MINORITY VIEWS The Committee on Indian Affairs has reported for passage H. R. 6979. However, certain members of the committee protest against the passage of the bill, in this minority report. Certain members of three or four Indian tribes located in the northeastern part of Oklahoma have become wealthy from royalties derived from lead and zinc mining, and oil and gas. Perhaps, the sum total of their accumulated wealth would amount to $30,000,000 or $40,000,000. This money is invested by the Government in Government bonds, municipal bonds, first-mortgage real-estate securities, and Oklahoma bank deposit contracts. All are nontaxable investments and perfectly safe to the Indians. The Supreme Court has given the Constitution a construction to the effect that the Federal Government sustains the relationship of a guardian to the restricted, dependent Indians. We quote a decision to that effect: * * Meanwhile, they are in a state of pupilage. Their relations to the United States resemble that of a ward to his guardian; they look to our Government for protection; rely upon its kindness and its power; appeal to it for relief to their wants; and address the President as their Great Father (5 Peters, 1). It is well known that a guardian owes to his incompetent ward, if the ward be youthful, a duty to educate and qualify the ward for citizenship and independence. It is also well known that it is the duty of the guardian to protect and preserve the ward's property until the ward arrives at the age of competency, when the guardian shall deliver the ward's property to him. Such are beyond question the duties of the Government toward the incompetent, dependent, restricted Indians and their property. Nearly all of the rich Oklahoma Indians are incompetent, dependent, and restricted Indians. The purpose of the bill (H. R. 6979) was to enable the Exchange Trust Co., of Tulsa, Okla., to secure the millions of money belonging to the restricted Indians through so-called trust-estate agreements, under which the Indians' money would be transferred by contract to the trust companies for long periods of time equaling 50 years, even though and notwithstanding such alienation of the Indians' money would violate and conflict with the constitutional and legal duties of the Federal Government toward the Indians to deliver to them upon their arriving at the state of competency their property. A former Secretary of the Interior and Commissioner of Indian Affairs approved contracts for the alienation of the rich Indians' moneys to trust companies in violation of their authority and the law. A copy of one of those contracts, known as the Mollie Davis contract, is herein set out in full: TRUST AGREEMENT MOLLIE DAVIS, CREEK INDIAN, WITH EXCHANGE TRUST Co., TULSA, OKLA. This indenture, made this 27th day of January, 1926, between Mollie Davis, nee Jones, identified as full-blood Creek, roll No. 7721, of McIntosh County, State of Oklahoma, party of the first part, and Exchange Trust Co., a corpora tion organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Okla homa, having its principal place of business in the city of Tulsa, Tulsa County, State of Oklahoma, hereinafter sometimes called "trustee," party of the second part. Whereas the party of the first part hereto desires to create a trust of the property and for the purposes hereinafter mentioned in order to guard against any unwise and untimely disposition of her wealth: Now, therefore, this indenture witnesseth, That in consideration of the premises, the mutual covenants herein contained, and of other good and valuable considerations, and of the sum of $10 to her in hand paid by the party of the second part, at or before the ensealing and delivery of these presents, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, the party of the first part has granted, conveyed, assigned, set over, and delivered, and by these presents does grant, convey, assign, set over, and deliver unto said party of the second part, its successors and assigns, all and singular, the personal property described and set forth in the attached schedule marked "Schedule A," which shall be considered as and is a part hereof. Together with all the appurtenances and all the estate and rights of the party of the first part hereto. To have and to hold, all and singular, the said personal property unto said party of the second part, its successors and assigns, in trust nevertheless, to and for the following uses and purposes, and subject to the terms, conditions, powers, and agreements hereinafter set forth. First. To receive, hold, manage, sell, invest, and reinvest the same and every part thereof, in the manner hereinafter specified, and to collect, recover, and receive the principal of this trust and the rents, issues, interest, income, and profits thereof, hereinafter called "income.” The trustee shall have full power and authority to determine what shall constitute income and what shall constitute principal of this trust, and the decision of the trustee in that regard shall be final, conclusive, and binding upon all of the beneficiaries of this trust, and after deducting the commissions of the trustee as hereinafter provided, and the proper and necessary expenses in connection with the administration of the trust, to pay the same, in not less than semiannual installments, as follows: 1. So long as the party of the first part, the said Mollie Davis, née Jones, shall live, to pay the entire net income of the trust estate to her. 2. From and after the death of the grantor, the said Mollie Davis, née Jones, the trustee shall pay and distribute the entire net income of said estate to her paternal half brothers, Maxey Jones (identified as full-blood Creek, roll No. 8027) and Thomas Jones (identified as full Creek, roll No. 8026), share and share alike; and should either of said beneficiaries die, either before or after the death of the grantor, the trustee shall pay and distribute the share of the net income of the said trust estate to which each deceased beneficiary would be entitled