Show I7ASHIXGTON The Pouca Commission Report Re-port Their ilecom mendaCious General Turn at the Capital Washington 6Iho House can BUS committee to day instructed Cox to press the apportionment bill to immediate consideration The HouaeJ committee on commerce com-merce voted to maka an appropriation appropria-tion for the Mississippi River improvements im-provements leaving the amount blank The commission appointed by the President to confer with the Poncas in Indian Territory about their removal re-moval thirtber report that their removal re-moval from the Dakota and Nebraska reeervation most unfortunately caused a loss ot life to tho Indians and it was causeless The United States had ceded those lands to the Indians and had agreed to defend their title and to protect them The Indians violated no treatry and never forfeited for-feited their rights and still have a claim to those lands Until a few months they have they have strongly desired to return to Dakota and part of the tribe succeeded in getting back the remainder were discouraged discour-aged in getting back and regaining their lands and believing they could not obtain them they had sigued an agreement to remain The Indians whO returned to Dakota are strongly attached there and propose to retain their lands They have been entirely selfsustaining are friendly with the Indians and white are Q ambitious learn to create industries to educate themselves in morality religion and literature Government enould be aouated in settling these questions hy tho aaron principles that would apply to any perceablc people in the same circumstanced They therefore recommend re-commend that an allotment of 160 acres UnJ bo made to each man I woman and child of the Ponca tribe of Indiaua said lands to be selected by hens on their old reservation in Dakota and in the land now occupied by the Punci Indians in tho Indian IernOT within one year from the pasJK6 ot Ills act by Congress granting such tracts of land that until the expiration of this period free cJwmunication be permitted per-mitted between tha two branches of tribes said land to be secured to them by patent and the title to the same shall no be subject to lien alienation or encumbrance either by voluntary conveyance or by judgment judg-ment orders or the decree of any court or subject to taxation of any character for a period of thirty years from the date of the patent and until men time thereafter as the President Presi-dent mave remove the restriction that that any conveyance made by any of these Indians before the expiration of the time above mentioned shall be void and it shall be the duty of the Attorney general at the request of the secretary of the interior to institute insti-tute suit to set aside such deed or conveyance that tho title to the land shall be intact and that they shall be subject to the laws both civil and criminal including the laws of alienation and deEcent in force in the state or territory where such lands are selected that the United Sates take immediate action to extinguish ex-tinguish all claims that would be an incumbrance to the title of any lands wuich it is proposed shall be allotted to all the members of the Ponca Indians In-dians that government continue its appropriations tbe same aa at present pres-ent not less than 53000 per year during the period ot five years from the passage of the act making the Allotment M aforesaid the same to be for the benefit of the members of the tribe pro rata that the additional sum of 25000 be appropriated and expended in agricultural implements imple-ments stock and seed 5000 ol which shall be for the exclusive benefit of tho Poncaa in Nebraska and Dakota the remaining 20000 to be divided among the families of the whole tribe according to the number in each family to be in full satisfaction for the depredations and losses of property sustained by these Indians in consequence of their ro moval and that a further suns of not less i than 5000 ba appropriated for the construction of comfortable dwellings dwel-lings and not more than 5000 for the erection of schoolhouses for the Poncas in Nebraska and Dakota and that suitable persons bo employed by government for their instruction in religious educational and industrial developments and to superintend care for and protect all their interests inter-ests We respectfully suggest that the welfare of these Indians requires us to erupUaaiza the necessity ot prompt action in settling their aflaire to the end that this lone pending controversy contro-versy may be determined according to the dictated of humanity and justice jus-tice In conclusion we desire to give expression to the conviction forood upon us by our investigation of this case tout it is of the utmost impor lance to white and red men alike that all Indians should have an opportunity opportu-nity of appealing to the courts for pre tection ana tne vinaicuion ol their rights of person and of property Indians cannot be expected to understand under-stand the duties existing under the forma of civilization until they know by being subject to the authority of stable law us administered by the courts and are relieved from the uncertainties un-certainties and oppression frequently attending their subjection to arbitrary and personal authority The evidence taken by the commission com-mission together with the documents pertaining to the inquiry accompany the reports The members of the commission were BrigadierGenerals George Crook and Nelson A Mile United States army Wm Stickney of Washington and Walter Allen of Newton Mass Waiter Allen submitted sub-mitted an additional report in which he gives in detail the history of the various treaties with the Ponca Indian In-dian and the facts of their treatmpnt The f failure of the democratic majority ma-jority in the House of Representatives ID make up a quorum today when the republicans abstained from voting vot-ing and tbe marked success of the lattera filibustering lactic will probably pro-bably lead to a postponement of further fur-ther eSorts to pais the electoral resolution reso-lution until Taylor the democratic member who left for Tennessee on Monday to take part in the senatorial contest shall return and perhaps until the majority shall have unseated Martin the North Carolina republican whose seat according to the majority report of the election committee is to be given to tbe democratic contestant The two additional votes would exactly ex-actly complete a quorum composed wholly ot democrats hut even it they be secured tbe republicans intend to continue to filibuster against the adoption of the electoral resolution and in vew of the still displayed by them in devising the novel obstructive obstruct-ive proceeding of today which was a total surprise to tbe majority there s considerable reason stir doubting whether the majority can in any event effect its present purpose The republicans have unanimously agreed to stand firm in their opposition to this measure and say they will persist per-sist in employing dilatory tactics against it until the second Wednesday in Februrary or the 4th of March if necessary The House committee ou agricul tore after bearing an argument from Horace Davis this morning unanimously unani-mously agreed to insert in the agricultural agri-cultural appropriations an item of 5000 for the collection and publication publica-tion of data concerning the agricultural agricul-tural needs of the country west of the Rocky Mountains |