The Labor Signal. (Oklahoma City, Okla. Terr.), Vol. 3, No. 12, Ed. 1 Friday, January 2, 1903 Page: 3 of 16
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%'J
UPHOLDS THE TJX
'/
Judge Hosea Townsend Refuses to
Issue Restraining Order
OMRS IM PUT UP THE Ti HAL TAX
An Application to Restrain OfllvlaU Fi'oin
Euforrlng tin) Tux of Twenty-live Cents
on Cattle was Kef used—Indian Police
1'roparu to Enforce Law
ARDMORE: An application to re-
strain the secretary of the interior de-
partment, the Indian agent and his sub-
ordinates from enforcing the tribal cat-
tle tax of 25c a head on stock within
the boundaries of the Chickasaw Na-
tion has been refused by Judge Town-
send of the United States uourt.
Following the decision of the court it
is anticipated that the collection of
taxes will be immediately resumed
Payment of this- tax was suspended
when papers were filed some time ago
by the cattlemen seeking to escape pay-
ment of the tax by injunction pro-
ceedings. The case was a test one, in-
volving the validity of the tribal tax.
which was questioned on the ground
that it was a tribal law, which couio
not legally be enforced against the
stockmen of the Indian Territory.
The decision of Judge Townsend was
terse. A similar case in the District of
Columbia was recently decided against
the stockmen and the validity of the
tribal tax was upheld. While Judge
Townsend does not say the tax is valid,
his position in the matter is significant
in refusing to tie the hands of the gov-
ernment officials who have been enforc-
ing the cattle collection with varied
success. It is apparent that the own-
ers of cattle must either comply with
the tribal law or be subject to the pen-
alty prescribed in the rules and regu-
lations of Secretary Hitchcock govern-
ing the introduction of stock. The
penalty imposes the removal of cattle
from the nation where the owners re-
fuse to pay the cattle royalty.
MAY DELAY ALLOTMENTS
A OitfHlion a* to tlic ltlulili of Clmrokf#
Citizen* to be Settled
I WASHINGTON: The question of thi>
rights of the Cherokee claimants to
share in the the Cherokee nation has
been raised by a petition filed before
the secretary of the interior. The ques-
tion presented is a new one in this, that
the petitioners claim that citizenship
in the Cherokee nation conferred politi-
cal rights only, that parties may have
and acquire property rights without
having been enrolled as citizens. The
petitionerin this case is William Steph-
ens, the same party whose case was
appealed to the supreme court on the
question of the constitutionality of the
act empowering the Dawes i ommlssio*
I INDIAN TERRITORY!
* *
* *
************************* ■¥¥************************ *
CREEK LAND REGULATIONS
Department of Interior Seek* to Protect
'J'liolr Interests
ARDMORE: The secretary of the in-
terior has adopted stringent regulations
for the leasing and management of
allotted lands to the Creek Indians, in
compliance with the terms of the Creek
I treaty ratified at the last session of
' congress.
By the terms of the treaty the Creeks
are required to elect their homesteads
to make the rolls of tht- of the Indian ! of forty acres each, which shall remain
nations in the Indian territory. Steph- | inalienable and non-taxable and free
ens' petition sets forth the fact that from incumbrance of every kind for a
he went to the Cherokee nation In pur- i period of twenty-one years. The mom-
suance to an Invitation issued by the j bets of the tribe may rent their allot-
nation, that he was a Cherokee Indlai) j ment for not more than one year for
by blood, and that he had opened up a grazing purposes and not more than
valuable farm in the country with the Ave years for agricultural purposes,
consent of the nation and with its j The regulations adopted by the de-
knowledge; that when called upon to j partment of the interior refer to the
do so he furnished proof of the fact j leasing of the homestead allotments
that he was a Cherokee Indian by blood j the conveyance of the surplus
and a resident of the nation. The court i of the Creeks. All instru-
POLICE MOBILIZE
Xlie Chickasaws are Determined tlial the
Cattle Tax Shall bo Paid
CHICKASHA: Internal Revenue In-
spector Guy. P. Cobb, who is also the
head of the Indian police department,
has arrived in Chickasha to collect the
tribal tax of 23c per head on all cattle
in the nation belonging to non-citizens.
The Indian policemen have been order-
ed to mobilize at this place, and twen-
ty-five of them will be detailed to car-
ry out the instructions of their cheif
The decision of the supreme court, fol-
lowed by that of Judge Townsend at
Ardmore holds that the cattlemen
must pay the tax or their stock will be
driven out of the country. When the
question first came up the cattlemen
of the Chickasaw nation banded to-
gether to fight the tax, and a test case
was made. The decisions of the courts
have all been against them and the
cattlemen have about reached the last
ditch. Revenue Inspector Cobb says
he means business this time, and that
the tax must be paid. The Chickasaw
etttlTnen are equa i> determine.! net
to pay it, and will resist the officers,
it Is said. Trouble is imminent, for the
police are fully armed and empowered
tc cv'if ct or drive out thi ci 1 •.