if living, to the child or children surviving such deceased beneficiary, and if any such child shall die either before or after the death of the grantor, the share of such child shall be distributed per stirpes to and among the lineal descendants of such deceased child, the intention being that the lineal descendant or descendants of a child dying before the termination of the trust shall take the place of the parent, but only to the extent the parent would have been entitled from time to time during the continuance of the trusts herein declared had such child survived. The share of any beneficiary dying without a lineal descendant shall be reapportioned among the living beneficiaries in the manner herein before set forth. Twenty years after the death of the last survivor of the above-named original beneficiaries, the trusts herein declared shall cease and determine, and the trustee shall then grant, convey, assign, set over, and deliver all the property constituting the corpus of the trust estate, together with such undistributed income as may be in the hands of the trustee, unto such person, or persons, or other beneficiary or beneficiaries, and in such proportions as the grantor, the said Mollie Davis, née Jones, shall in her last will and testament name, designate, and appoint, who shall take free of all trust, and absolutely, and if she shall fail to exercise such power of appointment, or, if exercised, the objects and purposes thereof shall be void or otherwise incapable of taking effect, then the trustee shall grant, convey, assign, set over, and deliver the corpus and undistributed income aforesaid to the then beneficiaries of the said Mollie Davis, née Jones, living at the termination of the trusts herein declared, and in the event there are no such beneficiaries then to the trustees or other head or heads of the Indian school situated near Muskogee, Okla., known as Bacone College, to be used and distributed by said trustees or other head or heads of Bacone College, in their discretion, for the education of children of Indian blood who have not sufficient means to enable them to secure the benefits of an education. The receipt of said trustees or other head or heads of said Bacone College, or any one or more persons who may be designated by them to receive such corpus and undistributed income on behalf of the college, shall be a full and complete acquittance and discharge of the trustee. Second. The trustee is authorized and empowered to retain, subject to the provisions hereof, any and all of the property and securities described in Schedule A hereto attached, in their present form, without liability for decrease in the value of such property or securities. The trustee is hereby given full power of sale in connection with such property and securities, and is authorized and empowered from time to time to invest and reinvest the proceeds in such securities as it may, in its judgment, deem suitable for the trust. No purchaser upon any sale of any of the trust property by the trustee shall be bound to see to the application of the purchase money arising therefrom or to inquire into the validity, expedience, or propriety of any such sale. Third. In any case in which the trustee is required, pursuant to the provisions of this indenture to divide the principal of the trust estate into parts or shares, or to distribute the same, it is authorized and empowered in its sole discretion to make such division or distribution in kind or partly in kind and partly in money, and for the purpose of such allotment the judgment of the trustee concerning the property thereof, and the relative value for the purpose of division or distribution of the property and securities so allotted, shall be binding and conclusive on all persons and corporations interested therein. Fourth. The trustee may in its sole discretion cause the securities which may, from time to time, comprise the trust fund, or any part thereof, to be registered in its name as trustee hereunder, or in its own name, or in the name of its nominee, or to take and keep the same unregistered, and to retain them or any part thereof, in such condition that they will pass by delivery. Fifth. The trustee is authorized and empowered to pay any and all taxes which properly may become payable from time to time under the laws of the United States, or of any State, county, or municipality on said trust property, or for any transfer thereof or transaction affecting the same, and to affix and cancel tax stamps in accordance with the provisions of said laws. The trustee is further authorized and empowered to pay all proper expense of administering said trust, and all other costs, expenses, and disbursements which may arise out of or which may become necessary because of or in connection with this trust or the administration thereof, including attorneys' fees and all other costs and expenses involved in defending or prosecuting any actions at law or suits in equity in connection with this trust. Sixth. The party of the first part covenants and agrees to make, execute, and deliver in due form of law such other and further assignments, conveyances, or other instruments as the trustee may deem requisite or necessary to effectuate the purposes hereof. Seventh. In making or disposing of any investments, the trustee may purchase the same from, or sell the same to, any corporation, association, partnership, or firm which may be affiliated with the trustee or in which the trustee may in any other way be interested, as freely as it might or could deal with an independent third party, and without any greater responsibility, and said trustee is hereby expressly given the right and authority to sell securities which have been negotiated by it to this trust upon the same terms and conditions as securities of like kind and character are sold to other investors or customers of said Exchange Trust Co., all rules and provisions of law to the contrary being hereby expressly waived. Eighth. It is expressly understood and agreed that the trusts herein