A history of the state of Oklahoma, Volume I, Part 51

Author: Hill, L. B. (Luther B.)
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pubishing Company
Number of Pages: 645

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Sec. 4. That all land from which restrictions have been or shall be removed shall be subject to taxation and all other civil burdens, as though it were the property of other persons than allottees of the five civilized tribes: Provided, That al- lotted lands shall not be subjected or held liable to any form of personal claim or demand against the allottees arising or existing prior to the re- moval of restrictions, other than contracts hereto- fore expressly permitted by law.

Sec. 5. That any attempted alienation or in- cumbrance by deed, mortgage, contract to sell, power of attorney, or other instrument or method of incumbering real estate, made before or after the approval of this act, which affects the title of the land allotted to allottees of the five civil- ized tribes prior to removal of restrictions there- from, and also any lease of such restricted land made in violation to law before or after the ap- proval of this act shall be absolutely null and void.

Sec. 6. That the persons and property of minor allottees of the five civilized tribes shall, except as otherwise specifically provided by law, be sub- ject to the jurisdiction of the probate courts of the state of Oklahoma.

' Perhaps some kindly critic who has followed the fortunes of the Indian tribes as described in the preceding chapters may see in the following

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quotations from the daily press an effective mod- ern instance that supports in some degree the severe criticism once passed by de Tocqueville on the dealings of our government with the Indians. No doubt the incidents are exaggerated somewhat, but there is much substantial truth in the asser- tions, and they prove the enormous difficulties that have always beset the faithful administration of Indian affairs, and show that with the absorption of Indian Territory in an American commonwealth has come a sort of moral laxness that must be purged away by the state in the same way that the state has undertaken to relieve itself of the criminal element that was a heritage of the old regime. The article (dated July 27) follows:

" 'Stung by the grafting allottees,' is the way the land buyers tonight are summing up the sequel to the removal of restrictions in eastern Oklahoma, and, while the Indians and negroes are giving the prospective buyers the laugh, they have proved themselves past grand masters in the art of graft- ing and have put a quietus to the much heralded sale of lands by pooling their lands and doubling the price.

"While it was expected that in the early hours of the morning thousands of acres would change hands under the action of the government in re- moving the shackles, a careful summing up tonight shows that but 174 deeds have been filed in Mus- kogee county, when it was expected that today's result would show in three figures.

"Land buyers made no effort to conceal their surprise and chagrin this morning when the facts of the various pools were promulgated. The In- dians, after living off the prospective buyers for the past week, have become possessed of consider- able money, enough at least to hold out against the offers of the buyers, who now face the ulti- matum of paying double or not at all.

"Reports of similar conditions are coming in from other counties. With ten million acres of land in forty counties released today the land men have not been able to buy one-tenth of what they expected. It developed that a great deal of the land had been plastered with five-year leases to keep other buyers off.

"It was charged today that buyers had caused the arrest of many allottees on various complaints last night in order to get them imprisoned and this morning would go to the jail and agree to pay their fines and make their bonds if they would sell their lands. One buyer lured six negroes into a crap game and then had them arrested and jailed for safe keeping. Prosecutions, it was rumored, will probably follow.

"Assistant Attorney General Russell today is- sued a warning to people against buying lands upon which government suits have been filed.

"The land is selling cheap. The buyers are anxious to get it, but their anxiety lies in the price, not the scarcity of land. They are choosing the best and buying it cheap. It is the belief of many that this scramble is unnecessary and that land will be just as cheap three weeks hence as it is now.

"The buyers are taking no chances on the negro and Indian allottees grafting them this time. This is the sale that sticks. So most of them have had their cappers out, using negroes and Indians for the work, and corralled the owners of the land they want to buy, and they have, in one way and another, kept them under guard ever since. One buyer has seven rooms in a building right in the heart of the city and he has had negroes corralled there three days. They are furnished everything they want, the only condition imposed that they do not leave the rooms or allow anyone else to enter. Guards in the hallway night and day see that this rule is obeyed. They made deeds to their land at midnight.

