The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1907-03-08
TRY % KICK OVER BILL
EFFORT is MADE TO DEFEAT
TRIP COUNTY OPENING.
CLAIM REDS ARE BEING ROBBED
An Editorial In the Current Outlook
lmplored Public to Ask President
Not to Sign the Bil-He viii Like
~, However, Make II Law.

'''P'''S' 'up''S 10 ASK PRESIDENT
Not to Sign the Bill-He viii Like
ly, However, Make il Law.
LFrom Saturdays Duily1
That strong effort Is TO be made to
persuade President Roosevelt not to
sign the bin opening the Trip county
lands In the Rosebud reservation, 100
miles northwest of Norfolk. Is appar-
ent from the following editorial which
appears In the current number of the
| outlook, CriticlsIng the measure and
| implorlng the public to demonstrate
against the law. 1t Is reported from
washington, however, that the bill
viii probably be signed by the presi-
| dent This Is what the editorial saws:
On February 1G the house passed n
bill OH. II. 2i,9SO to authorize the
! sale Of about one million acres of the
! Rosebud Indian reservation I'm Tripp
County, South Dakota; and It's spon-
sors are cndeavOring to get IL rushed
through the senate. The bill stipu-
lates that Sc per acre shall be paid for
any of the land filed upon within three
months after the tract Is opened for
settlement $3.50 per acre during the
! succeeding three months, and there
after at the rate of $3.50 per acre.
Readers of the Outlook may recall that
three years ago, when II was proposed
TO open the Gregory county section
OF the Rosebud reservation at the rate
OF SOU an acre. 1t was clearly shown
in an article by Mr. George KEENAN,
! February p, 1900 that the land in
question was worth AT least double that
n tYg,tt.
compromise price of 81 per acre. Most
4 OF that land Is now valued at from S15
/ to $40 per acre and upwards. Tripp
county Immediately adjoins Gregory
county, and, in addition to the fertile
quality of the soil its value has not
been lCsscnCd by the extension of rail
ways to the borders of the reservation.
| Manifestly, the government. as guar
dian, Is under obligation to see that it's
wards get full market value for their
: property-a conception of the oblga-
: ton of congress successfully urged by
Commissioner Leupp in framing law
, authorizing the sale of sos, 900 acres
| of KiOwa lands in Oklahoma during
the past year. In the sale of Indian
| tribal property the same principles Of
| justice should be observed as are ap-
piled in the management of wards es-
tates In courts Of probate. The Hon.
M. II. Clapp, chairman of the senate
/ committee on Indian affairs, in letter
I recently sent to the Indian Rights as
ISOLATION, says on this point:
MY own theory of opening these
reservations Is that the land should be
sold to the highest bidder and the pro-
ceedS paid to the Indians.
quite agree with you that the lands
should be sold, and whatever they are
worth-whatever they bring in the
market-should go to the Indians, and
] have favored this upon the opening
of reservations since | have been
member of this committee"
1t is true that the report (No. 1919
on the bill submits an agreement
signed by 705 of the 1868 adult male
! Indians of the tribe-a few more than
one-half. But under the treaty of 1868
any cession of lands to be valid must
be agreed to by three-fourths of the
adult members of the tribe; and sec
ton Zig of the United States revised
statutes also provides that no purchase
or other conveyance of lands from any
tribe shall be of any validity unless
made by treaty or convention of the
tribe. Consequently, as the necessary
three-fourths of the male adults of the
tribe have not agreed to the PROPOSE
ton, and as the names of many of
those on the sO-called agreement were
secured under threats that If they did
not sign il bill would be passed that
they might not like so well, the re-
sponsibility, whatever action is taken,
rests with congress. The senate ought
not to pass the present bill in its pres
ent form; 1t should either postpone ac-
! tion on the bill, or amend it so that an
/ appraisement of the lands will be pro-
vided for prior to its disposal. Friends
of justice and fair play would do well
to send at once a protest against this
bill either to the Hon NJ. f. Clapp,
chairman of the senate committee on
Indian affairs, whose letter quoted
above shows that he is opposed to the
bill, or to the president, who must as
sent to the bill If it is to become a law