The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1904-12-06

July IT next year. Only minor mat
ters, such as may be attended to by
a single government official. assisted
by few clerks. will remain TO be at
teYded 80 after that date. he says. and
these may be disposed Of in a few
months.
"The allotment work. by far the
greatest task assigned 10 the commits
sion. will be substantially completed
by the 6rst of next year" said Mr..
Biyby. with the single exception Of
he business Of the Cherokee land Of
fce. The enrolling Of citizens for al
lotments epned last month. when the
roll Of the Crock nation was closed
There are large number of contest
cases arising from the allotment Of
lands, but these are being disposed OF
rapidly and can be got out of the way
by next July. / have not asked con
gress OF the interior department TO
extend the tenure OF the Dawes SOM
mission. and viii not do so. as be-
lieve that undeS the existing condi-
iions such an extension will be unncc-
essary."
Mr. Rixhy says that fully So per
cent Of he alloumeuts of lands of thc
fivc civilized tribes has been complet.
ed. Practically all the allotments of
lands in the Choctaw anil Chickasaw
nations have been made. aud all sy-
cept about two hundred tracts have
been allotted in the Creek nation. The
ouly place where the allotment work
is dragging is in the Cherokee ma
tion. where the question Of who among
the freedmen are entitled to lands. is
a permexing one ard can only be set-
tied after much evidence ana digging
deep into the history of the claim.
ants. as far as 1866 This confusion
resulted from change in the law On
June s. 1898. congress passed a law
which authorized the commission to
enroll ali freedmen whose names ap-
peared on the citizenship roll of 1880
in the Cherokee nation.
Afior the conmission had enrolled
a large hummer Of freedmen sor allot-
mcnts uadel this act. the sttorney gen
eral rendered an opinion providing
that any Cherokee freedman. who was
q citizen of the Cherokee natiou
when the treaty Of 1865 was ratified,
or who returned TO the nation with.
in six months after that time. would
Oe entitled To tllotnient. after submit
ting proof of that fact TO carry out
the provision OF this new ruling in
wolves the difficult task Of digging mp
evidence relative 20 the citizenship of
persons long since dead, and Of hear.
ing ,oummous testimony TO establish
the claims OF negroes, who claim 90
be descendants OF those persons.
There are many cases Of this kind sin
pending before tho commission. and
which are causing an almost endless
amount Of work.
The commission has another big
task to complete before I. disbants
and that is to dispose Of tho surplus
lands OF the Delawares. There are
about 10000 ac~es OF these lands ant
many Cherol,ees have settled upon
Them and nave applied for allotments
Tho secretary II the Interior has dele
gated 10 the Dawes commission N,
duty Of deciding Who II any. Of these
I Cherokee applicants are entitled q
+ allohnents from the Delaware sur
plus lands. A large number OF contes
eases have arisen from this source
and the commission must make thea
special order" and hear them in pref
erenoe 70 other business.
These matters greatly increase IN
work OF the commission. MT Bixb.
says. but viii not prevent Il frcu