"Two buyers found an old negro woman who is land poor. They sent her to Kansas City and found her a place as a housemaid and she is paid $10 per week. The owner of the house gets her services free. The land buyers are putting up the $10. She is safe from other buyers and as she never before saw $10 per week she will sell all her land and that of her children and decide to live in Kansas City. As soon as the land is bought the buyers will cut off her pay and she will find her- self without land and without a job.

"Another buyer, more ambitious, got fifteen negroes together and made an agreement to buy their land. He bought tickets and sent them all to St. Louis in charge of a young white man who was to look after them, show them the sights and pay for whatever they wanted on their vacation. At midnight tonight deeds were to be taken on all their lands. Everything went well until the bunch was steered up against a negro minstrel show and during the excitement the negroes became scat- tered and lost the man who had them in charge.

"One firm in Muskogee has rented a hotel and there are being entertained the land owners that have made agreements to sell land to the firm. Another firm has rented a large hall and is run- ning a night and day watermelon festival. They are dealing principally in negro lands. It is no trouble to keep the negroes there. Another firm has started a three days' picnic in the country, but no one is invited to attend except the people from whom they hope to buy land.

"The buyers use negro and Indian cappers to secure and bring the allottees in and boost the sale along in every way. The capper gets a percentage on every sale he helps put through in this way.

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The cappers watch the people they bring in and the buyers watch the cappers to see that they do not give them a crooked deal.

"Much of the money being paid for the land is brought in from the outside. Nearly every buying fra has someone who is putting up all the money

wanted with which to buy land. One walked into an office with $30,000 and said: 'Buy land with this.' He is getting the land.

"Advices from other towns indicate that what is going on in Muskogee is being repeated in prac- tically every county in the old Indian Territory."

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PART VI OKLAHOMA STATEHOOD

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CHAPTER XXVI. THE STATEHOOD MOVEMENT

The year 1906 will be always regarded as the year when the preparation of Okla- homa and Indian territories for statehood was finished; when manifold influences and human endeavors were brought to a cli- max of fruition. On March 4 the five civilized tribes ceased legally to exist. In the latter part of the same year the open- ing of the "Big Pasture" in southwestern Oklahoma completed the expansion of set- tlement over that territory. On the one side, 350,000 Indians and whites were working together, on terms of equality and free individual competition, for the ad- vancement of common institutions and ma- terial and social prosperity. On the other side, 400,000 inhabitants of an organized territory were pursuing happiness and do- mestic welfare with no restrictions except such as the federal government imposed. Between these two peoples were no differ- ences of race or political prejudice, and only an irregular and unscientific boundary line placed a nominal distinction between their social and business activities. There were, it is true, inequalities of development be- tween the two sections. The larger por- tion of Oklahoma. had for years possessed civil organization after the manner of older states ; it had public roads, a public school system, and other institutions of organized society ; Indian Territory was at the be- ginning of development in some of these things. But, of greater importance than these differences, the two territories were the natural complement of each other. The

eastern territory was the richer in its nat- ural resources, the western in its agricul- tural development and business experience. The coal and oil and gas and other mineral products that Oklahoma used came from the Indian Territory. Railroad building in recent years had been from east to west, rather than parallel to the original trunk lines from Kansas to Red river. All the tendencies of business were towards link- ing the two territories into an inseparable alliance.

In the year 1906, then, it seemed that all objections had been removed that had from time to time been urged against the bestowal of statehood upon these territo- ries. Their population, their business en- terprise, their social status and their po- litical intelligence entitled them to this rec- ognition. It only remained for Congress to indicate the manner in which it should be bestowed.

