Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1884-09-16

made two speeches or talks IN its favor, bu
the great body of the senate acted a. though
they thought it another scheme to beat tn
Indians.
So the case stands to-day with the govern
ment with inadequate laws upon the one
side trying with such means as it has in it
power to keep up the policy Of the admin
istration and the Republican party on tn
one side in protecting the Indians and stand
ing by the treaties, and upon the other side
of Dave Payne and the men whom he has
induced to make investments in the scheme
together with their lawyers and creditors
with Wichita or her people placed in the at
titude Of supporting Payne as against tn
Republican administration and the courts.
As to the rights of Payne or any other
citizen to 60 into and settle the territory,
that has been talked and discussed by men
all the way from the cabinet down to Payne'i
attorneys. Congress ought to have settled
it. The courts have tried to and will try
again. That there has been any corruption
of the administration or high officials or OF
courts, is the merest Democratic twadde,
dealt out only by demogogues, or by some.
body paid by those interested. There is not
shadow of truth in all the blow about
men in high authority having interests in
the cattle business of the Territory. As to
the cattle men down there, they do not
claim to be settlers, nor do they kesire to be-
come settlers. They don't want the land, OF
if they do. they have too much sense to ex-
pect to be able to get it under the present
laws. They simply want the product of the
land, simply the grass which they pay the
Indians for, and which would otherwise grow
up, die and rot, not bene6ting, either
cattle men, Indians or Boomers. The differ
ence between the cattle men and the Boom
ers is, the latter wants the lands to sell, and
he former wants to pay for simply what
grows up wild, and would be lost if not
fed. We sometimes think that it is not so
much the lands either that the Boomers
want, for their are millions of acres in
southwestern Kansas, but rather a foot-hold
to speculate, to grab, and to sell.
As TO the meeting the other night we sent
a reporter over, NTH instructions to give il
an honest, fair report. When he returned he
said, from the speakers, officers, and scnti-
ments, he thought it sounded more like a
Democratic pow-wow than anything else.
We are in the midst of presidential cam
paign, and We expect the opposition papers
will seize upon every circumstance which
can be tortured into wrongful act Of the
administration. But what the administra-
ton or the Republican party has to do with
the cattle business on the plains can only be
discovered by the ingenuity of a Democratic
demsgogue.
As to PAYNE and his declarations, we have
nothing TO say. One need only to be &C
quainted with the character of the man and
his former methods, to be able to deny any
and all assertions he NAV make. But there
are men of more or less responsibility who
seem to think this Oklahoma question may
be nursed into sufficient Importance to last
until after election.
We will say further, We are not interested
in the cattle business, even remotely. We
have no sympathy with the cattle men as
such. We are not friendly to land monpo-
lies, nor any other monopoly, nor the az
gregation of capital in any way which cur
tails the rights Of the many for the aggran-
dzement of the few. Our interests and our
sympathies are, and always have been, with
brings us back to the settlement
of Oklahoma. We believe the time is near
at hand when the Oklahoma country should
be open to settlement, and we are satisfied
this is growing conviction in the minds of
ali our western Legislators in the Federal
congress, without regard to party. But we
do not believe friendly legislation can be Sc
cured by the methods adopted by the adj
venturer Payne and his followers. Payne
has never sought by legislation to have the
legal obstacles to the settlement of that coun-
ty removed, but he has assumed to exercise
the functions of the judicial, legislative and
executive branches of the federal govern
ment. He has sat in in judgment on the
question, and decided in opposition to the
best legal talent of the United States, that
the disputed district was open TO settlement;
and in defiance of the decisions of courts,
and the proclamations of presidents, forbid
ding settlement, he has with an armed force,
invaded the country and committed acts of
instruction. The treatment of Payne and
his followers, during all these years of Of
Tending, is characteristic of our government,
and is unlike that of any other government
known to history, 1t seems to be almost a
fault of our system of government that it is
too magnanimous, too merciful to its citi-
zens, when they commit overt acts against
the constituted authorities. In any other
country PAYNE would have been convicted
and been severely punished. But the mercy
shown to these political offenders has been
repaid with tsunts. 1t has been called
'temporizing policy" "cowardice," and "an
evidence that Paync's claims we're acknow-
lodged etc. 1t has been also charged that
the administration was complicated with cat
tlemen and his fraud exposued, and
many other things equally absurd.
To those who make these state
ments knowing them to be false, We have no
reply to make.
The Oklahoma country, so called, was set
apart by an act of congress for certain peo-
Piles uses, and until released from the oper-
ations of this act and devoted to the uses by
the same authority, that country is no more
subject to settlement by Capt. Payne than
earthe parks in the District of Columbia. That
il has not been used for the purpose to
which il was dedicated does not make
it public lands open TO settlement.
and it can only become SO by
an act of the federal congress, which We be-
lieve can be easily secured. but not by
threats of armed invasion.
Again, Capt Payne and his followers are not
denied the privileges in Oklahoma which are
or have been granted to cattle men. Let us
put this SO plaidly that 1.-THE wayfaring man,
though fool, need not err therein.
Cattle men have been granted no privilege
in Oklahoma which Capt. Payne and his fol-
lowers or any other citizen of the United
States. may not freely enjoy. And whs: are
these much talked privileges. Cattle men
going on Indian lands, by the suthorlty of
the Indians adjoining the Oklahoma coun-
try could see No nhicrfion to their cattle