Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-15
INDIAN CITIZENSHIP ROLLS
PETITION FOR MANDAMUS IN BE-
HALF OF CHICKASAWS
Secretary of the Interior Cited to Show
Cause Why Rule Should
Not Issue.

James Rudolph Garfield. Secretary of the
Interior, was today cited by Justice Wright
of the District Supreme Court to show
cause Friday, April PC, why a writ of man
damus should not issue against him, upon
the petition of John e. Goldsby and DIT
Clay Mccoy, citizens of the Chickasaw
nation, filed today through Attorneys kap-
pier & Merilat of the local bar, and Nc
Kennon & Dean of South McAleste" Ind.
7. The object is to compel the Seere-
tary by mandamus to, erase from the
citizenship rolls of the Chickasaw nation
certain notations that had been made on
the rolls to indicate cancellation of the
enrolment of the applicants The man.
damus proceedings also asks that the Sec
rotary be compelled to restore these names
to the rolls.
This suit is the first proceedings brought
to annul the action of Secretary Hitchcock
in striking from the rolls on the 4th day
of March and the days Immediately pre-
whose enrolment he had formerly APP
proved. The petition sets forth that Mr..
Goldsby is a citizen by blood and DR..
Mccoy by ntermarrage of the Chlckasaw
nation and that they have long been recog
nized as such by the nation
Under the Treaties.
1t states that by the Choctaw and Chick
asaw treaties the present lands of the two
nations were coded to the United States IN
fee simple, subject to the sole condition
that the lands should revert to the United
States if the nation became extinct or
abandoned the land 1t states that this
reversonary interest of the United States
was surrounded by acts of Congress and
agreements between the United States and
the two nations providing for the allot-
ment in severalty of the lands of the ma
ton conditioned on the reservation OF GER
tain land for two site, school ana charu-
able purposes 1t sets forth the various
acts under which provision was made for
enrolment of citizens of the hve clViilzed
tribes and states that without fraud, con-
cealment or artfice on the part OF the APP
nlicants the Secretary of the Interior In
1905 affirmed the decision of commissioner
Bixby holding that the applicants were en-
titled to enrolment, and approving the
rolls as made up including their names.
The mandamus petition then sets up that
s,1bseuuent to that time selections of lands
in allotment were made by Messrs. Golds-
by and Mccoy, and allotment certlhca'es
duly issued to them as conclusive evidence
of their rights to the land that they had
Copy of Approved Rolls.
A COPY of the approved rolls with the
names Of the parties is set forth. and
it is then claimed that Secretary Hitchcock
arbitrarily, illegally and without notice of
any kind to the petitioners undertook to
deprive them of their vested legal rights
by having line drawn through
and certain notations made opposite
their names. 1t is alleged that after March
the additional statement was made on
the rolls that the enrolment of the appli-
cant had been Cancelled March 4, 1907. 1t
Is alleged that this occurred without any
hearing or notice to the petitioners, and
was in pursuance of the supposed applica-
ton to the rights of these parties of some
opinion rendered by the Attorney General
in the month of February.
The petition asserts that the Secretary of
the Interior having once ordered enroll
ment of the applicant and having approved
the rolls had no power thereafter, or dis
erection, to erase their names from the rolls,
and certainly not without hearing or no.
tice, and that what was attempted to. be
done is illegal, and a deprivation of the
vested property rights of the petitioners
in the lands and funds of the Choctaw and
Chickasaw nations without due process of
law, contrary to the Constitution of the
United States and of the Choctaw and
Chickasaw nations.
The petition states that demand was
made upon Secretary Garfield, as successor
in Office to Secretary Hitchcock, to erase
from the rolls the notations made in der
ogation of the rights of the petitioners.
and that they be restored fully to the rolls,
but that the Secretary has declined to
comply with the demand made.