§ 373. Reservations from allotment- Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations.-That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and empowered to segregate and reserve from allotment and to cancel any filings or applications that may heretofore have been made with a view to allotting the following-described lands, situate in the Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory, to-wit: The northwest quarter of section twelve, in township five north, range fifteen east. containing in the aggregate one hundred and sixty acres more or less. That the provisions of sections fifty-six to sixty-three, inclusive, of the Act of Congress approved July first, nineteen hundred and two, entitled, "An act to ratify and confirm an agreement with the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes, and for other purposes," be, and the same are hereby, made applicable to the lands above described, the same as if the said described lands had been made a part of the segregation as contemplated by said sections fiftysix to sixty-three, inclusive, of said above act approved July first, nineteen hundred and two: Provided, that the Secretary of the Interior may, in his discretion, add to and make a part of the coal mining leases now in effect, and to which said lands are contiguous, the northwest quarter of section twelve, in township five north, of range fifteen east, government subdivisions being followed as nearly as possible: Provided, further, that the holder or holders of the lease or leases to which such lands shall be added, shall before the same are added, pay the Indian or Indians who have filed upon or applied for such lands as their allotments, or who are in possession thereof, the value of the improvements placed on the land by said Indian or Indians, such value to be determined under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior." 7 From Act June 21, 1906, c. 3504, 34 Stat. 338. § 374. 375. 376. CHAPTER 40 TOWNSITES-MISCELLANEOUS LEGISLATION APPLICABLE TO Provision for laying out townsites. Laying out of townsites authorized. Corporate and townsite limits may differ. 377. Commission may segregate lands for townsites. Appraisement and sale authorized. 378. 379. 380. Towns where population less than two hundred. 381. Commission's work transferred to Secretary. § 374. Provision for laying out townsites.-Provided, that the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized, under rules and regulations to be prescribed by him, to survey, lay out, and plat into town lots, streets, alleys, and parks, the sites of such towns and villages in the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Cherokee Nations, as may at that time have a population of two hundred or more, in such manner as will best subserve the then present needs and the reasonable prospective growth of such towns. The work of surveying, laying out, and platting such townsites shall be done by competent surveyors, who shall prepare five copies of the plat of each townsite, which, when the survey is approved by the Secretary of the Interior, shall be filed as follows: One in the office of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, one with the principal chief of the nation, one with the clerk of the court within the territorial jurisdiction of which the town is located, one with the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, and one with the town authorities, if there be such. Where in his judg ment the best interests of the public service require, the Secretary of the Interior may secure the surveying, laying out, and platting of townsites in any of said nations by contract. Hereafter the work of the respective townsite commissions provided for in the agreement with the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes ratified in section twenty-nine of the Act of June twenty-eight, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, entitled, "An act for the protection of the people of the Indian Territory, and for other purposes," shall begin as to any townsite immediately upon the approval of the survey by the Secretary of the Interior and not before. The Secretary of the Interior may in his discretion appoint a townsite commission consisting of three members for each of the Creek and Cherokee Nations, at least one of whom shall be a citizen of the tribe and shall be appointed upon the nomination of the principal chief of the tribe. Each commission, under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior, shall appraise and sell for the benefit of the tribe the town lots in the nation for which it is appointed, acting in conformity with the provisions of any then existing act of Congress or agreement with the tribe approved by Congress. The agreement of any two members of the commission as to the true value of any lot shall constitute a determination thereof, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, and if no two members are able to agree the matter shall be determined by such Secretary. Where in his judgment the public interests will be thereby subserved, the Secretary of the Interior may appoint in the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, or Cherokee Nation a separate townsite commission for any town, in which event as to that town such local commission may exercise the same authority and perform the same duties which would otherwise devolve upon the commission for that nation. Every such local commission shall be appointed in the manner provided in the act approved June twenty-eight, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight entitled "An act for the protection of the people of the Indian Territory." 1 § 375. Laying out of townsites authorized.-The Secretary of the Interior, where in his judgment the public in1 From Act May 31, 1900, c. 598, 31 Stat. 237. terest will be thereby subserved, may permit the authorities of any town in any of said nations, at the expense of the town, to survey, lay out, and plat the site thereof, subject to his supervision and approval, as in other instances.2 § 376. Corporate and townsite limits may differ.-It shall not be required that the townsite limits established in the course of the platting and disposing of town lots and the corporate limits of the town, if incorporated, shall be identical or coextensive, but such townsite limits and corporate limits shall be so established as to best subserve the then present needs and the reasonable prospective growth of the town, as the same shall appear at the times when such limits are respectively established: Provided further, that the exterior limits of all townsites shall be designated and fixed at the earliest practicable time under rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior.s § 377. Commission may segregate lands for townsites.— Upon the recommendation of the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized at any time before allotment to set aside and reserve from allotment any lands in the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, or Cherokee Nations, not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres in any one tract, at such stations as are or shall be established in conformity with law on the line of any railroad which shall be constructed or be in process of construction in or through either of said nations prior to the allotment of the lands therein, and this irrespective of the population of such townsite at the time. Such townsites shall be surveyed, laid out, and platted, and the lands therein disposed of for the benefit of the tribe in the manner herein prescribed for other townsites: Provided further, that whenever any tract of land shall be set aside as herein provided which is occupied by a member of the tribe, 2 From Act May 31, 1900, c. 598, 31 Stat. 238. 3 From Act May 31, 1900, c. 598, 31 Stat. 238. such occupant shall be fully compensated for his improvements thereon under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior. Nothing herein contained shall have the effect of avoiding any work heretofore done in pursuance of the said Act of June twenty-eight, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, in the way of surveying, laying out, or platting of townsites, appraising or disposing of town lots in any of said nations, but the same, if not heretofore carried to a state of completion, may be completed according to the provisions hereof. § 378. Appraisement and sale authorized.-As soon as the plat of any townsite is approved the proper commission shall, with all reasonable dispatch and within a limited time, to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, proceed to make the appraisement of the lots and improvements, if any, thereon, and after the approval thereof by the Secretary of the Interior, shall, under the supervision of such Secretary, proceed to the disposition and sale of the lots in conformity with any then existing act of Congress or agreement with the tribe approved by Congress, and if the proper commission shall not complete such appraisement and sale within the time limited by the Secretary of the Interior, they shall receive no pay for such additional time as may be taken by them, unless the Secretary of the Interior for good cause shown shall expressly direct otherwise. The Secretary of the Interior may, for good cause remove any member of any townsite commission, tribal or local, in any of said nations, and may fill the vacancy thereby made or any vacancy otherwise occurring in like manner as the place was originally filled." § 379. Towns where population less than two hundred.-Provided, that hereafter the Secretary of the Interi 4 From Act May 31, 1900, c. 598, 31 Stat. 238. From Act May 31, 1900, c. 598, 31 Stat. 238. |