The chairman of the State Board of Affairs. Mr. Nichols, requeste this committee to make an appropriation in that sum for the purpos that I mentioned. I am wondering if the Commissioner has ar statement to make in reference to that matter.

Mr. COLLIER. As I understand the legal situation, it is that th State in adopting its constitution assumed the responsibility for taki care of these Indians.

Mr. JOHNSON. It is true that they made no exceptions, but it woll seem that the Federal Government owes a moral obligation to ca for its wards.

Mr. COLLIER. At that time very large areas of eastern Oklaho were in the possession of the Indians. Fifteen million acres Eastern Oklahoma were then owned by the Five Tribes, the Cherokes and others.

Thereafter, an allotment was carried only, and the land holdings the entire Five Tribes group, comprising 72,000 Indians, were shru to a million and a half acres; and a third of that is on the tax ro In other words, there remained only about a million acres of untase lands.

That means that the great bulk of these Five Tribes of Indiar either have land placed on the tax roll, and that land has passed: whites, who now own it and are paying taxes.

It was in contemplation of that state of fact, I assume, that the State adopted its constitutional provision which provides that thes Indians shall receive free services from the State.

In other words, there is an entirely peculiar history back of th Oklahoma Indian lands in eastern Oklahoma. The Federal Gover ment dropped its jurisdiction and the State took it over. Tho lands were put on the tax rolls, and they are paying taxes.

Mr. JOHNSON. The Indians are paying taxes, you say? How man are paying taxes? A very small percent of Indians are paying taxe It is my information that nearly 3,000,000 acres of Indian lands i Oklahoma are tax-exempt, aside from other Government lands.

Mr. COLLIER. That is because they have lost their land, and the land is paying taxes. They do not have tax-exempt land.

Mr. RICH. It seems to me that you ought to present to the Cormissioner the statement that was made here by the people fro Oklahoma, and let him digest it for several days and then come bac with his answer.

Mr. JOHNSON. Yes; I think so.

Mr. COLLIER. I have a very great respect for Mr. McClintic I didn't know he had been up here.

Mr. LEAVY. I want to state in the record that there is not any feeling, I don't believe, on the part of members of this committee that Oklahoma is being favored to the prejudice of any other State that has Indians within it. It is my desire at least to just get the facts. Mr. JOHNSON. That is all any of us want, I'm sure.

Mr. RICH. I would like to say for the benefit of my colleague fre Oklahoma that as far as I am concerned I want to do the honest honorable, right thing for every man; and I will do that to the best of my ability. I don't have anything against anybody, and my inquiries are all for the purpose of treating everybody alike. I will not do anything else than that.

Mr. O'NEAL. May I proceed with just one question further? I deduce from your statement in regard the committee from Okla

homa that it was assumed in this State that this amount of land would be out of taxation.

Mr. COLLIER. No; it must be assumed that it was taxable, because otherwise Oklahoma would not have taken on the obligation of giving free services to these Indians. It did become taxable very promptly. Mr. O'NEAL. In other words, it was assumed, then, that a certain amount of this land would become taxable?

Mr. COLLIER. Yes; it was.

Mr. O'NEAL. And principally as a consideration for that they did. assume the care of these unfortunates?

Mr. COLLIER. Yes.

Mr. O'NEAL. Without asking the Federal Government to pay for them?

Mr. COLLIER. Yes.

And the land did become taxable, and is paying taxes, always distinguishing sharply between the Five Tribes and the tribes of western Oklahoma, where this situation is different and a different body of law prevails.

Mr. O'NEAL. You have no information as to the facts for a year on the land which became taxable?

Mr. COLLIER. We know that it has passed to white ownership and is just like any other land.

Mr. O'NEAL. Have you any idea of the figures?

Mr. COLLIER. Yes; the land which passed from the ownership of the Five Tribes to white ownership was well, they had 15 million and they were left with only about a million and a half.

Mr. O'NEAL. They receive $230,000 a year from tax returns on

that land.

Mr. COLLIER. I would be unable to say.

Mr. JOHNSON. The Five Tribes are a very small part of the Indian population of Oklahoma. There are about 130,000 Indians in Oklahoma, more than a third of all the Indians in the United States. If you will read Chairman Nichols' statement, you will see that he has made a very good case.

Nearly every county in the Sixth Congressional District in Oklahoma has a very large percent of nontaxable Indian land. So it presents a very serious problem so far as the keeping open of our public schools is concerned.

Will you, Mr. Commissioner, make a statement with reference to the amount asked by these gentlemen representing Oklahoma?

Mr. COLLIER. I will be glad to.

Mr. O'NEAL. Have you a copy of their statement?

Mr. COLLIER. I have not.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7, 1937.

Mr. JOHNSON. I believe when we stopped yesterday the Commissioner had just concluded his statement, for the time being, at least, and Mr. Dodd was about to make a statement. Mr. Dodd, would you like to be heard at this time, or would the Commissioner prefer to say something more?

Mr. COLLIER. I have nothing further at this time, Mr. Chairman.

ALLOTMENTS OF EMERGENCY FUNDS TO INDIAN SERVICE

Mr. DODD. Mr. Chairman, at the beginning of our hearings usually present certain tabulations that are of general interest to committee and to the Congress. Last year we presented a stater showing the allotments from emergency funds to the Indian Serv and, if it is agreeable to the committee, at this point I would Einsert a statement by reservations showing the amounts that h been allotted for Public Works projects and for Emergency Conser tion work. Those are the two principal sources of emergency iz that the Indian Service has had during the last 4-year period, am ing to approximately $30,000,000 of Public Works funds and s $40,000,000 of Emergency Conservation funds. The statement wi.. I will insert in the record shows the allocations by jurisdictions & then shows the totals by States.

Mr. JOHNSON. If there is no objection, the table will be inser in the record at this point:

Allotments by agencies from the beginning of Emergency Conservation Work June 30, 1937, and from public-works funds to Apr. 7, 1937

otments by agencies from the beginning of Emergency Conservation Works to June 30, 1937, and from public-works funds to Apr. 7, 1937-Continued

Allotments by agencies from the beginning of Emergency Conservation Works to June 30, 1937, and from public-works funds to Apr. 7, 1987—Continued

Mr. FITZPATRICK. Let me make a suggestion at this point, referring to what was done in the case of the Geological Survey hearing. In connection with those hearings, we had a statement of this kind: At the front page we have a statement that gives the total amount of moneys received, the total spent in 1937, the total amount requested for this year, with a statement of what the Budget recommended. Then, if we had such a statement at the front page of our hearings, we would have a statement for each department or division showing the total amount received, the total amount spent in 1937, the amount being requested, and, of the amount received, what is the total amount spent in the District of Columbia, the total amount spent for administrative expenses, and so forth. We would have all of that information on the first page so that we could see at a glance what money, in this case, went directly to the Indians; what has been spent for administrative expenses, and what has been spent in the District of Columbia.

Mr. DODD. We will endeavor to prepare a statement of that kind. Mr. FITZPATRICK. That will greatly simplify the hearing, because right in front of the members will be a sheet showing the amount spent under each separate department or division.

Mr. DODD. We will be pleased to fix up a statement of that kind. Of course, it will take a little while to arrange the figures in accordance with your request, but it can be done.

Mr. FITZPATRICK. When Dr. Mendenhall, of the Geological Survey, appeared here, I made that suggestion. They did if for their own purposes, but not for the purpose of having it inserted in the hearing.