Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1910-08-18
INDIANS MILLIONS
ENRICH LAWYERS
Commissioner Submits Amazing
Statement of Fees Collected
from Several Tribes
FEDERAL GUARDIAN IGNORED
Instances Cited Where Charges
Amounted to Quarter of In
voIved Property Value
FEDERAL GUARDIAN IGNORED
ASSOCIATED Press1

SULPHUR, OKLA, Aug. lin re-
Spouse to a request from Commits
sioner of Indian Affairs Valentine, the
special congressional committee in
vestigating land affairs, forwarded to-
day to Beverly, Mass, a statement
covering the amount of attorneys fees
paid by the Indians. 1t is said to
be for the use of President Taft.
The statement covers a period of 20
years and embraces money paid out as
contingent fees. 1t shows the total
money so paid was $685.
Among the largest fees was $7S9,000,
paid by the Chickasaw Indians to re-
cover $2S5S, 79S. The New York Indians
paid $204, S4S to recover less than ST.
900, 600 The eastern Cherokees paid
a fee of $4,000. In some instances
the fees paid were as high as 20 per
cent of the property involved.
The request of the committee for the
figures is taken as Indicating that
President Taft has decided to interest
himself in the present investigation
which grew out of Senator Cores
charges of attempted bribery.
VAST PROFIT FOR LAWYERS
The contracts now held by j. F. Nc
Murray call for a 10 per cent fee for
the sale of 900 worth of land
in this state. In presenting the fig
ures before the committee Representa-
tive Phillip P. Campbell of Kansas
said:
1T is a rather startling condition
of affairs that such an amount of
money was paid by the Indians to
American lawyers when the govern
ment itself is the guardian of the In
dams"
Indians have so much legal business
that they have to employ lawyers by
the half dozen, according to Douglas
II. Johnson, governor of the Chicka-
saw tribe Of Indians, who testified to-
day before the congressional commit
tee.
johnson testified that he was unable
to state for what service some of the
lawyers were paid. They were en-
ployed previous to the existence of the
present contracts, which provide for
the sale of $50, 100000 worth of land
with 10 per cent fee to McMurray.
SUMS FOR LEGAL SERVICES
Here are some of the expenditures,
which, according to Governor Johnson,
were made by the Indians for legal
services, most of the lawyers being
employed simultaneously:
Paid J. f. McMurray's law firm $4,000
a year with $500 expenses; paid Nc
Murray's firm another $4,000 a year at
the same time on another contract;
paid McMurray $750,000 as special fee
in the citizenship cases with an eX-'
pense account of 100000; paid four
other attorneys an aggregate of $1O,-
900 a year.
1t was the belief. Governor Johnson
testified, that without the employ
ment of so many attorneys, the Indians
would have lost millions of dollars.
johnson said that in the sale of In
dian property in Mississippi it had
cost the government $6,0OO,OOO to sell
81, 100000 worth of land.
In reply to questions put to him in
his previous examination, in which he
was asked to explain how he came to
deposit $4,000 to his personal account
after McMurray had been paid the
$750000 fee, Governor Johnson declared
he never possessed $4,000.