The Reporter. (Chelsea, Indian Terr.), Vol. 8, No. 51, Ed. 1 Friday, April 24, 1903 Page: 1 of 8
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J
▼OL. VIII.
CHELSEA, CHEROKEE NATION, INDIAN TERRITORY, FRIDAY, APRIL 14. *9<>3-
NO 5>
ncSFADOEN. w O MILAM,
PriSd"" Vka-Praeldaat
CHAS. WrtOHAM, Cuktot
JOHN O. I
Hank of Chelsea,
1896 Chelsea> Indian Territory 1903
DOES A GENERAL BANKINQ BUSINESSj
end Respectfully Solicits Your Account
omecTims:
J. T. ricSpadden. C. L. Lao*. W. P. McSp.rfd.n, W. 0. HIU
J. M. Sharp. W. J. Strang*. John D. .Scott
Any valuable papers you <lesire to protect will foe absolutely safe with us ,
as we bare the best protection for them that can be bad in Indian Territory j
and no charge for their care. Any collections jrou desire made we desire j
you will leave with us. We remit for sll collections the day we receive j
them.
Prison & Patterson,
Up to Date Lumber Dealers
CHELSEA, t. T.
We carry the best stocks of .Lumber, Shingles,
Lath, Lime, Cement, Piaster andlpalnts ever
offered on any Indian Territory market, and
challenge comparison on same.
We Have
THE RIGHT GOODS
AT RIGHT'RRlOEH.
At 1 ¥ <n't fie Undersold.
ChelseaMilliifg Co
li. S. Jefferies, Mgr.
Manufacturers of high Flour aud Meal, and all kinds of Mill Feed
LEADING BRANDS:
American Patent. Lll« of Egypt Paten*'
O. K- Secon Paleijt. Golden Parrel.
You will find our Flour in all the principal stores of xsur
neighboring towns. Call for and try it, and if it does not give
you satisfaction, take it back where you got it and get your money
back or another sack in its place. It will not cost you anything
at fee fully guarantee our flour to give satisfaction. We also do a
regular Exchange and deposite business with the farmers. Bring
me your wheat and corn aud I will -guarantee we will send you
home perfectly satisfied with both the quantity and quality you re-
ceive. Yours for business,
. Chelsea Miilqg Co.
All hinds of
ILumber.
Shingles, Lath,
Sash. Doors,
Blinds, Mouldings,
Screens, Porch and
Stair Trimmings.
H.*H Lindley, General Manager, will always be at th« Lum-
ber Yard, ready;to wait on you.
P. G. Browning & Co.
* w
If Yota Go To The
Elite Barber Shop
JOHN L. FORO.« PnoPMKTon.
You will get a first-class shave and an up-to-date ha ir cut in a
manner that will please you. The shop is cosy and comfortable
The employes ate experts aud pleasant.
We Represent the Finest Laundry in the Country.
RED MAN IS INTELLIGENT.
Step by step the federal govern*
ment is changing un-American
conditions vhich exist ia Indian
Territory, the transformation of
an Indian's demain into A white
man's country, the winding up of
an estate in which many thousands
of Indians will shsre acd lb- great
development of civil life
fairs has no parallel in the annals
of American history. The evolu-
tion of the beneficent results of the
policy of th? government, which
undertook to bring the territory
out of the chaos of tribal life and
government and elevate it to the
standard of American citizenship
and educate him to modern ideas
has beeu a talk of no 'tea import-
ance than to develop civil condi-
tions in the new possessions of the
United States. The Indians, as
wards of the government, hare
prospered under the guiding haad
of their benefactor. The average
red man is intelligent and familiar
with everyday affairs. He is rich
in land and happy in contenmeat.
Save for the fullblocds who c n
never shake off their tribal tradi-
tions and institutions, the future Cf
the North American Indian is
promising. He will soon get en
allotment of the average valueW
320 acres. His share is worth
$1,048. His family also shales
equally iu the division of the land.
