Show The Presidents Jlessaze on the Choctaw Claims I WASHINGTON Feb 1 The President today sent to Congress a message in connection con-nection with the Choctaw and Chickasaw claims for the payment of which Congress appropriated 52991450 in the Indian appropriation ap-propriation bill passed by the last Congress Con-gress He says if the section in question had been submitted to him as a separate measure he would have disapproved it buts but-s Congress was in the last hour disapproval disap-proval of the general Indian appropriation bill of which it was a part would nave resulted re-sulted in consequences so disastrou he felt it his duty to approve the bill But a acceptance and approval of the conventions provided for devolved upon him he felt bound to look into the whole matter I baa come to his knowledge the Choctaw legislaturel agreed to pay three of that tribe 25 per cent of any appropriation ap-propriation obtained from Congress and the Chickasaws agreed to pay 10 percent of their interests t agents and attorneys The President also learned the action of council was corruptly influenced in the matter The Preident does not think Congress should so legislate as to give effect to such a contract and is of the opinion i the appropriation is to stand provision should be made for protecting these tribes against extortion The protective intervention of Congress is asked in the matter of the refusal of the Chickasaws to admit freedmen to citizenship citizen-ship The question of the title of the Choctaws and Chickasaws is taken up The words of the treaty said the President Presi-dent point clearly to the conclusion tho government commissioners and the Indians themselves must have understood that this government was acquiring something more than the mere right to settle friendly Indians which it already possessed and something more than the mere release of the right Certainly if for an adequate consideration con-sideration by the treaty the United tales placed upon these lands other Indian tribes it was competent to givo them title to a certain reservation This being so compensation for land not needed for allotment al-lotment purposes should go to the occupying occupy-ing tribe Recital Is made of the various S tribes having reservations in this leased district to show that further appropriations S appropria-tions are involved in the settlement for ali these lands upon the basis adopted by Congress Con-gress The President does not approve of dealing deal-ing with the question by piecemeal It would have been better ho says if a remnant rem-nant of title remains in the Choctaws and I Chickasaws to have settled the whole matter mat-ter at once Tho calculations made in arriving ar-riving at a basis of appropriation no account ac-count being taken of 500103 paid by treaty stipulation for the leased district seems to the President not just to the United States He commends the matter to the attention of Congress |