It would be a simple matter to describe the giving of statehood to Oklahoma and Indian Territory, had it involved only the preparation of the two territories for the conditions which have been described. Per- haps the wisdom of the nation's govern- ment would have found no better proof, had the policy been firmly announced at the beginning that the political destiny of the two territories was joint statehood, and that each must go through the full period of its peculiar economic development be- fore the sanction of Congress would rest upon the proposed commonwealth. Such

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a policy would no doubt have stimulated all parties to persistent endeavor for the great goal. In time, both territories would have completed their novitiate, and the test- ing over, would have taken their reward gratefully and pressed on to the higher ends of an American commonwealth.

But, as the record of history shows, the agitation for statehood continued for fif- teen years and involved in its discussions from time to time, all the events in the his- tory of the two territories during that pe- riod. It requires only a reading of the mass of material used in the various state- hood debates, memorials and congressional hearings, to obtain a complete history of the territories during these years. Further- more, unfortunately, the movement after a time became involved in the uncertainties of partisan politics, and it will always re- main to the discredit of the general govern- ment that the admission of Oklahoma was decided not alone on its merits but as an issue between factions in Congress.

The first statehood convention was held at Oklahoma City, December 15, 1891, a year and a half after the organization of

Oklahoma Territory. Delegates were pres- ent from the Oklahoma counties, and part of the Indian Territory was also repre- sented. It was said to be non-partisan in composition and action, and as a result of its discussions the first statehood memorial1 was drawn up and presented to Congress, praying for affirmative action on the state- hood bill which was to be introduced in the house about that time by Delegate Har- vey. A resolution provided for an execu- tive committee, of one member from each county, to prepare an enabling act for the admission of Oklahoma as a state, to in- clude all of the old Indian Territory. The members of the first statehood executive committee were: Sidney Clarke, Oklahoma county (elected chairman) ; W. P. Hack- ney, Logan county ; S. H. Harris, Cleve- land county; J. P. Cummins, Kingfisher county ; William J. Grant, Canadian coun- ty; George F. Payne, Beaver county ; F. J. Wykoff, Payne county; W. M. Allison, county A (Lincoln) ; J. H. Woods, county B (Pottawatomie), and H. C. Potterf,

Chickasaw county.

Following the instructions of the first

1 Memorial Adopted at Statehood Convention in Oklahoma City December 15, 1891.

To the Congress of the United States:

The people of. Oklahoma Territory, without dis- tinction of party, assembled in convention at Okla- homa City on December 15, 1891, hereby submit to the Congress of the United States the follow- ing statement of facts relative to the condition of the territory and the section of country occupied by the five civilized tribes, and in behalf of the passage of an enabling act providing for the ad- mission of Oklahoma as a state.

That area of the old Indian Territory comprises 68,991 square miles or 44,154,240 acres of land;

That this area is exceeded by only fourteen states of the Union, and that in fertility of soil and in its capacity for agricultural and mineral production is not excelled by any other section of the United States;

That the committee on territories of the house of representatives of the fifty-first Congress re-

ported that "excluding the full-blood Indians there are in the Indian Territory and Oklahoma about 247,200 people, who are either white or of mixed blood, but who in personal appearance and in their habits and customs and in their intelli- gence do not differ materially from the people who inhabit other parts of the United States";

That since said report was made the Indian title to more than 5,000,000 acres of land in Oklahoma territory has been extinguished, and has been opened and is about to be opened to settlement; adding, with the increase of other sections, not less than 50,000 to our population, and increasing the sum total to about 300,000;

That the opening to settlement of other lands in the near future will only be in rapidity of set- tlement a repetition of settlements already made, and that before the expiration of the present Con- gress there will be in Oklahoma and Indian Ter- ritory a population of half a million people;

