OCR Text |
Show are about 260 such contssted cases at the Cherokee School, North Carolina, to be passed upon before the reservation can be allotted. At White Earth, 86 persons of mixed Chippewa blood enrolled with the tribe were challenged. Their rights have been carefully inves-tigated by a special attorney of the depart,ment, and the record, including voluminous testimony, has been referred to the Court of Claims for &digs of fact. FINANCE. The system of accounting maintained in the Indian Service is, necessarily, more complex and difficult than that of any other branch of the Govemment service, because of the number and variety of appropriations, as well as the large amount of tribal and individual Indian money handled. Appreciating the benefits to be derived from personal instruction of the field force in accounting methods as well as the necessity for more frequent and systematic investigation of the fiscal affairs of disbursing officers, special agents, qualxerl as expert accountants for that particular work, have been employed. INDIVIDUAL INDIAN MONEYS. The principal sources from which individual Indian moneys aro derived are: (1) Sale of allotted and inherited lands; (2) lease accruals; (3) sale of timber; (4) oil and gas royalties; (5) earnings of outing pupils. The total amount of deposits of moneys of this class in depositaries on June 30, 1913, was approximately $10,500,000. The Federal law, as respects individual Indian moneys, is broad and comprehensive and permits a wide discretionary authority in the administration of the trust moneys belonging to individual Indians. For administra-tive and accounting purposes, requests for authority to approve the disbursement of an Indian depositor's funds are submitted to this offiw by the local superintendent. The superintendent justifies his requests by submitting a report of the circumstances in each par-ticular case. Indian allottees are encouraged to use as much of their funds as necessary in building modern and sanitary homes on their lands. On the theory that lease money represents income rather than principal, the greatest possible liberality has been exercised toward the lessor in the handling of his own rentals. DEPOSITORIES FOR INDIAN MONEYS. On March 17,1913, the department approved a regulation, effective July 1, 1913, which provides for the payment of interest on all indi-vidual Indian funds held to the official credit of superintendents at the same rate as that paid by banks on open accounts of individual |