The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-08-09
Government Aroused by Recent
Revelations in Connection
With Indian Land Titles.
JOKER" IN APPROPRIATION
BILL is DISCOVERED
Conditions That Confront De-
partment of Justice Do Not
Clear All Skirts.

BEVERLY, Mass, Aug. s.-A vigor-
Gus prosecution to reclaim title to a
vast amount of Indian land in Okla
homa is being planned by the depart
ment of justice for the coming autumn,
One of the principal actions III pros
pect is TO overcome the effect of an
ingenious "iokcr" written into the
Indian appropriation ball Just before
that measure was handed to the prcsl.
dent for his signature. The ''joker ;
was discovered by Solicitor General
Bowers, but it was agreed between the
president and Mr.. Bowers that 1T was
too late to send the bill back to con
gress and that, means of olfsettlng the
"ioker' would he devised.
This "joker.'' which is now law,
granted the right of appeal to the
United States supreme court IN case
involving over 10000 Indian contracts,
which had been decided In favor of the
government by the court of appeals OF
the Eighth circuit. As the matter had
been taken into the circuit court on
demurrer, the defendants had no right
of appeal to the supreme court.
Object of Joker
1t is the belief Of the government of
fcials that the authority to appeal was
secured with no idea that the case
sort, but simply to gain delay of
year or eighteen months.
This belief is based on the fact that
the lands involved in this case are prac.
tically all coal and oil lands and every
day that passes they are being stripped
OF these natural resources as fast as
the coal eau he mined and the oil
pumped. a year and a half delay
means millions of dollars to the claim
ants,
The plan to Offset this move is to ap-
ply TO the United States court in Okla
homa for a receiver for the lands just
as soon as the autumn term begins, In
this way the court will exercise full
control over all the operations and
make secure the benefits for the final
successful litigants,
Will Protect Redmen.
Investigating the contracts by which
1t is contcnded the Indians have been
defrauded of the lands granted to them
by the government, II is said the de-
partment of Justice has unearthed
startling condition of affairs, involving
many well known persons. The gov
ernment is fighting the cases hard for
the Indians, and once the lands are re-
claimed, 1T is proposed to further pro-
tect them if congress can be prevailed
upon to do so.
The defendants in some of the ac-
tionS that are pending have offered
unique legal propositions to be met by
the government. In the first place they
claim that having granted the land to
Indians the government has not the
constitutional right to restrict this
land. The court of appeals decided
against this claim, however.
It is argued in another case that the
Indians have been granted citizenship,
&c H.. t,ln
and congress has no riGht TO act respect
ing them.
Government Contention.
The government is preparing a novel
answer to this suit. 1t will be con-
been granted the right of citizenship
under the United States, they do not
become citizens under the fourteenth
amendment providing that persons born
in and under the jurisdiction of the
United States or naturalized, were cit
izens of the United States and of the
state an which they resided
1t will be claimed that the Indians
were not born under the jurisdiction of
the United States, but under their tri-
bal jurisdiction. The United States
deals with the tribes, but never with
the individuals.
The outcome Of tins contention will
be watched with interest.
President Taft has told several of his
callers recently that he was fully ac-
quainted with Vice President Sher-
mans attitude as to the Indian cases
involved in the pending Oklahoma in
vestigataon, and that he knew the vice
president was strenuously opposed TO al
lowing the big fees to attorneys in con
nection with which the alleged attempt
ct bribery occurred.