James Rudolph Garfield v. United States of America Ex Relatione John Goldsby

• Decision Date: 30 November 1908
• Docket Number: No. 248,248
• Citation: 211 U.S. 249,29 S.Ct. 62,53 L.Ed. 168
• Parties: JAMES RUDOLPH GARFIELD, Secretary of the Interior, Plff. in Err., v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA EX RELATIONE JOHN E. GOLDSBY
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

211 U.S. 249

29 S.Ct. 62

53 L.Ed. 168

JAMES RUDOLPH GARFIELD, Secretary of the Interior, Plff. in Err.,

v UNITED STATES OF AMERICA EX RELATIONE JOHN E. GOLDSBY.

No. 248.

Argued October 15, 16, 1908.

Decided November 30, 1908.

Assistant Attorney General Fowler, Attorney General Bonaparte, and Mr. William R. Harr for plaintiff in error.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 250-251 intentionally omitted] Messrs. Charlcs H. Merillat, Charles J. Kappler, and James K. Jones for defendant in error.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 252-254 intentionally omitted] Mr. Justice Day delivered the opinion of the court:

This action was brought in the supreme court of the District of Columbia for a writ of mandamus against the Secretary of the Interior in his official capacity, to require him to erase certain marks and notations theretofore made by his predecessor in office upon the rolls, striking therefrom the name of the relator, Golbsby, as an approved member of the Chickasaw Nation, and to restore him to enrolment as a member of the nation.

Goldsby, in his petition, claimed that he was a recognized citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and entitled to an equal, undivided interest in the lands of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations; that he was an owner of an allotment of land which had been made to him as hereinafter stated, and that he was entitled to an equal, undivided, distributive share of the funds and other lands of the nation. The petition for the writ recites at length the acts of Congress supposed to bear upon the subject, and avers that the Secretary of the Interior, on October 6, 1905, affirmed a decision of the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, holding that the petitioner and his children were entitled to enrolment, and that relator's name was placed on the final roll of citizenship by blood of the Chickasaw Nation, and that the list was approved by the Secretary of the Interior on November 27, 1905, and that thereafter the petitioner secured an allotment of 320 acres of the allottable lands of the Chickasaw Nation, and an allotment certificate was issued to him by the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes for the lands thus selected, and the same are now held by him. The petition then goes on to aver, in substance, that relator's name was stricken from the rolls on March 4, 1907. And it is averred that this action was unauthorized was beyond the power of the Secretary, and deprived the relator of valuable rights in the lands and funds of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations without due process of law.

The supreme court of the District of Columbia issued an order to show cause and the Secretary appeared and answered. The answer, we think, may be fairly construed to contain a denial of the allegation, if the petition might be construed to make the claim, that the relator was an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation, but it does admit that he had been enrolled by the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes; that the list had been approved by the First Assistant Secretary of the Interior, and averred that, before the time fixed by Congress for the completion of the rolls of members of the nation, the then Secretary of the Interior had disapproved the enrolment of the petitioner and stricken his name from the rolls. The answer admits that the certificate of allotment had been issued to petitioner by the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes for lands selected by petitioner; and further avers that the Secretary of the Interior had not approved of such allotment, and no patent had been issued therefor.

The answer also admits that it had been the practice of Secretaries of the Interior to give notice before striking names from the approved lists of the Five Civilized Tribes, and avers that, owing to the limited time before the expiration of the time fixed by Congress for the completion of the rolls, march 4, 1907, it was impossible to give notice and opportunity to be heard to relator and a large number of other persons. The answer avers that the respondent's predecessor, the then Secretary of the Interior, had no jurisdiction or authority to enroll the petitioner. It also avers that the allotment of lands in severalty of the Chickasaw Nation was delegated exclusively to the Secretary of the Interior. That, by the acts of Congress, exclusive jurisdiction in matters involving the making of rolls of citizenship of the Five Civilized Tribes was conferred upon the Secretary of the Interior, and the determination of such matters was within his exclusive judgment and discretion.

A general demurrer was filed to the answer, with a note thereto stating that one matter to be argued on demurrer is that the answer sets forth no sufficient reason in law for the cancelation of relator's enrolment by the Secretary of the Interior without notice or hearing. In the supreme court of the District of Columbia the demurrer to the answer was sustained upon that ground. The respondent elected to stand upon his answer. Judgment was entered, requiring the Secretary to erase from the rolls the statements placed thereon derogatory to the relator's rights in said tribe, and to recognize relator as an enrolled member of the nation. Upon appeal to the court of appeals of the District of Columbia this judgment was affirmed (30 App. D. C. 177), and the case comes here.

While it does not appear from the allegations and admissions of the pleadings that Goldsby was an original enrolled member of the tribe, it does appear that, under the act of Congress of June 10, 1896 (29 Stat. at L. 339, chap. 398), Goldsby made application to the Dawes Commission and was enrolled as a member of the Chickasaw Nation. It appears from a letter of the Secretary of the Interior to the commission, attached as an exhibit to the petition, and dated October 6, 1905, that the commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, on May 24, 1905, following instructions of the Department of April 2, 1905, and in accordance with the opinion of the Assistant Attorney General of March 24, 1905, in the case of Vaughn et al., rescinded its action of September 23, 1904, dismissing the application for the enrolment of Goldsby and his minor children, and held that they should be enrolled as citizens, by blood of the Chickasaw Nation; and that on July 7, 1905, the Indian Office recommended that the commission's decision be approved. The Secretary's letter of October 6, 1905, concluded with a finding that the applicants, including Goldsby, should be enrolled as citizens of the Chickasaw Nation, affirming the commission's decision. The Secretary of the Interior, on April 26, 1906, reported his approval to the Dawes Commission, the roll as approved was kept in the Secretary's office, and copies sent out as the statute required.

Goldsby selected his land and received a certificate of allotment from the commission, but no patent has been issued for the same. On March 4, 1907, the Secretary of the Interior, without notice to the relator and without his knowledge, erased his name from the rolls and opposite the same caused the entry to be made, 'canceled March 4, 1907.'

In the view which we take of this case it is unnecessary to recite at length the numerous acts of Congress which have been passed in aid of the purpose of Congress to extinguish the tribal titles to Indian lands and to allot the same among the members thereof with a view of creating a state or states which should embrace these lands.

The act of June 10, 1896 (29 Stat. at L. 339, chap. 398), empowered the Dawes Commission to hear and determine applications for citizenship, and gave an appeal to the United States court in the Indian territory from the decisions of the commission; made the judgment of the court final, and required the commission to complete its roll of citizens of the several tribes, and to include therein the names of citizens, in accordance with the requirements of the act. And the commission was required to file the list of members as they finally approved them, with the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

The act of June 28, 1898 (30 Stat. at L. 497, chap. 517, § 11), made provision that when the roll of citizenship of any one of the nations or tribes is complete, as provided by law, and a survey of the land is made, the Dawes Commission should proceed to allot the lands among the citizens thereof, as shown by the roll.

By the act of March 3, 1901 (31 Stat. at L. 1077, chap. 832, it was provided that the rolls made by the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, as approved by the Secretary of the Interior, should be final, and authorized the Secretary of the Interior to fix the time by agreement with the tribes for the closing of the rolls, and, upon failure of such agreement, then the Secretary of the Interior should fix the time for the closing of the rolls, and after which no name should be added thereto.

The act of July 1, 1902 (32 Stat. at L. 641, chap. 1362), ratifies an...