The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1905-12-24
A DECISION
THAT HURTS
ATTORNEYS AND BUsiENss MEN
REALIZE ITS IMPORTANCE.
The Decision Of Judge Townsend that
An lntermarried Citizen Has No
Title TO Allotment Untli He
Accepts eed for II.

Accepts eco TOT IL
Attorneys and business men I'm In
dian Territory are beginning 10 real.
izc what an important matter Is the
decision which was rendered by Judge
Hosea Townsend in the Southern dis
trict last Friday when I'm n case In
his court he held that an intermarried
citizen of the ChCCtaw or ChickasHN
nation did not have title TO his allot-
ment until he accepted a deed for
it, and that any contract made with
such person Is void and cannot bo
enforced Tho effect Of this decision
are beginning to soak IN. It's FAR
reaching effects are beginning to be
considered Those whose interests
are thus iaopardized fight back by
saying that the decision viii not
stand. But IN case n does not, II will
take a long time to get an appeal dc.
cided upon and In the meantime what
The land mon who have paid out their
money for these allotmcnts are go
ing 10 do TO keep out OF bankruptcy Is
question Many attorneys say that the
decision is not sound law. but it Is a
court decision nevertheless, and that
looks like IL is EOiug TO cause trou
bic
The case I'm point IS whore q non
citizen has purchased from an inter
married Choctaw citizen his allot
ment The utcrmarricd citizen had
not yet received his patent, as have
none of the citizens Of the Choctaw
and Chickasaw nations The intermar
ried citizen refused TO give possession
of big allotment and the non-citiZen
brought suit for specific performance
OF contract Judge Townsend held
that the intarmarried citizen had no
allotment and the contract with him
was void. In his opinion he stated
that the acceptance OF the patent by
IN allottcc was necessary to com
plcte his title to the land. for until
that time he had a claim upon the
commercial interests of that trlbe
ani that the nation could not convey
to him an individual allotment unless
he by his acceptance Of the pl'ant
rcllnduished this communal clam.
There are 2.165 intermarried cii-
zens in these two nations. A govern
mont official who handles these mat
ters stated today that he believd that
90 per cent Of these citizens hdd
sold their land or part OF i. Another
government official, who Is himself an
intermarried Choctaw citizen. stated
that he believed that there wouli be
fully fifty per cent of these citiZelS
who would rcniGIate their contracts
In case they found they CoJlt rCt;ln
their land. They would b. ahead OF
the game just that amount OF money
that had been paid TO tn am hy pu--
chasers. II would amoJnt 10 four or
five million dollars worth &C property
If this dcci7Nn stands, y IS 81
greater moment than the ch0ctnv
and Chickasaw nations situation
would indicate. IN the Cherokee M
tlon therc are thousands 0f "F'rccl
men" who nave allotments and nca"
ly every one Of these has sold his al
Iotmcnt as soon as he got his allot
mont certificate. On these allOtmonts
towns have been built and oil wells
have been drilled ana great improve
mCnt has been general, even where
there were neither towns nor oil de
yelopmeut II a patent must be re
ccivcd before there is title or m
allottec can make a contract sale @
his allotmcnts. then the sales Of ~
of these allotmonts are void, and tn,
title is stiI I'm the Freedmen, lud
government official stated today tina
'if he makes application to the In
dian agent, under the Townsend dc
cision | do not see how the agen
can refuse TO put him in possession
of his allotment" Oi course, this vii
not come 10 showdown until som
Freedman refuses to deliver his lam
and suit similar to the ChoctaN
suit Is begun, bur 1t appears that Tia
conditions are very similar.
Hundreds Of the best oil allotment
in the Cherokee nation are In thi
condition. Negroes were bought
everywhere 10 file on these lands II
order that the person who bought
the negro could make a contract wit
him for the land
II the Townsend decision npl3s,
would appear that these Freedme
have the best of the bargain. an
that the white men who paid thcr
money will have TO suffer the loss.
they DO it will ruin hundreds Of spec
ulatOrs who have rushed In an
bought too soon.-Muskogea Times.