Work v. United States Ex Rel. Mosier

Citations

• 261 U.S. 352
• 43 S. Ct. 389
• 67 L. Ed. 693
• 1923 U.S. LEXIS 2565

Syllabus

<p>1. Under the provision of the Act of June 28, 1906, directing that' mineral rights of the Osage Indians shall be leased by the Tribal Council under rules prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, and with his approval, but upon royalties determined by the President, bonuses procured, with the Secretary’s approval, through auctioning the privilege of taking leases of particular tracts, were in effect a supplement to the royalties prescribed in advance by the President — part of the income of the property, — and are distributable to tribal members in the same way as the statute prescribes for the royalties. P. 357.</p> <p>2. The question whether such bonuses are included in royalties is one of statutory construction, not finally entrusted to the discretion of the Secretary, but determinable in court at the instance of the beneficiaries as of right. P. 358.</p> <p>3: The act directs that the pro rata share of an Osage minor in the income received by the United States for the Tribe from bonds, mineral leases, sale of extra lands, and grazing rents, shall be paid quarterly to the minor’s parents until he becomes of age; and the discretion allowed to withhold payment when the Commissioner of Indian Affairs becomes satisfied that a minor’s interest is being misused or squandered, cannot be enlarged by a general regulation of the Secretary declaring that such income is misused if not devoted solely to the care and use of the minor, and providing that o.nly fifty dollars per month shall be paid his parents on his behalf unless upon a specific showing that his funds are being used for.his specific benefit. P. 359.</p> <p>4. It was the intent of the act that such income should go into the family funds for the support of the family and of the minor as part of the family. P. 361.</p> <p>5. Subject to the rights of the distributees as defined by the statute itself, discretion is vested in the Commissioner to determine in each case whether there has been misuse or squanderin