The review. [volume] (High Point, N.C.) 1908-19??, 1915-02-11

county Judges Tor conspiracy In con
nectiOn with fraudulent land titles
/ The most common form of plum
der lies in the power to sell minors
land for the pretended purpose o
"benefiting' the minors. The lant
once reduced to money. fake "cour
costs. attorney fees" allowances,
bad loans and investments consum,
80 per cent of the capital.
One of the leading newspapers O.
the State obtained from Indian or
phan minors thousands of dollars on
its worthless stocks and bonds.
At one time the Department oil
Charities was informed that three
wild" children were sleeping in the
hollow of an old tree anti eating a,
neighboring farm houses. An inves-
| tigation proved that these little folks
were indeed living in this homeless,
friendless fashion, Their hair was
matted until it had to be cut from
their heads. We found further that
they were under the protection" of
a guardian" who had fifty-one other
minors under his protecting" care.
These three children had valuable
lands in the Glenn pool oil fields
The guardian was charging up large
amounts for their schooling" and
general care" yet he did not know
where the children were, had lost
all track of them" and it was with
difficulty that the Department of
Charities located him.
There came to my attention the
case of minor Indian boy who had
valuable property IN the rich Oil
fields. Two different oil companies
wanted to lease the property. The
agents of one company got him in
an automobile the day before he be-
came of age and rode through the
country all that day and half the
night, and a few minutes after IL
o'clock midnight. having their attor.
ney and notary public present, Sc.
cured his signature and acknowl-
edgement to his lease. :
In another case a minor Indian
boy inheriting valuable property was
kidnapped and married to disrep
utable negro woman to establish his
majority" The marriage was illegal
and had Not been performed in the
county having jurisdiction of the
settlement of the estate, so they gave
the boy $50 and married him the
following day to another disreputable
woman in another county. A ma
jority" deed was then taken and duly
by the court.
Once we found a little orphan gill
of ID working in a questionable Sec
Ond grade restaurant subjected to
all the temptations and dangers of
this position, when by all the rights
of Christianity and civil government
she should have been in public
school. She owned a valuable es-
tate.
Such instances become so numer-
Gus that the presence of scores of
Indian children in the prior State
Orphans Home started a thorough
inquiry by this department, and the |
discovery was made that
these children, all of whom possessed
allotments of land, were placed in
this institution by their guardians
and their property had been sold and
dissipated These cases are simply
given as illustrations of thousands
Of cases equally abhorrent and re-
pugnant.
Acting under a general law gov
erning my department | started to
intervene in behalf of these children,
when the alert grating guardians
attempted to thwart me by imme-
1iately removing the children from
the State Orphan 8 Home. I found
also that could not intervene in be-
half of ninety Choctaw and Chicka-
saw children in the Murrow Or
phan's Home because this was not
State institution and at that time
had no jurisdiction over children
outside State institutions.
This was in 1911 and | went inn
mediately before the Legislature and
asked that the power of the Depart
ment of Charities be extended to
allow me to intervene in behalf of
all minor Indian orphan children
when it appeared their estates were
being mismanaged or dishonesty
handled. This bill was bitterly
ought, but it became law. | in
reduced a second bill treating the
office of Public Defender. i
All the efforts of the land grafters
we're hurled against this bill, but in
spite of all opposition | fought the
dill through both branches of the