There are over 100,000 head of cAttle on
which the tax has not :>een paid, and
it is the intention to load them into
«ars and ship them over the line in-
to Texas, if the owners still refuse pay-
ment.
however held in his case that while it
was true that he was a Cherokee and a
resident of the nation, the fact that he
was not enrolled prevented his obtain-
ing any relief, and that the case was
appealed to the supreme court where
by an unfortunate wording of that act
under which the appeal was allowed the
court held there was nothing before it
except the constitutionality of the act
authorizing the Dawes commission to
make rolls, so that Stephens up to this
time has never had a judgment upon
the merits of the case. In the decision
of the supreme court, however, it wai
intimated that there might be a dis-
tinction' between the property rights
and citizenship, and the attorneys fo
Stephens have taken this matter up
with a view to pressing it to a final de-
cision. The petition is accompanied by
full exhibits, showing former actions
in the matter, and is filed with the sec«
retary of the interior, probably with a
view of obtaining preliminary action by
the department with a view of after-
wards taking the case into the courts.
This involves the rights of several
hundred people, and may tend to delay
allotments among the Cherokees. Thera
are several hundred people who claim
ments of lease or conveyance must be
presented to the Indian agent at the
union agency and by him transmitted to
the secretary of the interior through
the commissioner of Indian affairs. No
deed will be considered where the con-
sideration is less than the appraised
value shown by the reoords of the
Dawes commission, and the secretary
of the interior shall not then be bound
by the commission's appraisement.
The deed or Instrument of convey-
ance must all be accompanied by the
sworn statement of both the grantor
and grantee, showing the amount and
character of the cultivated land, the
reasonable value of all the fences, build
ings or other improvements, if any, on
the land, and that there is no contract
agreement or understanding, written or
verbal, whereby the consideration,
money or price paid for the land, or
any portion thereof, is to be refunded
to the purchaser after the approval of
the deed or instrument of conveyance,
! and that no livestock, implements or
I other articles or things are to be taken
j or exchanged in lieu of said considera-
tion, money or any portion thereof.
No leases will be approved for a
| greater term of years than as follows:
! Three years for grazing purposes, ten
that in the legislation affecting the In- J years for agricultural purposes and
dlan territory, there has been a denial : fifteen years for mineral purposes; nor
of justice by reason of the technical j will any lease be approved that is ex-
wording of severalacts, and that his ; ecuted prior to the approval and de-
case will probably be taken to the court I livery of the deed to the allottee,
of last resort for the determination oi leases must be in quadruplicate.
thesp matters.
flights of nn Indian
GUTHRIE An Important and entirely
m>w question has been raised In the
federal court at Lawton for Associate
Justice Glllet to decide. When the Fris-
co road was constructed into Lawton
It crossed the land allotted to Perman-
•u, a Comanche Indan. The secretary
of the interior oppointed a commission
to condemn right of way. The rail-
rotul company, holding the amount too
high appealed to the federal court.
The question as to- the right of. an
Indian to collect such damage money
from the company Is Involved also.
ROCK ISLAND S TAX
Greer County's Treasurer Refuses to Ac-
cept Partial Payments
MANGUM: Last year the R. I.
Railroad company tendered to tha
treasurer of Greer county on-half it*
taxes for 1901, in accordance, asl t
believed, with the statutes of 1897,
which read:
One-half of all the taxes shall ba
due on the 15th day of June and the
15th day of December of each year,
and on the third Monday in January
following the assessment of taxes all
unpaid taxes shall become delinquent,
The tender was rejected, and tha
payment of all taxes for 1901 demanded.
The railroad company paid the whola
amount under protest. This year the
company made another tender of one-
half of its taxes, fortifying itself with
an opinion by J. C. Strang, attorney
general, dated January 20, 1902, In which
the attorney general held for the rail-
road company and said that the mem-
bers of the supreme court have agreed
with him that his was the only con-
struction that could be put on the
statute.
The treasurer of Greer county con-
tends, nevertheless, that all taxes must
be paid at one time and will insist thst
the railroad company make a single
payment. The treasurer's construction
of the law. is that the first part of it
is Inoperative, for the reason that noK
a tax roll in the teritory is made out
by June 15, hence payments could not
be accepted then, if tendered. The laaj
payment falling due on December 15,'
All
one
part to be filed in the office of the com-
missioner of Indian affairs, one with the
agent of the union agency, one to be
delivered to the lessee and one to the
lessor.
All leases must accurately describe
■the lands, specify the rents or royal-
ties and when the same are to be paid,
and they must contain a provision to
the effect that if the lessee shall fail
to pay the rents or royalties, pr any part
thereof, when due, or shall fall to
faithfully comply with the terms and
conditions of the lease, such failures
shall constitute a forfeiture of the lease
and all improvements placed on the
land by the lessee, and that the lessor
shall be entitled to immediate posses-
sion of the leased lands arii the im-
provements located thereon.
