OCR Text |
Show - 6 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFBIRS. greater will be the office force required to handle allotments, sales of tribal property and allottedtimber and agricultural lands, the deter-mini of heirs, the granting of patents in fee, the handling of segrs gated trust funds, and the numerous other duties devolving upon this office. I wish to emphasize the fact that the work of the Indian Bureau, handling a trust estate valued at approximately $900,000,000 belong-ing to 300,000 wards of the Government, should not be crippled -further because of thefailure to pkocure an additional appropriation of approximately $50,000 for employees whose services are abso-lutely necessary to keep the work of this bureau current. I shall -include in the estimates for employees for this bureau a request for the additional help absolutely required. 9. The conditions existing in eastern Oklahoma among the Five Civilized Tribes in connection with the probating,and handling of the estates of minor Indians in the local State courts are such as to .require prompt consideration. I consider it very important that an' .appropriation of at leait $75,000 be'procured in the next Indian appropriation act, so as to enable this office to employ probate attor-neys to look after the iqterests of minor Indians in the Five Civilized .Tribes, and to meet properly the probate situation now existing in ,eastern Oklahoma. If proper action is not promptly taken, it is only a question of time 'until a very.large number of the Indians in eastern Oklahoma will be deprived of their property, with the result that they will become charges on the local community. .' 10. There' is undoubtedly a larger field for the improvement of -existing industrial conditions of the Indians than any other activity .of the Indian Service. I find that the Indians have more than 600,000 acres of irrigable 'land, approximately 9,000,000 acres of other agricultural lands, more than 50,000,000 acres of grazing lands, and that the Government has expended approximately $10,000,000 in connection with Indian irrigation projects. Many ablebodied Indians who have valuable lands are wholly or without seeds, teams, implements, and other equipment ta utilize properly such lands. This is particularly true in several' reseivations where large sums of public or tribd funds have been used in constructing irrigation systems, and is in part the reason why such large areas of irrigable and other agricultural lands are not under gultivation. The valuable grazing lands of the Indians offer unusual opportuni- ~ ties for increasing the meat supply of the country, at the same time furnishing a profitable employment for the Indians as well as utiliw ing their valuable grazing lands. During the last year the Indians |