Evening star., 1926-12-05

On and after December ! Uncle Sam
will cease to be responsible for bills
incurred without the approval of the
Secretary of the Interior by the
Usage Indians, who are his wards.
This measure was not adopted be-
cause Uncle Sam is a hard hearted
guardian, determined to keep his
wards from spending their own
money and to retain In his own hands
every possible dollar of their income,
but in order to conserve their re-
sources and to prevent the exploiting
of the Indians by INSCRIPTIONS whites.
One Of the favorite ruses of the
latter has been to give the Indians
credit for goods of all kinds, from au-
tomohiles to player-pianos. and then
call upon the Government to settle
the bills. They could show bona fide
sale and delivery of the goods, and
eventually have always been able TO
collect the money. although the Gov.
ernment agents had repeatedly issued
orders and requests that sales on
credit he stopped. The act of Con-
gress, however, will put a definite
stop to the practice.
Usage Indians and white business
men in contact with the reservation
Of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma are
primarily those affected by the law.
The Osa ges are the richest people In
the world, due to the fact that the
richest oil-producing field in the
United States Is located on their tribal
lands. Last year each enrolled Usage
received from the Government ap-
proximately $4,000, some families re-
ceiving as high as $4,000. derived
largely from oil royalties and bonuses.
A per capita income of $4,000 for
nnA 1>I ncoe ny n \ l.
tiplies up to A tribal income Of al
most $40, 100000 for the year. It
means, also. that each Usage Is worth
at least $3.50, ,O00--that is to say. each
has an income that is per cent on
more than quarter of a million. The
family income depends, Of course.
upon the number of members OF the
family who were placed on the en-
rolled list at the time the allotment
was esta ablished.
Vast Quantities Of Oil.
During the year 3s,6e2,17a barrels
Of oil were produced In the Usage
reservation, upon which the Indians
received one.flfth and one-sixth royal
ties required under the terms of the
leas the total royalty income de-
pending upon the amount OF oil pro-
duced and the price at which 1t was
sold. In addition, the bonuses re-
ceived for leases sold during the year
amounted to $i75S,950, and the defer'
red bonus payments from previous
sales paid in during the year amounted
to $13.740.607.
All this money was collected ny the
Government. for when the tribal lands
were allotted to the Osages they We're
given merely the surface OF the lana
r>1~ fe1 rAGATvA6 TOR
the benefit of all the members or the
tribe, and they share equally IN OIL
royalties and bonuses. This initial
precaution no doubt prevented the In
dlians from being swindled out OF tnelr
oil wealth, or having 1t taken from
them for a mere fraction OF what II
has proved to be worth. for they can
not dispose Of their mineral rights as
individuals.
Not all the Osages are paid their
fun incomes each year.
Only those who have been ad1udged
competent to administer their own
fina ncial affairs handle all the money.
Those who are rated incompetent re
ceiye allowances Of $4,000 each for
adults and $4,000 each for children
under 18 years of age. Additional al.
Iowa noes are made in emergencies and
for travel. especially for anything that
NAV he shown 10 he for the edura-
tional or health bettermen of the In
dian subject to the approval OF the
inspectors and superintendents. In
disns who have been declared com
petent NAV have their certificates re-
voked IL later it appear that they real
lv are not to be trusted with handling
all their own money without super
vision. The surplus Of the incomes
beyond the allowances made and bllls
paid is accumulated by the Govern
ment against the day when the oil
fails.
The Indians of the Five Civilized
Tribes-Choctaws, Cherokees. Greeks,
Chickasaws and Seminoles-did not
reserve the mineral rights to the
tribes when allotments were made,
hence some of them have received
tremendous sums in oil royalties and
bonuses. while others have had only
the modest incomes derived from agri'
cultural lands. Some of the Creeks
have received as much as $4,000 a
year in royalties.
Oil also has been discovered In the
Pawnee, Otoe and Kiowa reservations
in Okla homa, the Crow reservation in
Montana, the Shoshone reservation in
Wyoming and the Navajo reserva-
ton in New Mexico.
How the whites have abused the
naasteF Of extending credit to Indiana