The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1906-12-31
LEUPP PLANS TRUST
Wants Corporation to Man
age Indian Mining Lands.
PRESIDENT APPROVES IDEA
Commissioner Says Red Men Cannot
Make Success of Tribal Ownership.
Method Not in Harmony with
American Forms of Government.
Bill May BE Passed I'm January.

Method Not in Harmony with
American Forms of Government. /
Bill May Be Passed in January.
II a bill that is to be introduced in 1
Congress early in January is enacted /
into law, the modern corporation, or So I
called trust method in the management /
of business properties will be introduced /
to the Indian tribes Of the United States /
Francis T. Leupp, the Commissioner Of j
Indian Affairs, has submitted to Presi- 1
dent Roosevelt the outline of plan, TO /
be put in the form of a bill, under /
which 1t is proposed that the coal and /
asphaltum lands OF the Choctaw and /
Chickasaw tribes in the Indian Terri /
tory, estimated to be worth anywhere |
from SIOO0O0.0OO to S200OO0000. shall be
managed by a joint stock company. the /
board of directors of which shall be
composed of officers Of the government
and representatives, OF the tribes named.
This scheme it is understood, has the
approval OF the President and OF James
R. Garfield. prospective Secretary Of the
Interior. Secretary Hitchcock has com
mented favorably upon It.
The coal lands Of the Choctaw and
Chickasaws are immensely valuable, and
under the corporation plan. such as is
proposed by Commissioner Leupp, the
government would be in a position TO
control the key 70 the whole output Of
tbs mtI-continent field for years to come.
Commissioner Leupp's plan, in brief, is
as folio SIS:
He would have the title to the lands
and DEPOSITS owned by the Choctaws and
Chickasaws pass to an incorporated COM
pany for the use and benefit OF the per-
sons whose names shall appear on the
rolls OF citizenship Of the two tribes The
company should run for period OF twen
ty-five years. subject to continuation by
Congress on the expiration Of the origi-
nal period, with power to take title 20
the property and manage It, including the
sale OF the surface Of the land; TO lease
any Unbiased deposits for not exceeding
the authorized life Of the corporation. and
to pay all expenses incident to and con
nected with the business Of the cor
poration-
President Would Head Company.
The permanent officers Of the company
would be the President Of the United
States. ex-ofFicio president; the Secretary
Of the Interior. ex-officio treasurer and
transfer agent; the Commissioner OF In
dian Affairs, ex-ofiicio secretary. and
these officers. together with the Secre-
tary Of the Treasury. the Secretary Of
Commerce and Labor, and one member OF
each tribe selected by the stockholders.
should always constitute the board Of
directors Of the company. The stock of
the corporation should be issued per
capita 10 enrolled members Of the tribes,
with provision that 1t cannot be trans
ferred, sold. assigned, or encountered only
by the consent Of the Secretary Of the
Interior as the transfer agent Of the cor
poration.
After paying expenses and reserving a
prudent percentage for working capital
and surplus account" said Commissioner
Leupp yesterday, the royalties and other
income should be distributed in the form
Of dividends. thus completing the change
OF the whole business from tribal COM
munal basis allen 10 our national institu-
lions and our common social order to the
basis Of private ownership on which sub
stantiaIly all great industrial enterprises
of our day are conducted.
own Much Coal and OIL.
you should bear in mind in this con-
nection." said Commissioner Leupp. the
Presidents desire to segregate and 10
keep under government control all the
great mineral deposits which have become
necessary In our lives, such as coal and
oil. AS far as the lands Of the ChOctaws
and Chickasaws are concerned, the gov
eminent could go in and buy them and
thereby retain control as an owner Then
again. the Indians could sell their lands
10 the highest bidder The lands would
thus pass entirely from government con-
I troll The present system could be main
| tanned. in which. the tribes as tribes would
/ continue in the ownership Of this property
/ and the government would go ahead and
administer it. The advantages OF the cor
poratlon plan are these:
I'm the first place you would no longer
/ treat with these Indians as tribes In the
place of the tribes you substitute a
corporation Such thing as tribal owner
1 ship and tribal management OF property
/ is an anomaly in this country. Corporate
/ property is the common and everyday
thing All big industrial enterprises are
conducted by corporations. That is the
primary advantage. You get away from
/ system that has TO parallel anywhere
/ else in our social order, and adopt
system in its place which effects just the
same results so far as the service Of
property interests are concerned, but II is
/ in harmony with what We are doing in
every other direction.
Indians Are still Indians.
"StnI remembering that the Indian is
an Indian. and that he has not back of
him for many generations an ancestry
which has done business in the way that
this project proposes business shall be
done with these coal lands. you have to
bridge over the gulf between the Indian
way of doing things and the white mans
way of doing things. Ny plan provides
| for a businesslike management of the
/ properties of the Choctaws and Chicka-
saws. with the government retaining con-
| troll. and the Indians having a voice in
/ such MANAGEMENT. When the time ar
rives. in twenty-five years. for winding
I'D the affairs of the company. Congress
would have the privilege either of EXTEND
/ ing it's life for any indefinite period, or Of
allowing the directors to dissolve the cor
poration in the usual way.
Drifting to state Socialism.
'The country is now entering upon an
era drifting toward larger measure Of
state socialism" continued Commissioner
Leupp. Existing conditions have caused