United States v. Board of Com Rs of Osage County, Okl

• Decision Date: 15 December 1919
• Docket Number: No. 309,309
• Citation: 251 U.S. 128,40 S.Ct. 100,64 L.Ed. 184
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. BOARD OF COM'RS OF OSAGE COUNTY, OKL., et al
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

251 U.S. 128

40 S.Ct. 100

64 L.Ed. 184

UNITED STATES

v BOARD OF COM'RS OF OSAGE COUNTY, OKL., et al.

No. 309.

Argued April 16, 1919.

Decided Dec. 15, 1919.

The Attorney General and Mr. Leslie C. Garnett, of Mathews, Va., for the United States.

Messrs. Preston A. Shinn and Corbett Cornett, both of Pawhuska, Okl., for appellees.

Mr. Chief Justice WHITE delivered the opinion of the Court.

Although the subject was fully stated in McCurdy v. United States, 246 U. S. 263, 38 Sup. Ct. 289, 62 L. Ed. 706, nevertheless, to throw light on this case, we recall the facts concerning the distribution of the land and funds of the Osage Tribe of Indians made under the Act of Congress of June 28, 1906, c. 3572, 34 Stat. 539.

Of the tribal land there were reserved from allotment certain parcels, some of which were used by the United States or the tribe and others of which were used by individuals for the benefit of the tribe. From the remainder, each member was allotted three tracts of 160 acres each, of which one was to be designated and held as a homestead. Any land which remained was also to be allotted. The funds in trust in the hands of the United States were divided pro rata, to be held subject to the supervision of the United States. The oil, gas, coal, and other mineral rights in all the lands were reserved for the benefit of the tribe. The tract selected as a homestead was made inalienable and nontaxable, subject to the action of Congress. The land embraced by other than the homestead allotment, called surplus land, was made inalienable for a period of 25 years and nontaxable for 3, subject to the action of Congress. Power was conferred, however, on the Secretary of the Interior to give to the allottee a certificate of competency, upon receipt of which the surplus land held by such an allottee become immediately alienable and taxable.

In September, 1917, the United States District Attorney for the District of Oklahoma, by direction of the Attorney General, commenced this suit in the name of the United States, for the benefit of named noncompetent members of the Osage Tribe and of all other members in the same situation, to prevent the enforcement of state and local taxes assessed against the surplus, although taxable, lands of said Indians for the 8 years between 1910 and 1917 inclusive.

The defendants were the board of county commissioners of Osage county, including the county clerk and county treasurer, officials charged by the laws of the state with the enforcement of the taxes which were assailed. After averring the existence of authority in the United States, in virtue of its guardianship of the Indians and as a result of the terms of the allotment act, to protect and safeguard the interests of the Indians from the enforcement of the illegal taxes complained of, the bill charged that the taxes in issue were——

'arbitrary, grossly excessive, discriminatory and unfair, and were made in violation of the rights of the said Osage Indians guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of Oklahoma; * * * that the state board of equalization arbitrarily and systematically increased the assessments on such Indian lands for the year 1911 to an amount approximately nearly double the original amount of such assessments. * * *'

It was averred that the tax assessments made on the Indian lands involved——

'were made without an inspection or examination of the land; * * * that the said appraisers in making such appraisements discriminated against the lands of the Osage Indians as a class and systematically overvalued the same and systematically undervalued other property in said county; * * * that the assessments so made by said assessors were made in such an arbitrary and capricious manner as to amount to constructive fraud upon the taxpayers; and that the overvaluations made by said assessors were so grossly excessive as to justify the interference of a court of equity. * * *'

It was alleged that the assessments complained of were of such a character that the Secretary of the Interior had endeavored to have them corrected, but without result; that, in consequence of his having called the attention of Congress to the subject, the Act of March 2, 1917, c. 146, § 17, 39 Stat. 983 (Comp. St. 1918,§ 4137a), was passed authorizing an appraisement by the said Secretary for the purpose of fixing the extent of the overassessment and that such appraisement, which had been virtually completed, sustained the charges set forth in the bill.

There was annexed to the bill a statement of the result of the appraisement in 36 cases as compared with the assessments complained of. In one case it was alleged that the land of the Indian was assessed at $20 an acre, although by the affidavit of the county clerk it was shown that it was worth $3 per acre. In another case it was alleged that, for the purpose of taxation, the land was shown to be overvalued by 119 per cent. It was further averred that an offer had been made through the Secretary of the Interior to pay all the taxes assessed for all the years assailed upon the basis of the assessment made as the result of the act of Congress, but that the same had been refused, and that process for the sale of the lands for delinquent taxes was immediately threatened. The prayer was for...