Evening star., 1924-03-08
CAN YOUR TAXES BE CUT?
Series Of Articles on the Cost of Government;
Where the Money Goes, and Why.
BY JOHN r. SINCLAIR.
thor OF Can Europe Hold Together ?'

| ance. about $4,000 of whom are in
| schools. About half the annual ap-
preparation for the Indian bureau
goes to the education Of Indian chill
| dren. 1t costs between $50 and $40
per annum per pupil to educate In
day schools.
Some OF the Indian tribes have
been very fortunate in the recent oil
| discoveries. Oil has been discovered
| larly I'm Oklahoma.
The richest oil-producing field in
the United States is found in the
Usage nation. in Oklahoma, and be-
| longs to the Usage tribe Of Indians.
These lands were purchased by the
| Osages from the Cherokee Indians
at a price Of $1.25 per acre. The
! Cherokees at the time of this sale,
| in June, 1883. thought they had made
! fine bargain with the Osages. The
Osages were allotted the surface of
! the lands, and the mineral rights
were reserved for the benefit of all
| the Usage Indians, and they share
| equally in all oil royalties and bo-
| muses..
| individuals Get $4,000 n Year.
! Each enrolled Usage Indian last
| year received from the government
approximately $4,000. Some families
received as high as $50. 1000, derived
| largely from oil royalties and bo-
/ muses.. At recent sale of Usage
| leases there was paid in bonuses
more than 100000, and the Usage
| Indians will receive, in addition to
| this amount, one-fifth and one-sixth
royalties, required under the terms
of the leases, the royalties depending
| on the capacity of the wells. There
| were produced in the Usage reserva-
tion last year 29.o00.e00 barrels OF oil;
| The Indians of the five civilized
| the mineral to the tribes, but allot-
ments were made. Some Indians.
| therefore, have received tremendous
sums in royalties, while others re-
| of the Creek Indians in Oklahoma
receive as high as $4,000 year for
| royalties. Jackson Barnett, Creek
! Indian, refused to select an al!ot-
! ment and had to be arbitrarily allot-
! ted in the Creek nation. AS an agri-
| cultural farm his land was practi-
! cally worthless, but II was rich in oil.
! Today he is worth approximately
$4,000, 900.
| While a few Of the Indians have
| been very lucky. not all of the In
| dians in this country are Well-to DO.
| There are a great number of Indians
; in many Of the different reservations
; who are exceedingly poor and need
| government. The records of the In
J dian department show that for 1928
| rations were issued to approximately
! $4,000 Indians. There are large num-
| bers Of old and decrepit Indians who
| will for many years require continu-
! GUS care by the government Re
! Gently the Indian bureau has heen
severely criticized for neglectfng some
of the Indians on some of the reser-
| vations in Minnesota.
! Indians In Congress.
! The Indians are not without repre-
sentation in Congress. Senator Rob
ert owen of Oklahoma is a member
of the Cherokee tribe. Senator
| Charles Curtis of Kansas is member
! of the Kaw tribe. Congressman
| Charles D. Carter is a member of the
! Chickasaw tribe of Indians. Con-
| eressman Chandler of Oklahoma is
| a member of the Cherokee tribe.
To sum up: Congress has appro-
| priated since. 1873 for the support,
dams of the United States total of
| $40. 900. .O0O Today this Indian bu-
| reau has 5.4e9 people looking after
approximately 225,o0o Indians who
! are still wards of the federal govern
ment. Of these employees. 2,366 are
employed in the Indian schools and
2e4O at the different Indian agencies
| throughout the nation
For the fiscal year 1929 a total of
Sll,34s.000 was spent by this bureau,
| exclusive of the $32.905.000 trust
funds which it handled. The current
expenses for 1924 are expected to be
| Increased by about 100000:
In the suggested plan of reorganl-
zation of the departments the indian
bureau is transferred from the Inte-
rior Department to the Department
of Education and Welfare.
We can readily see that, interest
| ing as this bureau is. 1t is spendlng
| only 81 cents out of every 500 spent
| in 1923 by the federal government
| Ii is a very small spending bureau,
doing a very useful and necessary
! work.
Copyright 1924. in L. $: and Great britain
by North American Newspaper Alliance.
| All rights reserved