That the population of Oklahoma territory

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statehood convention, Delegate Harvey in- troduced into the house a bill (H. R. 4629) "to extend state lines around the Indian Territory." Thus the first statehood bill considered in Congress provided for single statehood, including the country of the five civilized tribes as well as the territory un- der territorial organization as Oklahoma. During February, 1892, the committee on territories held hearings on this bill, and before them appeared members of the statehood executive committee, headed by

proper by the federal census of 1890, before the opening of the new lands, was 61,934, which ex- ceeds the population of either of the states of Illinois, Ohio, Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming at the time they were admitted as states, and that not a single territory, with the exception of Wash- ington and South Dakota, has had a population equal to Oklahoma, with the five tribes included, when admitted to the rights and privileges of statehood ;

That the rapid settlement and development of Oklahoma has been exceptional. Cities have been born in a day, and vast areas of the public domain have been as speedily occupied by an industrious and thriving population. A single year has wit- nessed more development in Oklahoma than has taken place in any other territory in a whole decade;

That in the interest of good government all of the old Indian Territory should be included in the future state of Oklahoma, and that by so doing there will be no conflict with treaty stipula- tions and no infringement upon the rights of prop- erty of the Indian tribes;

That following the uniform precedents estab- lished by Congress in the admission of states, we favor the protection of the Indians in all their legal and equitable rights under the treaties and agreements. We believe, in the language of Presi- dent Harrison in his recent message, that "The relation of the five civilized tribes now occupying the Indian Territory to the United States is not best calculated to promote the highest ad- vancement of these Indians. That there should be within our borders five independent states, hav- ing no relations except those growing out of trea- ties with the government of the United States, no representation in the nation's legislation, its peo- ple not citizens, is a startling anomaly." And we further agree with the president that "it seems to be inevitable that there shall be before

Sidney Clarke, and also several prominent citizens from the Indian Territory side. The arguments proposed in the resolutions of the Oklahoma City convention were stated with varying degrees of emphasis by the advocates of the bill. One of the principal speakers in opposition was E. C. Boudinot, of the Cherokee Nation, who maintained in the first place that the ex- tension of state lines around the country granted to the five tribes by treaty could not be legally done unless the Indians con-

long some organic changes in relation to these people." We believe these changes should come through statehood, citizenship, equitable laws, home courts, prompt suppression of crime, and equal representation;

That while we are at all times loyal to the fed- eral government, and fully recognize the constitu- tional power of Congress to enact all laws for the government of the territories, we seek self-govern- ment and home rule as a necessity for our full measure of prosperity, and as a part of the pride and glory of all patriotic citizens;

That here, as in other territories, the divided jurisdiction between Congress and the territorial legislature is an impediment to the investment of capital, to the permanency of manufacturing and business enterprises, and inefficient and unsatis- factory in the protection of life and property;

That we have more than 1,000 miles of railway now in operation, other lines in progress of con- struction, and with the confidence that would be assured by the passage of an enabling act by Congress providing for the formation of a state government, many more lines would be projected;

We therefore declare that, in view of the ex- tent of territory we ask to be included within the geographical limits of the state of Oklahoma, the number of our population, the variety and mag- nificence of our material resources, the business, educational, religious, and social conditions which exist here, and the aggressive and enterprising character of our people, the time has come for Congress to pass an enabling act as herein indi- cated, and that at an early day we should be per- mitted to throw off our territorial pupilage and assume the dignity and responsibility of a sover- eign state.

J. P. LANE, President of the Convention. T. M. UPSHAW, Secretary of the Convention.

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sented; and furthermore, that the proposi- tion of statehood for the five tribes was premature. A reading of the arguments used before the committee during the sev- eral weeks that the hearings were contin- ued shows that every phase of the Indian Territory problem was discussed. So far as Oklahoma territory was concerned, its claim for statehood became merely a mat- ter of statistics, as has always been gener- ally true. Its population, its taxable wealth, its railroads, its agricultural and industrial development, its schools and the capacity of its people for self-government, were set forth in a manner that did not admit of dispute as to the facts. And with each following year, when the advocates of Oklahoma statehood appeared before Con- gress, they summoned practically the same substantial facts to support their cause, the only difference being that with each year Oklahoma became larger in area, stronger in population and development, and better fitted for the responsibilities it desired to assume.

