THE CHEM AW A
A M E R IC A N
5
field and believing th a t concentrated effort will m aterially im prove the
system , the Com m issioner created in the Indian Office a new division,
designated “ P u rc h a se ,” w hich will handle exclusively the purchase and
transportation of supplies.
One of the biggest th in g s accom plished bv Com m issioner Sells is w hat
m ight be term ed a reorganization of procedure relative to the probating
of th e estates of m inor In d ian s in O klahom a. H e says in his report th at
the m inor children of the F ive Civilized T ribes are perhaps the richest
average children in th e U nited States, w hich condition resu lts from the
fact th at in allotting the O klahom a In d ian s the children were given the
same num ber of acres of land as th eir parents and share equally i.i tribal
funds. C onsequently, w hen C ongress in the act of May 27, 1908, co n
ferred upon th e county courts probate ju risd ictio n , there was involved
a g reater am ount of probate w ork th an existed anyw here else in the
U nited States; th at m any g uardians were appointed w ithout regard to
th eir fitness, and insolvent bondsm en accepted, and th a t it was not u n
common for th e lands of m inor Indian children to be sold on appraise
m ents influenced by prospective purchasers, and for inadequate prices.
Excessive com pensation was m any tim es allowed g u ard ian s and u n rea
sonably large fees paid to th e ir attorneys. U nder these conditions, the
property of Indian children was frequently so ravished th a t w hen final
reports were called for they were not forthcom ing, and estates were often
found to have been wholly dissipated and th eir bondsm en financially ir
responsible. A ltogether it developed a condition dem anding speedy and
radical reform s.
H e arranged for conferences to be held with the county judges, prosecu
tin g attorneys, district judges, and others interested in betterm ents for
the territo ry covered by th e Five Civilized T ribes. T hese conferences
were attended by practically all of the county judges, at w hich tim e all
m atters and th in g s were exhaustively discussed and rules of probate pro
cedure were adopted by the county judges, were approved by the pres
ident of the State C ounty Ju d g e s’ A ssociation, and soon thereafter were
officially adopted and prom ulgated by th e Judges of the Suprem e Court
of the S tate of O klahom a, and have since been in full force and effect.
T o insure the prosecution of the probate work in a system atic and ef
fective m anner, the Com m issioner organized a force consisting of the
best obtainable attorneys, each of whom was chosen on his m erits after
careful and exhaustive investigation, to assist and co-operate w ith the
th e county judges. T his force was m ade up in part of attorneys em
ployed at the expense of several tribes and partly at the expense of the
U nited States under au th o rity of Section 18 of the Act of C ongress of
Ju n e 30, 1913.
W idespread and g ratify in g results have already been accom plished.