Show AVER INDIANS I ARE CITIZENS Attorney s in Federal Court Case Raise Baise a Point on the Status of LIQUOR SELLING INVOLVED DECISION MAY AFFECT MANY PENDING INDICTMENTS Do Indians after they have had their reservations opened for settle settlement ment and of those reser reservations reservations allotted to them cease to be wards of the United States govern government government ment Are the Indians living under such citizens of the United States If so what are their rights and privileges Yes say Judge A C Hatch and andE E A Wedgwood to the first question uNo No says United States Attorney Joseph Lippman In the United States district court before Judge John A Marshall thet thel above questions were argued at length yesterday morning They came up as the result of a demurrer to the corn com complaint plaint of the government in the cases of the United States vs Thomas and Albert B Smith who are alleged to have allowed sh ep to graze on Indian lands the law It Is an offense pun punIshable by a fine of 1 per head to allow cattle and horses to graze on Indian reservations The law states that the collection of such a fine shall be in the nature ot of the collection ot of ota ofa a debt and that when the fine is eel col collected It shall be turned over to the general Indian fund Land Still Is Indians During October last especially on the day of that month Smith and Thomas are alleged to have driven head of sheep on a part of the theold theold old Uintah reservation The land In question now belongs to certain Utes It was transferred to them in several severalty ty at the time of the opening of the reservation last summer Whether this land can still be called Indian lands under the statutes of the United States is the matter which Judge Marshall be called upon to decide He has the matter under ad advIsement at present and will in aU all probability give his decision within a week eek or ten days For the alleged act of having allowed sheep to graze on the lands of the Utes Smith and Thomas were indict indicted ed about two months ago at the sit sitting sitting ting of the grand jury Each defend defendant defendant ant was admitted to ball bail in the sum of 1500 In his argument to sustain the de demurrer demurrer to the complaint of the govern Attorney Wedgwood brought out three points The first was to the ef ci feet that Indians after they have had their reservations opened for settle settIe mont mEnt and have had allotted to them a 1 certain parcel of ground cease to be 1 wards of the government They are In fact citizens of the United states he declared subject to aU all the rights and privIleges from a court stand standpoInt standpoint poInt of any other cItizen They must fight all their own legal battles alone and not through the agency of the gov government emInent attorneys office The second point was in the con construction construction and meaning ot of the word c cattle as applied to the word sheep The defendants attorneys argue that the word cattle applies only to cows and like animals The government attorney argues that the word cattle is a generic term and therefore includes all animals such as hogs and the like Whether an action for alleged tres trespass trespass pass of Indian lands is a crimInal or a civil matter was the third point brought out Attorneys Wedgwood and Hatch claim that the law states that the offense being punishable by fine only must be construed In the nature of an action to collect a debt and that it is not therefore a criminal action in the strIct Interpretation of the word Says I IndIans are Citizens I contend that whenever an Indian reservation Is opened for settlement the Indians become the same as any other citizens of the United States saId Attorney Wedgwood last night They are no longer wards of the gov government They are sImplY citizens They become property holders not as aliens but as citizens when the reser reservation Is opened and a c certain portion of it is transferred to them In severalty It If those In Indians lans have an any grievances they must state those grievances not in inthe inthe the United States courts but In the state courts when the matter involves only state questions If an Indian who receives land from the government as the Utes have be becomes becomes comes a citizen of the United States it will not be unlawful for tor any individual to sell sen that Indian liquor This ques question question tion Is not Involved a at present but it may become so before the case Is ended Not only the selling of liquor but many other matters wIll be decided by this case The question of the legality of sales and leases ot of land made by In Indians Indians to white persons will also be set settled tied |