INDIAN AFFAIRS: LAWS AND TREATIES. Vol. 1, Laws

Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler. Washington : Government Printing Office, 1904.

ACTS OF FIFTY-SIXTH CONGRESS—FIRST SESSION, 1900.
CHAP. 217 | CHAP. 379 | CHAP. 832| CHAP. 868

Margin Notes
Chap. 832	Inspector to have per diem. [31 Stat., 1060.].
Chap. 832	Clerks of district courts to account for fees. [31 Stat., 1073.]
Chap. 832	—to pay over excess.
Chap. 832	—to receive $1,000.
Chap. 832	Commission to Five Civilized Tribes
Chap. 832	Statement of expenditures.
Chap. 832	Town-site commissioner. [31 Stat., 1075.]
Chap. 832	Rolls of Five Civilized Tribes to be final. [31 Stat., 1077.]
Chap. 832	—time for closing,
Chap. 832	Acts of Creeks and Cherokee to be approved by the President.
Chap. 832	Publication of approved acts. Return of disapproved acts.
Sec. 2	Supplies, purchase after advertisement. [31 Stat., 1083.]
Sec. 2	—except in case of exigency.
Sec. 2	—or for irrigation.
Sec. 2	Indians preferred in purchases and labor.
Sec. 2	Manufactures by Indians.
Sec. 3	Rights of way for telephones and telegraph through Indian lands.
Sec. 3	No lines until approval.
Sec. 3	Damages, how ascertained.
Sec. 3	Annual tax.
Sec. 3	Rules for construction and maintenance.
Sec. 3	No exemption from State tax.
Sec. 3	Regulating tolls reserved.
Sec. 3	Rights of towns on line of construction.
Sec. 3	Condemnation for public use of lands allotted in severalty.
Sec. 4	Secretary of Interior may grant permission to open high-ways through Indian lands.

Chapter 832
Mar. 3, 1901. | 31 Stat., 1058.

An act making appropriations for the current and contingent expenses of the Indian Department and for fulfilling treaty stipulations with various Indian tribes for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and two, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted, &c., * * * That the Indian inspector who may be assigned to duty in the Indian Territory shall be considered as actually employed on duty in the field;^a

^aR. S. 2043, 2044, provide for the appointment, salary, and traveling expenses of Indian inspectors.
By 1898, June 28, ch. 517, s. 27, one inspector was authorized to be located in the Indian Territory.

and the accounting officers of the Treasury are hereby authorized to allow him per diem pay during the fiscal year nineteen hundred and one, and so long as he shall remain on duty in said Territory.

That hereafter the clerks of the district courts in the Indian Territory shall account to the United States for all fees earned and collected by them in accordance with such rules and regulations as the Attorney-General shall prescribe.^b

^bA similar but less comprehensive provision is made by the appropriation act of the preceding year, 1900, May 31, ch. 598 (31 Stat., 229). The clerks of court mentioned in the text were first authorized by 1890, May 2, ch. 182, s. 30, 38 (ante, p. 48). Their status and designation were changed by 1895, March 1, ch. 145, s. 3, ante (p. 72). By 1893, November 3, ch. 16 (28 Stat., 9), the provisions of which were reenacted by 1895, March 1, ch. 145, s. 3 (ante, p. 72), they were allowed to retain certain fees for their own use. For construction of the various acts relating to fees of clerks of court in the Indian Territory, see 35 C. Cls., 595.

They shall annually pay over to the Treasurer of the United States all such fees collected and earned by them in excess of the necessary

expenses incurred and paid by them for attendance on court, record books, stationery, and clerk hire subsequent to May thirty-first, nineteen hundred, such expenses to be allowed and retained by said clerks on accounts approved by the judge of the court when accompanied by proper vouchers.

And such clerks shall hereafter be paid the sum of one thousand dollars each per annum for all extra services in addition to their regular salary.

For salaries of four commissioners, appointed under Acts of Congress approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, and March second, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, to negotiate with the Five Civilized Tribes in the Indian Territory, twenty thousand dollars:^c

^cFor previous legislation in regard to this commission, see 1896, June 10, ch. 398, and note (c) thereto (ante, p. 79); 1897, June 7, ch. 3, (ante, p. 87); 1899, March 1, ch. 324, (ante, p. 102), and 1900, May 31, ch. 598, ante, p. 105.

and said commissioners shall at once make an itemized statement to the Secretary of the Interior of all their expenditures up to January first, nineteen hundred and one, and annually thereafter.

That hereafter the Secretary of the Interior may, whenever the chief executive of the Choctaw or Chickasaw Nation fails or refuses to appoint a town-site commissioner for any town, or to fill any vacancy caused by the neglect or refusal of the town-site commissioner appointed by the chief executive of the Choctaw or Chickasaw Nation to qualify or act, in his discretion, appoint a commissioner to fill the vacancy thus created.^d

^dSee the provisions here referred to, 1898, June 28, ch. 517, s. 15, 29 (ante, p. 95), and other legislation relative to the commission to the Five Civilized Tribes as referred to in the next preceding note.