There are other stringent provisions
relative to the lands of deceased al-
lottees, the relief of the Indians from
the payment of improvements made by
the lessee and of the general protec-
tion of the rights of the Indians. The
officials of the Interior department be-
lieve that the enforcement of the reg-
ulations will protect the Creeks in ail
of their rights.
CHICKASAW ACCOUNTS
The Auditor In 111m Report to Governor
Muke* Some .Su^cstloiiH
ARDMORE: Richard McLish, au<%
itor of public accounts for the Chicka-
saw nation, has submitted his bi-annual
report to the governor. The substance
of the report follows:
As required by law, defining and
governing the duties of my office as
auditor of public, accounts, I herewith
submit for your information and the
examination of the legislature, my re-
port for the entire term of office—for
the fiscal years from Sept. 1, 1900, until
Sept. 1, 1902.
The books of my office show that the
expenditures for maintaining the
Chickasaw government for the last two
years has been enormous. The amount
of warrants drawn for the above speci-
fied time composed of the following
Items amount to, in the aggregate, $425,-
941.08; schools $238,393.69, national and
county officers $38,579.53, attorneys $57,
253.19, specials $17,041.82, citizenship
commission $29,052, legislatures $28,480,
supreme, district and county courts
$8,981.80, townsite records $9,729.15, back
annuities $1,430, total $425,941.08.
The books of the treasurer show tha
amount of cash received from Sept. 1,
1900, to Sept. 1, 1902, $118,021.14; amount
of warrants cancelled by the treasurer
for the same time being $118,935.06.
At the rapid speed we are spending
money and the slow rate we are collect-
ing revenues it is only a question of
time until we will be bankrupt as a
nation unless we change our financial
business methods, and in order to pay
our indebtedness we will be finally com-
pelled to draw upon the funds held in
trust by the United States government
for the Chickasaws. It is a duty we
owe every Chickasaw citizen to be fru-
gal and economical with their money,
and stop this extravagant expenditure
and unnecessary appropriations. Hence,
I suggest and recommend the repealing
of the following laws now in force. Such
action will save thousands of dollars
to the Chickasaw people that are now
being foolishly spent:
1. An act authorizing the governor to
mploy additional counsel for the Chick-
asaw nation, approved Oct. 25, 1901.
2. An act to provide for regular and
necessary expenses to protect the In-
terests of the nation, and directing pay-
ment of the same out of the contin-
gent fund of the governor, approved
Oct. 26, 1900.
3. To amend an act entitled, "An act
to create a contingent fund for the us«
of the executive office of the Chicka-
saw nation," approved Oct. 18, 1899.
4. An act appropriating funds to de-
fray the expenses of the removal oC
non-citizens residing and doing busi-
ness in the Chickasaw nation in viola-
tion of tribal laws, approved Sept. 14,
1889.
ISPARHARCHER DEAD
Eormer Cliief of the Creek Indians Dies
at the Age of 9o Tears
GUTHRIE: Former Chief Isparhar-
cher of the Creek Indians died sudden-
ly at Okmulgee, at the age of 90 years.
He had been prominent in Creek affairs
for three score years and had been
connected with every treaty of impor-
tance between the United States gov-
ernment and Indians during that time.
Recently he was chosen to represent the
tribe in Washington on matters of lm-
RAID GAMBLING JOINTS
OfHcers at Cltlckiishn ISreak up a I.ot ot
Gambling Fixtures
CHICKASHA: Several days ago
Mayor Scoffern issued an order that all
gambling houses must close and gamb-
lers and sporting fraternity leave the
city by January 1. The gamblers gen-
erally expected to obey the order, but h
free-for-all row occurred at a local sa-
loon, which precipitated a crisis. Un-
ited Marshal Madson and Commissioner
Payne, assisted by city officials, raided
the place, broke up over $l,2i,0 worth of
gambling paraphernalia, piled it In the
middle of the main business street and
burned it . One wheel of fortur.e, val-
ued at $500, was destroyed . The rest of
the houses are closed, as Marshal Mad
sen has given warning that the raids
will continue.
and the first having not been paid,
he argues that the whole il9*™!' portance concerning the Creek nation
and must be paid by the third Motia&yi -
in January or becQgiq deliqty)^' I!
Cotton Still l.eft in Field
MADILL: A prominent farmer said
two or three days ago that on the low-
est estimate he had twenty-five bales
of cotton to pick, and a great many
have as much as five or ten bales to
gather; however, if the weather con-
tinues fair they will get the greater
part of It out in eight or ten days.
Prospects for an enormous yield of
wheat were never better in this lm-
meadiate country.
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The Labor Signal. (Oklahoma City, Okla. Terr.), Vol. 3, No. 12, Ed. 1 Friday, January 2, 1903, newspaper, January 2, 1903; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc120705/m1/3/?q=%22Business%2C+Economics+and+Finance+-+Journalism%22: accessed June 21, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.