company,
of which Tam Bixby, chairman of
the Dawes Commission, is presl-
dent; 6. W. Hopkins, formerly
law clerk of the commission, is an
employee, and P. G. Reuter-, clerk
in charge of the land office of the
commission, is a director, has Its
Office in the same building as the
Dawes Commission and occupies
the same apartments, on theground
floor, as we're formerly occupied
by the commission, the commits
sion having removed to the Sec
ond floor. AS q result OF this
happy arrangement, the untutored
savage walks innocently into the
office of the trust company, to the
representatives of which he ex-
plains his business. 1t is alleged
that these representatives are not
always scrupulous to explain that
they are not, at that particular
moment, representing the Dawes
Commission, but are members OF
q private institution, and the In
dian. who has the valuable lands
to lease or sell, completes his bust
ness according to their dictation,
makes his mark in the presence OF
witnesses and goes bis way, all in
nocent of the fact that he has not
been dealing with the Dawes Com
the authorized represent
atiyes of the Government, and
innocent of the fact that
in the lease he has just executed
there is a contract for the sale OF
his lands at the expiration OF his
lease, at some nominal figure, the
contract to take effect as soon as
the law will permit him to part
with his patrimony.
Some conception of the gravity
Of the situation and the opportuni-
ties for fraud existing, where the
very representatives of the Gov
eminent, appointed to protect the
Indians, are officers and directors
of concerns organized to take adj
vantage of his ignorance, may be
gathered from the fact that the
Indian lands now being allotted In
seyeralty are estimated to be worth
upwards of $3.50, 000,0 900, aggre-
eating over 20, 100000 acres, some
of it the finest farm land in the
United States, and much of 1t ex-
cellently situated with regard to
markets and railway facilities.
Several members of the Dawes
Commission, United States attor-
news and Indian agents are charged
with being interested in these COM
NAMES. most Of which have been
IL 49,