declared, and each of them are irrevocable, and without power reserved in the grantor, or given to any beneficiary or beneficiaries herein named or referred to, to revoke, change, alter, or amend the provisions herein or any of them. Ninth. It is further expressly understood and agreed that no part of any income or any of the corpus or principal directed to be paid to any beneficiary or beneficiaries hereunder, shall be subject to the payment of any indebtedness of such beneficiary or beneficiaries, whether existing at the time of the execution of these presents, or arising subsequently, either wholly or as to any part thereof, or to any assignment, conveyance, mortgage, pledge, legal process against such beneficiary or beneficiaries, or any other form of alienation by him, her, or them, voluntary or involuntary. Tenth. It is further understood and agreed that the said trustee shall receive as its compensation for administering the trust herein declared, an annual fee equal to 5 per cent of the gross income collected, and a distribution fee in an amount equal to 2 per cent of the gross corpus or principal. Eleventh. The trustee by joining in the execution of this instrument signifies its acceptance of the trust. Twelfth. It is mutually agreed that these presents shall extend to and be obligatory upon the executors, administrators, legal representatives, and successors, respectively, of the parties hereto. This instrument is made in triplicate, each of which is an original, but all together shall be deemed one and the same instrument. Exchange Trust Co. hereby constitutes and appoints H. L. Standeven, vice president, as its true and lawful attorney for it and in its name and under the corporate seal to sign, seal, acknowledge, and deliver this indenture as and for its corporate act and deed. In testimony whereof, said parties have hereunto set their hands and seals the day and year first hereinabove written. MOLLIE DAVIS, née (her thumb mark) JONES. The name of Mollie Davis, née Jones, was written by me, the first witness subscribing below, near the mark made by her and was written at her request and in her presence after both of the undersigned subscribing witnesses saw such mark made by her. Before me, Lora V. Couts, the undersigned, a notary public in and for said county and State, on this 27th day of January, 1926, personally appeared Mollie Davis, nee Jones (identified as full-blood Creek, roll No. 7721), to me known to be the person who executed the within and foregoing instrument by mark, in my presence and in the presence of Mary Kelly and C. H. Drew, as witnesses, and acknowledged to me, that she executed the same as her free and voluntary act and deed for the uses and purposes therein set forth. Witness my hand and official seal the day and year next above written. LORA V. COUTS, Notary Public. My commission expires March 10, 1927. STATE OF OKLAHOMA, County of Tulsa, ss: I, the undersigned, a notary public in and for said county and State, on this 28th day of January, 1926, personally appeared H. L. Standeven, to me known to be the identical person who subscribed the name of the Exchange Trust Co., a corporation, to the foregoing instrument as its vice president and acknowledged to me that he executed the same as his free and voluntary act and deed and as the free and voluntary act and deed of such corporation for the uses and purposes therein set forth. Witness my hand and official seal the day and year last above written. My commission expires May 14, 1928. E. P. JENNINGS, Notary Public. ACCEPTANCE The SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. SIR: On January 27, 1926, Mollie Davis, née Jones, identified as full-blood Creek, Roll No. 7721 of McIntosh County, State of Oklahoma, as party of the first part, executed a deed of trust in which she named the Exchange Trust Co., a corporation organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Oklahoma, with its principal place of business at Tulsa, Okla., as trustee. Paragraph 10 of said deed of trust declares the compensation of the trustee to be as follows: "An annual fee equal to 5 per cent of the gross income collected, and a distribution fee in an amount equal to 2 per cent of the gross corpus or principal." In consideration of the approval by you of said declaration of trust, the Exchange Trust Co., trustee thereunder, does hereby agree to accept said trust upon the following basis of compensation, to wit, an annual fee equal to 3 per cent of the gross income collected from said trust and a distribution fee in an amount equal to 2 per cent of the gross corpus or principal of said trust. We do hereby agree that this schedule of fees shall be considered the compensation for the trustee in administering the trust under the terms thereof. Dated this 3d day of February, 1926. Attest: EXCHANGE TRUST Co., Vice President, and Attorney in Fact. SCHEDULE A Cash, $200,000. United States Liberty loan coupon bonds (with coupons attached) as follows: Total face amount United States Liberty loan coupon bonds and Treasury notes $100,000 (coupons additional as above described). Total Liberty loan coupon bonds, Treasury notes and cash $300,000. The above Schedule A is attached to and is a part of the trust agreement made and entered into on the 27th day of January, 1926, by and between Mollie Davis, née Jones (Creek Indian, roll No. 7721), of McIntosh County, Okla., as party of the first part and the Exchange Trust Co., of Tulsa, Okla., party of the second part. The above Schedule A is a statement of the amount of cash belonging to the above-named Mollie Davis, née Jones, paid over by D. Buddrus, cashier and special disbursing agent for the Five Civilized Tribes to the Exchange Trust Co., of Tulsa, Okla., and is also a descriptive list of certain United States Liberty loan coupon bonds and Treasury notes, which were held by the Secretary of the Interior in trust for the above-named Mollie Davis, née Jones, and have been delivered to the Exchange Trust Co., of Tulsa, Okla., the delivery to and receipt by the |