Arizona republican., 1910-08-16
LAND GRABBERs' SCHEME
Disclosed in the Investiga- tion of the McMurray Contracts. Guardians Get in Fees More than Pro ceeds of Sale of Lands.

Sulphur, okla, Aug. 15.-Details of scheme by which the Hand grabbers" had organized systematically to en- rich themselves at the expense of minor Indians was related at the congreSsion- al investigation into Indian affairs to- that the cost of dispOsing of the prop erty of one 1S-year- r-old Indian was SPOTS more than the property brought. and the condition which permotted this and similar deals was declared to be q disgrace to Oklahoma"
 Hearing that the scheme prevailed generally, Representative Phillip r. Campbell of Kansas. member of the investigating committee, had put on the stand James Marlborough. d Chickasaw Indian by intermarriage.
 Do you call this sort of thing graft ing or just plain stealing?" asked MT. Campbell, after the witness had stated the circumstances.
 Well, people down our way think it a scandal that the land laws permit such a thing, and we think it time that congress take notice of it. The probate court at Durant allowed a guardian to sell for $2,S00 a tract of a thousand acres of what is known as allotted land, owned by an Indian IS years old. The guardian then put III a claim on the proceeds. The claim in cluded SS5O for acting as guardian. S1.64O for improving the land, $500 for a barn, $50 for posts, $250 for fences. S6s for witness fees and more money for other purposes. It was found when the deal was closed that the child owed his former guardian $2,075 and now the guardian is threatening to have the property of the child sold in order to get the S2,O75.
 "I know of another case in which 325 acres were sold for an Indian child and when all the claims were paid the child got $35O In another instance. s1. 300 was obtained for 200 acres, but the child got only $120. In other words the children of deceased Indians m this state where are located one-third or all the Indians fin the United States. are being systematically robbed of the estates allotted them by the govern ment. Their property is sold at prices dictated by the laud robbers. The children are robbed at both end-at one end by the guardians and at the other end by the purchasers"
 Do you mean to say that such things are countenanced by the probate courts?''
 "Yes, they go on with the full knowl- edge of the judges. Thousands of acres of property are thus taken from the Indians and thrown into the hands of white people The Indians are getting poorer and the land grabbers richer" Most of todays testimony was given bv witnesses for the defense. J. F.. McMurray and Thomas B. Crews an attorney of St. Louis, who testified that that they had contracts with 700 freedmen, or negroes who claim Indian blood or claim to be descendants of former slaves of Indians. These freed men states that they are wrongly kept off the citizenship rolls. On the basis of his contract, Crews said, he would be allowed 35sper cent of the attOr- nevs' fees. A citizenship right Is esti- mated to be worth $5,000. The 1OO claimants if successful in the litigation. if is said, would acquire a claim on the government of about $3,5OO.OOO- The attorneys fee involved would be S1. .225. 900, it is estimated.
 Crews said he also had contracts with about hundred negreas who de- sire to take advantage of the right to participate in twenty acres of land giv- en them as freedmen. In another set of contracts. he said. about 1,2OO Choc- taw Indians in Mississippi want to get enrolment here on a 25 per cent basis.