The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-04-08
INDIANS Of j. s.
WATCHED LIKE
!. TINY CHILDREN
THEIR DECISION is FINAL
Recommendations of Examl-
ners Go Direct to Secretary,
! Whose Word Must Stand
Nv MARGARET a. woRRELL


Nv MARGARET d. wORRELL.
Few persons in the United
States, including those in the De-
partment of the Interior, or even
In Congress, know the vast I'M
portance and wide scope Of the
work Of the probate division OF
the Office of Indian Affairs.
Fixes INDIAN PAYMENTS.
The Congress by the act OF June
IS, 1910, as amended by the act
OF February Ii, 1918, conferred
upon the Secretary Of the Interior
exclusive probate and surrogate Jur"
aediction to determine the heirs
Of Indians to whom allotments had
been made or may be made be-
fore the expiration Of the trust
period, and before the issuance Oh
@ patent in fee and to approve or
disapprove the last will and tesla
nentary disposition OF an allot'
rnent or Indian money held in trust
by the United States. The deci.
zion OF the Secretary Is final ana
conclusive against any attack, as
has DSGu QSC4QC0 Wy TAG S0RSNAAAS
Court OF the United States.
CIVIL POWER OF COURTS.
To quote the words Of First AS.
gistant Secretary of the Interior
Frank Pierce. in 1910, with refer
ence to the above act, 1T IL in
substance the vesting Of private
jurisdiction in the Indian Office, su-
pervised by the Secretary OF the
TA&o-sa~ 1x,f1kaI, xxv1srIH efhnrsxxfGA he.
long to the probate courts"
IN conformity with the aforesaid
act, rules and regulations were
adopted and the probate division Tor
a. 1t ives at that time designated
law-heirshfp division was Gre
ated October IL, 1912, with work
ing corps of five lawyers. The
aforesaid corps has been enlarged
and depleted from time TO time,
until at present only Mr.. Louis
Lowe tnow Assistant Chief OF Pro.
bate) and Mrs. Margaret Hopkins
Worrell remain Of the original
corps. There are now eleven law.
yers engaged on the work.
ASSIGNED TO SECTIONS.
Examiners of inheritance are as
signed to different sections OF the
Indian country. and 1t Is their duty
60 advertise a hearing for the deter
mination OF heirs, to procure the at
tendance Of witnesses, administer
oaths, hear testimony, reduce the
same to writing and transmit same,
together with ell original papers,
dispositions, testimony, exhibits, ETC..
70 the Commissioner OF Indian Al
fairs. This record constitutes q
sscase."
The records thus prepared In the
field present questions OF ancestry,
marriage, divorce, adoption, curtsey,
dover, homestead, claims, descent
and distribution, and involve wills
and their legal Interpretation and
construction under the statutes and
decisions Of the various States, the
acts of Congress and Indian treaties,
and also involve frequent examina-
ton of the records Of the indian Of
flee and the General Land Office Of
the United States.
DECISIONS FINAL.
The lawyers engaged on this work
review all cases and prepare a final
determination or decision for the
signature OF the Secretary Of the In
terror, which, when signed, Ia not
subject to review by any court Ak
cept the Supreme Court of the y lied
States.
For the fiscal year ending June 30,
1922, statistics show each lawyer
settled on an average of nine hun
dred and fifteen cases per year; that
property valued at more than three
million dollars was handled by each,
and that fees were collected TO the
value of over ten thousand dollars
for each lawyer engaged in the work.
WORK LAUDED BY JUDGE.
Perhaps the words OF Judge
Proudfit before the Federal Bar
Association, best express the work
Of these lawyers. He said:
No relation under the employ
ment of the United States i'm
parts more dignity Of service,
sibility than the one sustained
by the Federal lawyer. From
the inception of the statute to
fits final administration, the ex-
preston Of the executive opinion
rests with him primarily, If not
ultimately; and to his knowl-
edge OF the law and skill in its
Interpretation lies the success
or failure Of the executive.
No perfunctory service will
suffice. In each case must the
law ana the facts De aScertained
with the same attention to de-
tail as in the first instance.
Principles may ke settled by
earlier action, but their applica-
ton to the case in hand is an
other matter.
ACTION WILL HOLD.
independence Of thought and
suggestion are of necessity a
Federal lawyer, guided by the
same rules OF Interpretation that
obtain in courts of last resort;
for his action on the facts will
be final. and on the law may be
final. This is true whether the
duty of finding the facts and
applying the law is at the desk
Of the original examiner or with
the last advisor Of the head of q