Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1906-08-17
u. s. TO INVESTIGATE GEORGE F. A RINGER
Charges Against Reserva-
ton Land Grabbers,
Says Leupp

says Leupp
The following. from the Wednesday
Minneapolis Journal is the result cf
the recent efforts of laud grabbers to
Dunco the Indians out Of their allot-
ments:
Washinston, Aug. 15 The inter-
ests of the indians will be cared fer
to the full extent Of the governments s
resources and facilities. -
This was the announcement made
by Commissioner Leupp of the Indian
bureau, relative to the White Earth
Indians, upon his return to Washing
ton last night. he spent day of per
sonal investigation at the agency and
another day with Agent Michelet in
Minneapolis.
'Ihe records Of every one of the
mortgages recently executed by mem
bers Of the tribe are being examined
and information as to the methods un-
der which they we're procured is be-
ing gathered, continued Mr.. Leupp.
The result of this activity on our
part is already apparent Ore or two
OF the men who loaned money to H.
dians nave thrown up their hands and
returned the deeds to the Indians with
whom they dealt In other cases the
papers have been turned over to the
United States district attorney with
instructions to make an examination
to see If prosecution Will not lie
against the persons who procured exc
cution OF mortgages, Other cases are
to be placed before that official as fast
as they are Investigated -
Were any one of the better b ehsved
and more provident Indians Included
In the number who mortgaged their
holdings?' Mr. Leupp was asked.
Unfortunately, yes - was the re-
ply. II was told that some of the
better class of Indians were induced to
MORTGAGE their holdings through state
ments that bordered perilouslv close
to violations of the law. Representa-
t1ons were made to them that the
making of the loan and the signing
OF tue mortoage note did not bind
them to anything-tha. the transac-
tion was merely friendly, with other
statements along the same lines.
There are cases in which the govern.
ment will get after the landgrabbers
and seek tne annulment of the mort
cages. 1t was in some such cases as
these that the holders Of mortgages
gave up the papers and got out from
under
Commissioner Leupp is looking for
ward to more or less trouble reg 4rdtng
the determination of whether or rot
some Indians are mixed bloods or full
bloods. he said that some of the Iu-
dians who were protesting last year
against allotments of timber land to
mixed blocds, claiming that they, as
foil bloods, were being cheated ont Of
valuable lands, are now claiming to
be mixed bloods. and therefore en-.
titled to the benefit Of the new law.
he also admits the probability that
some Of the white landgrabbers have
been victimized into loaning money to
the full bloods who claimed to be
mixed bloods. These Indians may be
able to secure some sort of prccf that
some one Of their female ancestors
married a white trspper CT trappe1
trader several generations back, testi.
mony which officials may not rely up-
on entirely, but which would have to
be refuted. But Indians in this class.
and in fact all Indians claiming to be
mixed bloods, eb-ut whom there is q
SHADOW OF doubt, will be reqnirei to
furnish procf Of the presence Of white
blood in thei. veins before the Indian
bureau allow it that they are en-.
titled to the benefits of the act.
Mr.. Leupp foresaw this latter diff
Guilty when he opposed passage of the
law before the senate committee last
spring.
Il opposed the drawing of the line
on blood mixtures. said Mr.. Leupp.
II did this, first, because it was IN.
American. and, secondly, because
there would be great difficulty in thu
number of cases in determining
whether the Inoians were mixeC
bloods or full bloode. And now we arr
confronted with this latter difficulty
Commissioners Leupp hiss not deter
mined just what will be done witt
the issuing Of pateIts fir the addi
tional eighty acres of land under thu
Steenerson act. He was not sure ths
any allotment schedules had been sub
mitted. he SAID, howt yer, that there
are about 400 Indians, entitled to al
lotment who have not bad their first
installment uDder the original Nelson
act. He will make careful examina
tion of the situation with relation t
the unalloted Indians, and also those
to whom second allotments may bt
made. before taking any action re-
garding them. He will not act hast
lily. however, and there Is good pros
pect that no more patents will be ls
sued 10 white mixed Indians for som,
months.