The term "autocrats of the na-
tion" is consistently applied to
poor Lo. The yenngef generation
starts in life with glowing pros-
pects. The Indian movement to
. this country in exchange for their
1 lands in the east began many years
■go. Since 1873 they have main-
tained tribal conditions and tradi-
tions. Their laws were somewhat
similar to those of the sovereign
statts but their power waa auto-
cratic within their jurisdiction.
The most industrious Indiansculti-
vsted a small portion of the domain
for domestic purposes. For years
he lived in peace and absolute
freedom. Huuting was his
favorite pastime. Years rolled on
and with them changes came.
Occassionally an Indian would
lease his land to a stockman f6r
grazing purposes, and then trouble
began. In a short time there de-
veloped the greatest leasing system
ia the country. The passion of
the white men who invaded the
territory were aroused to conquer
and reduce the wilderness into a
state of cultivation. Within the
I boundaries of the practical foreign
*■ Territory were jutt thousand* of
persona without the consent of the
tribe. It was at this junction that
the federal government stepped in
limit the powors of the non-
citizens and readjust matters be-
tween them and the common
owners of the soil, the Indians.
Conditions for many years were
anomaioua apd relief was awaited
as anxiously by the people ds rain
is awaited in a drouth stricken
community.
The work of the federal govern-
ment has been tedicus. To allot
80.000 Irdians their prorata share
has been a task of considerable
magnitude. The Dawes commis-
sion was created by a special act of
congress for this purpose. In
order to accomplifh this it was
necessary to survey, plat and eveu
classify ike 19,000,000 acres in
Indian Territory. Treaties were
necessary, rolls of bona fide In-
dians l ad to be made and many
contested claims had to be setted.
The secretary of the interior was
often appealed to to settle disputed
cl:«ims of citizeuship. Unscrupu-
lous persons nought to be admitted
as members of the tribe. To
guard against impositions repre-
sentatives of the Indians watched
the enrollment. It was a vexation
problem to the Dawes commisficn
to determine the real owners of the
tlonment of the estste, and out of
the decision of the commission in
many cases grew a great deal of
dissatisfaction. The slightest trace
of Indian blood in a white man en-
titled him to an allotment Many
who claimed this rights appealed
to the United States courts, and in
«- rcai maDy 'nstance8 l^e courls
and^af- them to citizenship. The
Indians protested, so finally con-
gress passed a law creating a court
to review tbe"work bf the ccurt
which admitted parties to citizen-
ship.
Thus has litigation affected the
rank and file of the wards of the
government but duriug trying cir-
cumstances the lease system grew
to such proportions that allotment
was retarded. The con-citizens
who cultivated the lands and made
lasting improvements awoke one
day to find that an act of congress
bad wiped out all nou-citizens
equities in the laud. The years
of the white man toil availed him
nothing. He-'bas no legal rights
and therefore views matters
solemnly. After allotment non
citizens can lease land an.i in a
year after patent is issued he may
be abll to purchase a good farm.
The Chickasaw freedmen will
also come in for a share of the
estate and each freedman will re-
ceive forty acres'and the Court of
Claims is to determine whether the
federal government shall pay the
Icdians for the land to allotted
or whether the Chickasaws sha'i
allot land to them without com-
pensation.
It is understood that the court
citizeus on land will not be dis.
turbed pending the decision of the
supreme court of the United States.
Should a decisiod toe averse to the
claimants it will enrich the nation
$2,000,000.
The sale of mineral land will
take place within two years. Four
hundred and forty thousand acres
of mineral land is to be sold at
public. It is remembered that
Indian Territory has the finest coal
fields ia the United States, and its
asphalt is also of a fine quality.
It is predicted that the develop-
ment of the oil resources will be
begun shortly after allotment.
There is a number of fine oil fields
which can not be developed on
account of the restrictions of the
law.
