Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-13
INDIANS FLEECED
OUT Of MILLIONS
BY LAND AGENTS
MCMurray and Associates Stood
to Realize $5,O00,000 Fee
from Aborigines
$750,O00 ALREADY PAID FIRM
investigation of Charges Made by
Senator Gore Develops
Gigantic Sensation
s75o,ooo ALREADY PAID FIRM
(Associated Press)

SULPHUR, Okla, Aug. 12.-Lawyers'
expense accounts, running as nigh as
100000, a single fee already paid
amounting to $750,000, and contingent
fees still pending that would aggregate
about $5000,000, figured in the investi-
cation of the Indian land office af-
fairs by the special committee ap-
pointed by the house of representa-
tives today.
1t was pointed out that the Indians
never had received large amounts of
money due them without having to
como G.cross" in the shape of fees,
and though they employed lawyers on
yearly salaries, extra fees were con-
stantly paid for the employment of
special counsel. The special fee of
$3.50, 900 was paid several years ago to
]. F. Mcmurray and his law partners
after they had prosecuted what are
known - the citizenship cases, while,
it is stated, they kept off the rolls 3d.
00o claimants who wanted to parti-
cipate in the claims against the gov
ernment.
BY the winning of this suit, it was
explained the value of the property
to the Indians who remained on the
rolls was enhanced $4,000, 900, on a
basis of $4,000 for each of the $4,000
claimants kept off. The sale of the
property and the division of the pro-
ceeds is still being fought for by the
Indians.
This testimony developed in the ex-
animation of George f. Scott, Choc-
taw. Scott was active in securing
signatures for the McMurray contracts
to promote the approval of which by
congress, Senator Gore charges that
May 6 he was offered a bribe OF $685.
900 or $500U0.
MeMurrays contracts, Scott testified.
If carried out in their entirety would
dispose of about $50,000000 worth of
property, which on 10 per cent "attor-
neys fee" basis would result in net
profit to McMurray and his associates
of $5,000.000 This fee, according to
Senator Gore and members of the COM
mittee, who interrogated the witnesses,
would be paid for services that the gov
ernment already had promised to give
the Indians without cost.
Scott also showed in his testimony
that the cost of employing McMurray
would be in addition to the 100000 now
paid annually to regular attorneys.
Scott's contention was that the attor-
neys on the regular salary were not as
active as contingent fee attorneys.
Scott appeared after his name frequent
ly had been mentioned by previous wit
nesses.
1t was he who testified he had sent
kilograms to Washington urging the
approval of the contracts. He had been
working for McMurray with no writ
ten or verbal agreement, he said, as to
sharing in the fee, and had induced
many Indians to sign. He worked in
this respect among the Indians despite
the opposition of Green McCurtain,
chief of the Chactaws.
In one telegram to Richard A. Adams,
an attorney at Washington, he referred
to Vice President Sherman and Senator
Curtis of Kansas as understanding
better than anyone else what the In
dians wanted"
Questioned as to what he meant by
that, Scott said he understood that Mr..
Sherman and Senator Curtis long had
been familiar with Indian affairs, and
he thought they were the ones to be
applied to, Notwithstanding it had been
shown that both Mr. Sherman and Mr..
Curtis had protested against the 10 per
cent fee They thought it too high and
unnecessary
Before becoming connected with Nc
Murray, Scott was treasurer of the
Choctaw nation.
A number of Indians testified to hav-
ing signed kilograms sent to Washing
ton approving McMurray's contracts.
McMurray also has been at all the
sessions of the investigation. He may
be put on the stand within few days
to relate what he knows concerning
what inducements, if any, were made
to the Indians before they signed the
contracts.