OCR Text |
Show to agree not to accept any hay for shipment until royalty had been paid thereon. I n office report of July 16, 1900, it was stated- If the Department adheres to the opinion expmed in ita letter of July 22, 1899, to Inspector Wright, that royalty should be paid ob all hay shippedfrom the Chero-kee Nation, whether cut from lands in the possemion of a prospective allotteeor not, then I respectfully recommend that Inspector Wright's request that a letter be sent direct from the Department to the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad Company be complied with; and further that Inspector Wright be instructed that he should cause all such hay tobe seized wherever it can he found, and that he be furnished with all as'sistance possible for the enforcement of the collection of such taxes. If, on the other hand, it should be held that royalty is not due to the Cherokee Nation on hay cut horn land held by a prospective allottee because of the previoasly mentioned proviaione of section 16, then I respectfully recommend that the Department eease its attempts to collect such royalty, because it is not likely that any landwhich produces prairie hay in paying quantities is not held by prospective allottees. July 18, 1900, the Department replied to the inspector as follows: On October 13, 1899, the question of the collection of royalty imposed by the Cherokee tribal law on hay shipped from mid mtion was again coneidered by the Department, and the opinion was expressed that when the whole matter was pre-sented to the several railroad companies by you, with request that they issueinstruc-tions to their agents not to receive hay for shipment until proper evidence was pro-duced that mid royalty had been paid, the companies will comply with said request, and that in ease any of them refused eo to do, you will report the matter at once for further action by the Department. Moreover, in said letter of July 3 last, express directions were given you relative to the seizure of hay attempted to be shipped over the St. Louie and San Francisco Railroad, "or over any other railroad'' upon phich the royalty tax had not been paid. In view of these express directions given to you the Department considers that the withdrawal of the request to the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad Company, reported by you, Was unauthorized, and hence the Department on the 17th inatant wired you to revoke the same and to seize all hay attempted to be shipped in the Cherokee Nation upon which the royalty tax had not been paid. The fact that the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad Company failed or refused to ~nmplyw ith the request of the Department is not considered a sufficient reason for withdrawing the request heretofore made by the Department not to receive hay for shipment upon which the royalty tax bad not been paid. Herewith you will find a letter addressed to the general attorney of the St. Louis and San Fmncisco Railroad Company and a letter addressed to the general attorney of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad Company, requesting them not to receive for shipment hay cut from lands in the Cherokee Nation until evidence is shown that the royalty tax has been duly paid. The attorneys of these roads have since advised the Department that they will require their agents to comply with the Department's request, and it is not anticipated that there will be any further trouble in the collection of the royalty on hay shipped from the Creek and Cherokee nations. The royalty collected on hay shipped from the Cherokee Nation during the past year amounts to &,P74.88. |