The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-06-29
FEDERAL OFFICERS IN WYOMING.
The Territory Held in Subsection by the
Cattle Corporations.

The Territory Held in Subsection by the
Cattle Corporations.
Special to the Indianapolis journal.
WAsHINGT ON, June 28-The controversy over
the federal Offices in the Territory of Wyoming
has become quite lively one. Wyoming men
here state that the Territory is completely at
the mercy of the British cattle corporations and
that until the inhabitants can shake themselves
free from this thraldom there will be no pros
pect of ever growing sufficiently to ask for ad
mission into the Union. Said one of them
to-day: 1T is absolutely impossible for a
settler to gain foothold in our Territory.
If man takes up homestead and makes some
Improvements upon it he will very shortly find
the cowboys after him, and he will be driven
away. Then these scoundrels will appear be-
fore the register and swear that they themselves
made the Improvements and to them belong the
homestead. The cattle men control the Legis
lature and the delegate to Congress. 1t is abso
lutely useless for US to try to fight them unless
we can get aid from the federal government.
There is party of US here now
to consult with the President and the
Secretary of the Interior, and / think from
assurance we have received thus far that we
shall secure material aid from the authorities in
efforts to rid ourselves of these enormous
barnacles to our progress. In the first place,
the most important Office just now is the re-
ceivership of the land Office at Cheyenne. If
the cattle men can secure the appointment of
their man, Of course their power would be
greatly enhanced. What we want is that the
business men of the Territory should be heard in
this matter, and to this end we have
cordially Endorsed .. Fl. Miller, who is one
of the pioneers of the Territory. do not know
who the candidate of the cattle kings is, but
understand he is backed by ex-Delegate Post,
and that thus far his name is kept secret from
motives which will not bear investigation"
''How about the candidate for Governors" was
asked.
There are three in the field, and the situation
is peculiar. The people of the Territory who
are not controlled by the cattle crowd are
almost unanimously in favor of
nonresident, namely, State Sen
ator Poole, of North Carolina. Of
course, we would rather have resident
Governor, if possible, but, inasmuch as that
seems to be out of the question, Senator Poole
receives the most cordial support from the bust
ness interests, and. from the present Indications
he has the best chance. The others are Harry
Oehlrichs, of New York, and Morton E. Post.
The former is backed by James Gordon Bennett
and men of that class. Oehlrichs is quasi-resi-
dent of Wyoming and certainly does not repre-
sent the settler element. Post is resident
of the Territory, and, while he claims
to be a Democrat, he is a partner of the
present Republican Governor in the cattle bust
ness. / think that it will be some time before
the controversy is settled. but trust, for the
good of the Territory, we shall be able to secure
the upper hand of the men who have been at
our thoats so long 1t is not a question of poll
tics, but question of business"