Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1883-08-24

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persons are entitled 70 sublet an
der the lease 10 the Directors h
Trust for The Association, II goeI
without saying that only those en-
titled to membership have the righI
They are those who hold "undls
puled rangen In the Cherokee slriI
and who agree "a pay the common
assessments and the initiation fee
The essence Is 'undisputed range,
who hold it2 The man physically
ON itG Or the man holding a le.
gal title 10 itg Some maintain that
the man who has had the power to
horn off the others is the man en-.
titled to il, This sentiment Is the
usual tribute Of the west to Prov
ess and yalor. A repetition Of
trial Of right by mortal combat,
This idea makes a man bulldoze
his way to arrange and by violence
and force repel all others who are
weaker; he then has a moral and lc-
gal right, according to these philos-
ophers. This fancy springs from
the custom Of squatting grascrs to
give range to the prior occupant,
which is well enough among these,
none Of iehom haze a legal right. So
that a man is encouraged to put
himself in the position Of "prior
occupant" by driving out some
weaker "prior occupant" by force
or fraud. and then resisting the
right Of all other persons what-so-
ever. This is natural, but when
the squatter is intruding ON Cher
okee lands, subjecting himself to
fine and expulsion by the United
States government, and under
takes to deny the right of the Cher
okee Nation or their licensees, who
for the time being have the rights
ofthe Nation. said squatting grazer
is going too far. For him to ask
the directors of the Association to
sustain him in his violation of the
law and to repudiatc the legal
rights of the licensee, to do
gross injustice to favor fraud,
70 risk the forfeiture of the
lease, the loss and inconvenience
ola damage suit, the just enmity
of the Cherokees, and many com
plications. The squatting grazier
has gone too far.
The fact is, the Chero-
kee Nation alone can give undis-
puted and undisputaple range on
Cherokee lands. 1t is the owner,
the licensee is its renter, and for
the time of the license is the
owner. The Nation did not pro-
pose to lease its lands to those who
eyaded or defed its law, injured
its property and defrauded its
treasury, but to the members of the
Association who were those hold |
ing undisputed range. We all re-
the arguments used to
pass this bill. That we had bet
ter lease to these men who had |
honestly paid their taxes and were
acting honorably, than to other
men offering more money. We
know very well that it was not the
purpose of the Nation to lease to
intruders, but only to our licen-
sees or those holding undisputed
range. 1t is not to be believed
that the Directors, after all
their fair prom ises, would in
suit the Cherokee people and stul-
Iify themselves by refusing to rec
ognise the right Of our licensees to
lndisputed range. They have not
done so, but on the contrary have
aiken the honorable and legal po-
sition that those persons without
license have no range rights" in
he case Of w. and R. VS.. Love
Z Son. This was the decision of
both the Arbitration Board, COM
posed of A. NJ. Colsen, VIM. Cozine
md D. R. Streeter and of the
3oard Of Directors, E. w. Payne,
has. Eldred, A. |. Day, Ed. NJ.
dewins, J. w. Hamilton, S. Tut
lie, NJ. II. Bennett, Andrew
)rumm and Ben S. Miller. They
ave shown thcir respect for our
avs and have shown plainly what
heir views are. SO that the intru- I
Iers on our lands will do well to
make other arrangements as the
'herokees expected them to do,
Fhen the lease law was passed.
.
"You certainly play very well, !