Mr. CALDWELL. Yes. The Seminole work is growing gradually less, and when I made the estimates I assumed that there would not be any more Seminole work after the close of this year. However, quite a little bit has come up since the estimates were made, but they are small cases. They are cases in the State courts and they affect the lands of the Indians and are somewhat unusual in that they involve probate matters and things of that sort. So we will have to have a little money to look after them.

Mr. BORLAND. Are they in the same courts as the cases of the Five Civilized Tribes?

Mr. CALDWELL. No; the Five Tribes cases are all in the Federal courts.

Mr. MONDELL. You speak of these new cases in the ive Civilized Tribes. Is the language of the legislation under which you are operating such as to encourage parties, after they have parted with title to their lands, to begin a suit to set aside the title because the Government will stand the expense?

Mr. CALDWELL. I think not. There were originally 30,000 instances of transfers of lands and there are only 106 of these new cases pending at this time, and that represents by far the greater number of those that have been brought.

Mr. MONDELL. In a condition such as existed in that region it was necessary for the 1 ederal Government to go in and afford relief, but under ordinary conditions it is very easy to encourage the bringing of suits calling title into question where the parties bringing them are largely relieved of the expense, and I was wondering whether you are reaching a condition in Oklahoma where, under this legislation and under this appropriation, that is occurring.

Mr. CALDWELL. I think not. We have a force of attorneys on this Five Civilized Tribes' work that has studied it carefully as a special line of work, so that I doubt very much whether anybody could induce the district attorney to file a suit where he was not as reasonably sure as an attorney is supposed to be in any case that he was bringing a bona fide suit.

Mr. BORLAND. You say that as a matter of fact a large number of the cases were decided against the Indians?

Mr. CALDWELL. Yes; that is, of the original 30,000 suits. They were brought in a great hurry, and in a great emergency, as no doubt you may recall, in 1908 or 1909, when Judge Russell went there for the purpose and prepared and filed those bills within a few hours in order to prevent, as I believe, the running of the statute of limitations; whether there was some other reason that required the filing of those suits in the matter of a few hours I do not know. In the natural course of events in such a hasty preparation of cases there were a great many tracts of land included as to which we could not, finally, sustain the litigation.

Mr. MONDELL. Do you recall in what percentage of the cases the Government has won?

Mr. CALDWELL. I would say offhand that we have probably secured title for the Indians in 800,000 acres and have found titles to rest properly in the white claimants in 1,900,000 acres. That looks to be a little too much, but that is as near as I can figure it out here.

Mr. BORLAND. This work is carried on by special counsel? Mr. CALDWELL. Yes. In the first instance it was carried on by special assistants to the Attorney General but last year that was

changed to special assistants to the district attorney, and the work is now under his supervision.

Mr. BORLAND. What are those special assistants paid?

Mr. CALDWELL. One of them is paid $3,500 per annum and three of them are paid $3,000 each. An additional $3,000 man has recently been employed in connection with the Seminole work, and then there are several stenographers.

Mr. BORLAND. I notice that altogether you have a salary list of $24,000.

annum.

Mr. CALDWELL. Well, that salary list at present is $30,900 per There have been some recent appointees who have been working only a few weeks. That is one of the reasons why I am asking for an increased appropriation, as it is necessary to add at least one attorney.

Mr. BORLAND. Does any special compensation go to the district attorney?

Mr. CALDWELL. The district attorney does not get additional compensation and can not, I believe, under the law.

Mr. BORLAND. This is under his jurisdiction?

Mr. CALDWELL. Yes, sir.

Mr. BORLAND. Is any portion of this amount reimbursable from tribal funds or chargeable to tribal funds?

Mr. CALDWELL. No, sir; none of it.

Mr. BORLAND. Do not the Five Civilized Tribes have tribal funds? They have had final allotments, haven't they?

Mr. CALDWELL. Yes, sir. These appropriations and the litigation relate to allotted lands. There may be some tribal funds-I am not sure about that.

Mr. BORLAND. But there has never been any provision for charging a portion of this to the tribal funds?

Mr. CALDWELL. No, sir.

Mr. MONDELL. Nor to the individuals?

Mr. CALDWELL. No, sir. I submit statements showing the entire amounts expended from the Five Civilized Tribes appropriations for the fiscal years 1914 and 1915 and for the fiscal year 1916 up to March 15, 1916, including, in each instance, all payments to the close of March 15, 1916; also statements showing amounts expended from the Seminole appropriations for the fiscal year 1915 and for the fiscal year 1916 up to March 15, 1916, including all payments made to the close of March 15, 1916.

Statement of amounts paid to special assistants to the Attorney General and to special assistants to United States attorneys from the appropriation "Suits for removal restrictions, allotted lands, Five Civilized Tribes, 1914," for the period from July 1, 1913, to June 30, 1914.

[Includes payments to close Mar. 15, 1916.]

John Q. Adams.
J. H. Albright.

Aldrich Blake.

Julia D. Simmons.

Balance.

6, 208. 26