New-State Tribune. (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 17, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 1, 1911 Page: 1 of 16
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New-State Triku ne
Seventeenth Year
Successor to The Muskogee Weekly Times and The Muskogee Week ]) Democrat
Oklahoma City, Oleta., Thursday, June 1, 1911
Number 27
OKLAHOMA CITY IS
DECLARED CAPITAL
ENABLING ACT NOT BINDING, DE-
CLARES UNITED STATES
SUPREME COURT.
That Oklahoma City is the capital
of the new state and that the enabling
act was not binding so far as the 1913
capital clause is concerned, is the de-
cision of the United States Supreme
court, handed down at Washington
Monday afternoon. The opinion was
written by Justice Lurton, with or:
Justices Holmes and McKenna dissent-
ing.
It had been expected that the deci-
sion would be handed down Monday
and according to dispatches Guthrie
citizens had their anvils ready for fir-
ing and had left open church and
school house doors in order that the
bells might be rung in celebration, sc
confident were they that the decision
would be in favor of the former caps
tal.
The court opinoin asserts that by
virtue of the enabling act Oklahoma
was admitted to the Union upon an
equal footing with all other states ant
that under the constitution congrest
could not possibly extend any othei
sort of admission. "When equality
disappears," said the court, "we may
remain a free people, but the union
will not be the union of the constitu-
tion."
The opinion was quite lengthy and
was heard by a crowded court room,
being regarded almost equal in import
ance to the great tobacco trust deci
sion handed down the same day.
"The power to locate its own seat ol
government and to determine when
and how it shall be changed from one
place to another, and to appropriate
its own public funds for that," said the
court, "are essentially and peculiarly
state powers."
Continuing Justice Lurton said:
"That one of the original states
could now be shorn of such ]>ower by
an act of congress would not be for a
moment entertained. The question
then comes to this: Can a state be
placed upon a plane of inequality with
its sister states in the union If con-
gress chooses to impose conditions
which so operate at the time of its ad
mission?
"The argument la that when Con
gress may not deprive a state of any
power which it possesses, it may as a
condition to the admission of a new
state constitutionally restrict Its auth
ority to the extent at least of suspend-
ing its power for a definite time, In re
spect to the location of the seat of
government."
Defining the power of congress in
the premises, he said: .
"The power of congress in respect
to the admission of new states is found
lh the third section of the fourth ar-
ticle of the constitution. • That provi-
sion is that 'New states may be admit-
ted by congress into this union.'
"But what is this power? It is not
to admit political organizations which
are less or greater, or different in dig-
nity or power, from those political
entities which constitute the union. It
is, as was strongly put by counsel, a
'power.to admit states.'"
Further on, he said:
"The argument that congress de-
rives from the duty of guaranteeing
to each state in this union a republi-
can form of government, the power to
impose restrictions upon a new state,
(Continued on page 14.)
0 O
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(liefitlSiSDJHSSISIIIIIIIIIIItM
IMPORTANT IF TRUE.
The Daily Oklahoman, May twenty-sixth, editorially, con-
tained the following:
"Ex-Governor Haskell's personal publication in Okla-
homa City recently gave currency to an article reflective
upon Oklahoma City in connection with the state capitol
proposition, intimating that the Citizens' Capitol Expense
company, composed of local business men, had wilfully vio-
lated its agreement with Mr. Haskell when'the latter was
governor of the state, and was refusing to meet its obli-
gations.
"The obvious purpose of Mr. Haskell's publication was
to discredit throughout the state the business men's or-
ganization which has been handling this capital proposi-
tion. While it was asserted that the Oklahoma City contin-
gent had not met the expense of rentals, etc., as per con-
tract, not a word was said of the fact that the state had
not fulfilled its part of the contract.
"According to the terms of the contract referred to,
the state was to advance the sum of $70,000 for repairing
the Irving school building and for the construction of a
new building on the Irving school grounds to be used for
temporary state offices, this amount to be refunded by the
Oklahoma City board of education when such state occu-
pancy should terminate, not later than July, 1914. The Cit-
izens' company was to pay 5 per cent interest and rentals
at the rate of $3,500 per year.
"Because of an opinion rendered by the attorney gen-
eral neither the Citizens' organization nor the state could
legally carry out the contract. The state has not done so;
neither has the Citizens' Capitol Expense company.
"Incidentally, the rentals amount to $3,500 per month
now, instead of $3,500 per year.
"When the matter was presented to the legislature,
the lower branch endorsed the contract, but the senate
did not approve it and said it never would approve it.
The senate declared the contract was void and that the
Citizens' company was not bound by it. The Citizens'
company REFUSED TO BE RELEASED, saying the obli-
gation was honornbly contracted and would be lived up to
on their part.
"The Citizens' company made an assessment of 25 per
cent and that money is in bank. Another assessment is
now being made. There has been no attempt to avoid
payment; but the legal complications arising have pre-
vented both the Citizens' company and the state from per-
forming their part of the contract.
"When the Citizens' company had the matter up with
the legislature end refused to be released from their obli-
gation, they endeavored to secure a new contract that
would properly cover the case, but it developed that per-
sons holding vouchers signed by Governor Haskell under
the old contract objected, saying they would insist upon the
terms of the old contract being lived up to.