The rolls made by the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, when approved by the Secretary of the Interior, shall be final, and the persons whose names are found thereon shall alone constitute the several tribes which they represent;

and the Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to fix a time by agreement with said tribes or either of them for closing said rolls, but upon failure or refusal of said tribes or either of them to agree thereto, then the Secretary of the Interior shall fix a time for closing said rolls, after which no name shall be added thereto.^e

^eSee the legislation referred to in the two preceding notes.

That no act, ordinance, or resolution of the Creek or Cherokee tribes, except resolutions for adjournment, shall be of any validity until approved by the President of the United States.

When such acts, ordinances, or resolutions passed by the council of either of said tribes shall be approved by the principal chief thereof, then it shall be the duty of the national secretary of said tribe to forward them to the President of the United States, duly certified and sealed, who shall, within thirty days after their reception, approve or disapprove the same.

Said acts, ordinances, or resolutions, when so approved, shall be published in at least two newspapers having a bona fide circulation in the tribe to be affected thereby, and when disapproved shall be returned to the tribe enacting the same.

That no purchase of supplies for which appropriations are herein made, exceeding in the aggregate five hundred dollars in value at any one time, shall be made without giving at least three weeks public notice by advertisement, except in case of exigency, when, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, who shall make official record of the facts constituting the exigency, and shall report the same to Congress at its next session, he may direct that purchases may be made in open market in amount not exceeding three thousand dollars in any one purchase:^f

^fSimilar provisions occur in prior appropriation acts. See 1899, March 1, ch. 324, s. 3 (30 Stat., 946), and 1900, May 31, ch. 598, s. 2 (31 Stat., 246).

Provided, That supplies may be purchased, contracts let, and labor employed for the construction of artesian wells, ditches, and other works for irrigation, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, without advertising as hereinbefore provided:

Provided further, That as far as practicable Indian labor shall be employed and purchase in the open market made from Indians, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior:

Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior may, when practicable, arrange for the manufacture, by Indians upon the reservations, or at industrial schools, of shoes, clothing, leather, harness, and wagons, and such other articles as the Secretary of the Interior may deem advisable, and the sum of ten thousand dollars is hereby appropriated to enable the Secretary of the Interior to carry this provision into effect.

That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and empowered to grant a right of way, in the nature of an easement, for the construction, operation, and maintenance of telephone and telegraph lines and offices for general telephone and telegraph business through any Indian reservation, through any lands held by an Indian tribe or nation in the Indian Territory, through any lands reserved for an Indian agency or Indian school, or for other purpose in connection with the Indian service, or through any lands which have been allotted in severalty to any individual Indian under any law or treaty, but which have not been conveyed to the allottee with full power of alienation, upon the terms and conditions herein expressed.

No such lines shall be constructed across Indian lands, as above mentioned, until authority therefor has first been obtained from the Secretary of the Interior, and the maps of definite location of the lines shall be subject to his approval.

The compensation to be paid the tribes in their tribal capacity and the individual allottees for such right of way through their lands shall be determined in such manner as the Secretary of the Interior may direct, and shall be subject to his final approval;

and where such lines are not subject to State or Territorial taxation the company or owner of the line shall pay to the Secretary of the Interior, for the use and benefit of the Indians, such annual tax as he may designate, not exceeding five dollars for each ten miles of line so constructed and maintained;

and all such lines shall be constructed and maintained under such rules and regulations as said Secretary may prescribe.

But nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to exempt the owners of such lines from the payment of any tax that may be lawfully assessed against them by either State, Territorial, or municipal authority;

and Congress hereby expressly reserves the right to regulate the tolls or charges for the transmission of messages over any lines constructed under the provisions of this Act:

Provided, That incorporated cities and towns into or through which such telephone or telegraphic lines may be constructed shall have the power to regulate the manner of construction therein, and nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to deny the right of municipal taxation in such towns and cities.

That lands allotted in severalty to Indians may be condemned for any public purpose under the laws of the State or Territory where located in the same manner as land owned in fee may be condemned, and the money awarded as damages shall be paid to the allottee.^g

^gFor general acts providing for the allotment of lands in severalty to Indians, see 1887, February 8, ch. 119 (ante, p. 33); 1891, February 28, ch. 383 (ante, p. 56); 1894, August 15, ch. 290 (ante, p. 68); 1895, January 26, ch. 50 (ante, p. 70); 1897, June 7, ch. 3 (ante, p. 87); 1900, May 31, ch. 598, and note (ante, p. 105); and 1901, February 6, ch. 217 (ante, p. 109).

That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to grant permission, upon compliance with such requirements as he may deem necessary, to the proper State or local authorities for the opening and establishment of public highways, in accordance with the laws of the State or Territory in which the lands are situated, through any Indian reservation or through any lands which have been allotted in severalty to any individual Indians under any laws or treaties but which have not been conveyed to the allottees with full power of alienation. [March 3, 1901.]