"The opening or the land office
at Tishomingo last Wednesday did
not only mark the beginning of a
great change in Chickasaw nation,
but it ushered in a new era—an
era cf greater prosperity, of mai-
velous increase in population and
of phenomenal commercial activ-
ity," said F. Finis Fox, who is
closely identified with the interests
of thi Chickasaw Indians, yester-
day. Ccntinuing, Mr. Fox said:
"Of cour<c the territory has ad
vanced to a remarkable extent dur-
iug the last ten years, but its past
records will be set at naught when
compared with the achievements
which will be made within the
next five years. There is no
country on the face of the globe
that offers to men of moderate
means the unparallelled opportuni-
ties to make money as does Indian
Territory, and especiatly is this
true of the Chickasaw nation.
Practically all the well'to-do
citizens of this country camt here
with nothing to recommend them
to the fortune save their pluck aad
their thrift.
"For years it has been the
dream cf the progressive Indian
and the hope of the white man
that the tribal governments would
be abolished, aud the lands al-
loted in severalty to the members
of the tribes. While work along
this liue has beeu going on for
yeacs, yet the opening of the land
office is the real beginning of the
end.
"On account of the uncertainty
land a member of the tribe would
be alloted there has been very few
who have improved their farms in
aubstantial manner, but now they
are to b« given a valid title to their
lands aa improvement is bouud to
take place.
"I have always been strongly in
favor of having the large amount
of money belonging to the In-
dians paid out in a per capita
payment. Thi* money has been
on deposit in Washington for a
long time, and is drawing a low
rate of interest. The exigencies
of the time demand that it be paid
out as soon as possible. Many
Indians will be allotted lands
which will be practically invalu-
able to them r.s long as they have
no money with which to improve
them. To give poor Indians un
cultivated land is a great deal like
giving a barefooted boy a box of
shoe polish. The land is alright,
but the money is, too, and. the
Indians ought to have it.
"When the supplemental treaty
was ratified it was said that a per
capita payment amouutiug to $40
would be made at once: but not-
withstanding that it has been
about eight or nine months siace
the treaty wrs adopted, no pay-
ment has as yet been made. It is
enly a short time until the tribal
government of the Chickasaw
nation is - to he abolished, aud
steps shonld be taken at once to
have this money paid out. - The
experiences the Chickasaws have
had with' the Uaited States govern-
ment has shown that it is hard
and different matter to get the
United Slates to pay the Indiaas
the moaey they promised to pay.
In maay iastaaces a large propor-
tioa of the money has beea given
attorneys to collect what the fed-
eral government should pay with-
out rcmonstration. When it comes
to promising and agreeing to pay
the Indiaas moaey, aad than fail-
ing to do it, the represeaatives of
the republic are as hard a proposi-
tioa as the Sultan of Turkey.
There are something like $2,000,-
000 due the Chickasaws from the
United States, which should have
been paid long ago, but for some
reason it is not forthcoming. This
money distributed among the Indi-
ans would enable them to improve
their farms and to build good com-
fortable homes. Not only lh.it,
but it would be beneficial to every
man in the nation, as it would ulti-
mately fine its wsy into the chan-
cf trade.
In my opinion congress will pass
a law within the next two or three
years permittiug the Iadians to
dispose af their laads when 'they
see fit.
"When this is done the country
will develop very rapidly. Stroag
pressure will be brought to bear,
not only by the ^ion-citizens, but
by the citizens, to have the
loot selling lands removed,
conrce, it may be the part of
WORLD S FAIR WORfc
A Phoenix reporter called upon
World's Fair Coaimiasiones"*Hub-
bard at the marshal's office yester-
day afternoon and requested a state-
ment for the paper today. He was
industiously working a typewriter
ou the marshal's official business
and declared he did not have time
to prepair the.article, but stated lie
would go to the Chamber of Com-
merce, the place where the fair
clercial work is being done, in
thirty minute* and would then be
willing to talk. He was there
three-quarters of a minute ahead of
time. This is the kind of work
the man is doing who is making
every effort to get the peop'.e iu
liue for a display of the marvelous
resources of this couutty at the
one event we caa reach for many
years to come. He is doing his
full duty by the governmeut in his
officii. 1 capacity as chief deputy
nurslul, and is then crowding in
every minute of his owa time in
coaviucicg Iadiaa Territory that
it cannot afford to let this op.
poitunity slip. He gets nothing
for the wcrk he is doing in the
fair business. This is but a just
statement to counteract any idea
that there is a snap about "tfce
matter.