"From this statement of facts, it will be seen that the
Citizens' company did not even take advantage of the op-
portunity to escape from its contracted obligations It
has the money and will make the payments whenever it
is determined who ia authorized to receive the payments
NOT A SINGLE DOLLAR OF THIS OBLIGATION WILL
BE REPUDIATED.
"Nevertheless the misrepresentations have been vigor-
ously circulated over the state, finding credit wherever
ex parte statements are accepted, either from ignoran'ce or
malice, as covering a case.
"Wherever there is a spirit of liberality, however,
thought has -been given to the face that Oklahoma City
has no record of repudiation. It has always lived up to
its obligations, and we believe that it always will.
"Oklahoma City is on the square. As much can not
he said for some of its traducers,"
The above confession and avoidance on the part of the Daily
Oklajioman can only be considered as an effort to apologize for
the complaints that the Tribune has justly made in recent issues
concerning the failure of Oklahoma City to meet its state cap-
ital contract with the people of Oklahoma.
Let us say, first, that the Tribune and its people would do more
for Oklahoma City without compensation than the Oklahoman has
ever done up to date. However, if the Oklahoman is anxious to
help Oklahoma City, the Tribune and everybody else would doubt-
less welcome tbem with open arms as it is possible for them to do
a vast amount of good and some of it could fairly be done for
patriotic purposes alone.
Again, he is not. a true friend of our city who asserts that
all our wrong doings are proper and advocates indifference to
our obligations instead of faithful performance
It is idle for the Oklahoman to assume that its mere asser-
tion that the obligations of the community are faithfully kept when
the people know that that is not true. It is far better for us to
unite in an effort to fulfill our obligations, and their very fulfill-
ment will be known to the people just as their non-fulfillment is
now known regardless of the Oklahoman's assertions to the con-
trary.
Let us see—the Oklahoman is begging the question. The
people of Oklahoma City made a solemn promise last June to tlie
taxpayers of the State—in substance it was this: Honor Okla-
homa City with the capital and it shall not cost the taxpayers
of the state a single dollar. That would include the cost of re-
moval from Guthrie to Oklahoma City, the cost of temporary
(Continued on Page 2.)
CONSULTED JUDGE
HOOK ON EVIDENCE
RAILROAD MAN AT RATE HE NR.
ING ADMITS DISCUSSION
OF OKLAHOMA CASE.
That he met with Federal Judge
Hook and discussed the evidence in
the Oklahoma rate cases before the
famous injunction was granted against
the Corporation commission, was the
astounding statement of James Pea-
body, statistician of the Santa Fe rail-
road, in his testimony before the com-
mission at the hearing Tuesday on the
proposed new rates. Details of the
hearing are given below.
The lirst of the hearings before the
Corporation commission on proposed
orders contemplating a new scale of
commodity rates to supersede the
rates orininally established by the
Corporation commission, which were
suspended by the injunctions secured
by the railroads in the Federal Court,
was held last week in the rooms of the
chamber of commerce in Oklahoma
City.
It was the hearing on the proposed
grain rate. The proposed rates for
wheat and corn are as follows:
Distance Wheat Corn
5
4.0
3.5
25
5.2
4.5
50
G.7
5.5
75
7.7
6.5
100
8.7
7.5
150
10.2
9.0
200
11.7
10.5
250
12.7
11.6
300
13.7
12.5
350
14.2
13.0
400
14.7
13.5
450
15.2
14.0
500
15.7
14.5
Hay
Class D rates
as per corpo-
ration Com-
mission order
No. 382.
The proposed order provides that
Class I) rates, as per Corporation Com-
mission Order No. 382 shall apply on
hay, and carries rules governing the
determination of the rate upon differ-
ent kinds of grain, grain products, hay,
alfalfa, straw, corn husks, etc. The
order also carries rules for making
joint rates applicable via two or more
lines not under the same management;
for milling in transit, etc., for routing
shipments or basing rates via the
shortest line, for minimum weights
for shipment of mixed carloads, and
for billing instructions.
The hearing commenced on Thurs-
day with representatives of all the
interested railroads present.
The first witness in the hearing
was C. B. Bee, rate expert for the Cor-
poration commission, who outlined the
proposed order
Railroads Claim liosses
The first witness for the railroads
was Traffic Manager C. Haile, of the
Missouri, Kansas , & Texas Railway.
This witness attempted to testify that
the rates already in effect on grain
were non-renumerative. Mr. Henshaw
refused to permit the evidennce t« go
into the record as offered, for the rea-
son that the witness was not qualified
as an expert, and the further reason
that the figures showing the result of
such rates \Tere the best evidence as
to their effect and could be produced if
the railroiids desired to put theiri in
the record.
E. K. Voorhees, general freight
vnt of the Frisco, testified that
his road had lost money on the exist-
ing rates. His testimony was question-
ed on the ground that it was not
backed up by figures, and such figures
as he had he was unable to substan-
tiate, testifying thut he U*f! not pre-
pared them himself, and that he did
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Haskell, Charles N. New-State Tribune. (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 17, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 1, 1911, newspaper, June 1, 1911; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc97574/m1/1/: accessed April 24, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.