The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-08-13

rich virgin lands of the territory and the
! domination Of autOcratic federal officials.
Thus the people OF Indian Territory have
| lost millions of dollars in the last year
| by reason of the operation OF the federal
| laws and the rigid departmental rules and
| regulations governing the aquisition of
| valid land titles in the territory.
| Under existing law no full blood can
| ALLEVIATE his lands for twenty-one years
next following the date of the issuance
of the patent TO the alIottee by the federal
government. When the rolls of citizenship
of the five civilized tribes in Indian Ter
rltory were being prepared every member
or those tribes possessing a goodly guam
tity OF Indian blood asserted at the time
OF his or her examination by the COM
mission that he or she was full blood
whereas as a matter of fact the applicant
was half breed" AS the application
OF the individual is accepted as ''conclu-
sive proof Of his Indian blood" prob
ably fifty per cent of the lands in tee
indian Territory are tied up absolutely
and irrivocably for period of twenty
ents have as vet been issued to any allot
tees in any of the five civilized tribes.
viii Devise Plan.
The committee will inquire into this con-
dltion with great care and endeavor TO d.
wise a. plan for enactment into law that
Will enable title TO lands to be acquitted
without the YeXatious circumstances sur
rounding the acquisitions of valid titles
existing at the present time, and at the
same time safeguard and protect the
rights of those aliottees who are incOm-
petent to manage their own property.
The necessity for some remedial legiS-
latlon becomes at once apparent when
the existing conditions are understood
Every member OF the Choctaw or Chicka-
saw tribes, for instance, receives all al
lotment of land equal to three hundred
and twenty acres of the average alIottable
lands of those tribes. If he selects as
his allotment an inferior grade of land
he can acquire as high as two thousand
acres. In many families there are ten
children, each of which is entitled to G
similar allotment IL the father selects
the average allottable lands the family
would receive aliotments aggregating
95Z of the average allottable lands and
as high as 1900 acres of the more in
ferior grade of land Imagine man
who has been accustomed to filling, with
the assistance of his entire family, ten,
twenty or forty acres, suddenly coming
into possession of an estate of from
3,521 acres to 1900 acres which ne can
not sell Or even lease without first apply
ing to the Indian agent and then in turn
10 the secretary of the interior. and if he
is exceedingly fortunate receiving action
upon his application within SIX months
after its submission. There are some few
exceptions under existing law to the
above statement, but ii is substantially
correct. Then under the rules governing
leases the all0ttee may enter into a con- !
tract with q farmer TO cultivate a given
quantity of his allotted lands. After the |
crop is grown and ready for harvest he |
can then go TO the Indian agent and by !
ellsging that the Lessee has not complied /
with the provisions of the contract secure |
the ejectment of the lessee and reap the |
full benefit of the lessees labor. This !
results from the failure of the |
lessee, who is usually ignorant, in re- /
spending t. the notice issued by the In /
dian agent to appear at the Indian agency |
at Muskogee on a certain day and take /
answer to the ch Urges preferred by the /
allOttee. His failure 70 so appear operates |
TO give the allottee judgment by default.
Thus this plan conceived by the federal /
and enacted into law at their |
and instigaticn. for the Pro-
lection of poor Lo," the incompetent /
ward Of the government, in realty operates
to encourage poor Lo' to commit per-
jury. to practice all kinds Of duplicity
and Il become dishonest and worthless.
Disclosures Expected.
Another subject for investigation by the
commission will be the management of
the affairs of the five civilized tribes by
he government officials. Some startling
disclosures are promised in this connoc-
ion MANY charges have been filed with
The committee alleging malfeasance, mis-
feasance and incOmpetency on the part
# certain government officials; malicious
persecution Of certain classes of appli-
,ants, the exercise of brutal and arbitrary |
power by officials in order to defeat qp-
1hcations of their rights, which appli-
,antS happened TO incur the diSpledSure |
# these august gentlemen. The commits
lion. however, refuses to divulge the slih-
stance even of any of these complaints
md its members are preserving a dis
rect silence.