Mr. Hubbard said he was not in
a position to place figures before
the public as the canvass has uot
procee led strong enough for that,
out he declared that the situation
was most encouraging, as lettera
are coming from all pirts of the
territory with strong assurances
from good and solid men that the
assessment will be met; in some
casei the letters telling of the
commencement aud progress of the
canvass, in others of the appoint-
ment ot men who are good workers
aud fe-:l sure of success, and still
agaia Lorn men whose words and
worth dollar for dollar with bank
bills tbit the required snms will he
furthcoming, without specifyiag
anythirg aijout how the money is
being r ased. Commissioner Hub-
bard said Jje saw no reason what-1
aver for doubting that Indian
Territory will be able to put up
the mc iey to the credit of the!
World's Fair Fund with the con-
dition that the government wiltl
put up an equal sum already «p-|
ptopriated by congress.
There has teen a bit of grumb-
ling in a few places abont wt
some seem to think is one-side
of the fair project, and Mr. Hut
bard was reminded of this and
said he had ceen something of
ia certain aewspapers. He said
far as he was concerned, and t
same as far as be could learn witt
all others who are giving tbeiil
aid to this matter, the object
this work is to represent Indii
Territory's interests; not the
terest of nations, towns ' or' Inl
dividuals. It is a mistake to cool
strue the present work in any othtJ
light than it is to be for the inl
terests of the whole territory!
The amount of money pr
is a modest sum for such a
play, an 1 of that sum the Unit
States has guaranteed one-hall
we raise the other half. The t
propriatioa of congress is witt
the control of the secretary, t
Mr. Hubbard feels sure that
secretary will allow constituent
presentation in the work that
assure evity section equal and
treatment in this matter. Ke <
aot speak for the secretary,
cource, but he can speak for hii
«elf and knows of no other intenti
bar
Of
doai to keep the full-bloods from
or plan ?" view.
... . . ... _ Mr. H ibbard a^ats to belici
lltng their holdrngs, but the very thoroughly thit the requlrj
mixed-bloods are plenty able to
look out for their Interests, and to
take care of themselves.
"One of the chief factors ia the
political affairs of the Territory
will be the Indian. The mixed-
bloods have made success as great
in business at the white people
and it is not a mere matter of con-
jecture to say that they will be as
successful in politics. This laud
being their home it ia nothing but
right that they should be invited
to participate in the in the forma-
tion of the new state that is to be,
and in the holding of the offices
that will be created. Now whether
they are invited to or not they will
be a facture, and will insist on be-
sum will be raiccd aad that a
representation of Indian Territc
interests and resources will
made at St. Louis, but he (scat
anxioas that there be cordial
ope-atioa of the people ail o*
the territory so that the very
exhibit can be secured, and
pecially that nobody should lat
under mistakeu ideas which mis
in any wa7 detract from the worj
Mr. Hubbard's work is being <
voted to the raising ot the luc
necessary, but after that ia to
the gathering of the exhibits,
it is surely true that those co]
muaities which have taken ml
interest in the matter will slsof
among the foremost in discoverii
and calling attention to
productions, and articles
will be wanted to make up
pictere of natural wealth andj
dull rial progress which it is he
to present to peoplr who yet
lieves this couutry dresses
blankets and shoot buUalo
land, tliase enrolled to as appor. existing as to bow manyacieaof iog recognixed."--Ardmore Appeal. sport.—Phoenfx.
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The Reporter. (Chelsea, Indian Terr.), Vol. 8, No. 51, Ed. 1 Friday, April 24, 1903, newspaper, April 24, 1903; Chelsea, Indian Territory. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc185759/m1/1/: accessed April 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.