With Indian Territory the case was dif- ferent. Mr. Boudinot's assertion, before the committee in 1892, that the treaty guar- antees stood in the way of statehood and that the Indians themselves were not yet prepared for such a change, summed up the argument against joining Indian Ter- ritory with Oklahoma. For nearly fifteen years following, the energies of the govern- ment were directed towards solving the very problems presented by Boudinot's ob- jections. And not until the consent of the five tribes was obtained, and only after the Dawes Commission had labored many years for the dissolution of the tribal system and the preparation of the Indians for living according to the white man's laws and cus- toms, did Congress give statehood for the Indian country.

At the inter-territorial statehood conven- tion held at Purcell, September 30, 1893, the memorial to Congress asked, Ist, that the five petty sovereignties known as the five civilized tribes of the Indian Territory, existing by right of treaty, be summarily abolished; 2d, that the lands held by fed- eral patent in common by the Cherokees, Creeks, Seminoles, Choctaws and Chicka- saws, be alloted in equal pro rata severalty, with proper reservations, to the bona fide citizens of the aforesaid Indian govern- ments; and, 3d, that the domain occupied by them be made to form a part of a com- monwealth of the American union.

The arguments to support this request may be summarized briefly: In the five tribes were 70,000 Indian citizens and 150,000 United States citizens. Three- fourths of the former were of mixed white blood. The value of the Indian school property was estimated at $800,000, and $350,000 was expended annually to support the Indian schools. Education for the non- citizen whites depended on private contri- butions, resulting in injurious discrimina- tion between the two classes of inhabitants. The expense of maintaining the tribal gov- ernment, to which less than a third of the residents claimed allegiance, largely ex- ceeded the expense of maintaining an hon- est state government for both Indian Ter- ritory and Oklahoma. Taxation in Indian Territory was inequitable. "The full-blood Indian, with an acre of corn, and the owner of but one pony, pays the same tax to sup- port his government as does the intermar- ried white who farms thousands of acres and pastures tens of thousand of cattle." Besides, the non-citizens had to pay the tribal government's personal taxes for the privilege of residence and for all merchan- dise sold and business transacted in the country. The real Indian profited little by

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the tribal government. A large share of his annuities fell into the hands of prey- ing wolves, "within and out of the fold, who rob them coming and going," while white landlords with tribal rights obtained through marriage controlled the best lands and had "fenced the full-bloods off upon the discarded and worthless lands." The tribal governments "are mere oligarchies for self-aggrandizement and public spolia- tion." Five conflicting court jurisdictions fostered crime and made justice a travesty. The white non-citizens, the wealth-produc- ers of the territory, were subjected to op- pressive regulations by the tribal govern- ments, and the restriction of leases to an- nual periods made permanent progress im- possible and all property rights insecure. "We have no asylums for our insane; no institutions of charity and philanthropy ; no penitentiaries for the confinement of our criminals; no relief for the multitudinous public burdens which should properly be borne by the state."

Following the Purcell convention, one was held at Kingfisher, November 28, 1893, representing Oklahoma and parts of Indian Territory. Soon after the assembling of Congress in December, 1893, a bill (H. R. 4857) was introduced to enable the people of Oklahoma to form a constitution and state government. This was an Oklahoma bill, providing for statehood for this terri- tory without reference to Indian Territory. General Wheeler, of Alabama, reported the bill from the committee on the territories, December 20, with strong recommenda- tions that it be passed. This and other house bills, that in successive sessions were persistently urged for passage in the house, were consigned to oblivion in the senate committee. During 1894, before a senate sub-committee, exhaustive hearings were taken on the bill, and the record of these

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A history of the state of Oklahoma, Volume I, Part 51

Author: Hill, L. B. (Luther B.) Publication date: 1908 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pubishing Company Number of Pages: 645

Author: Hill, L. B. (Luther B.)
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pubishing Company
Number of Pages: 645