The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-17
OKLAHOMA.
President Cleveland's Order to Eject Settlers
from the lands of Oklahoma.

70 the Editor of the Indianapolis Journal:
On the 18th inst. President Cleveland issued
| an order, as COMMUNICATIVE of the army,
| which order was issued with the approval and
concurrence OF his Cabinet, after full consider
alton of the subject The order is as follows:
whereas 1t is alleged that certain individuals
clatons and persons and corporations in unauthor
zed possession CT portions of the territory known as
which are designated. described and recognized by
treaties and laws of the United States and by the
| ecutlve authority thereof, Indian lands; and,
Whereas 1t is further alleged that certain other
persons associations within the territory and iuris
diction of the United States have begun and set
foot preparations for organized and forcbe entry and
| settlement upon the aforesaid lands, and
| threatening such entry and occupations and,
Whereas The laws of the United States provide for
removal of all persons residing being found upou
such Indian lands and territory without permission
expressly and legally obtained of the Interior Depart
ment
Now, therefore for the purpose of protecting the
public interests, well the interests of the Indian
nations and tribes and to the end that person
persons may be induced to enter upon said territory
where they will not be allowed to remain without per-
mission of the authorities aforesaid Grover Ceve
land President of the United States do hereby warn
occupation OF such lands and all person persons as
are intending, preparing threatening to enter in or
TO settle upon the same, that they will not be per-
united to enter upon said territory or, it alrendy
there will not be allowed to remain thereon and that
If due regard for and voluntary obedience to laws and
treaties OF the United States and this admonton and
warning be not sufficient to effect the purpose and in
tentlons of the government as herein declared the
abate all such unauthorized possession to prevent
such threatened entry and occupation and to remove
all such intruders from said Indian lands.
In testimony whereof, have hereunto attached my
hand and caused the seal of the United States to be
| affixed GROVER CLEVELAND.
By the President: T. F. BAYARD Secretary of State
| This order assumes that the Oklahoma lands
are Indian country" which. if true the order
| is right; if untrue, and shown to be untrue by
the face of the laws the President and his Cabi-
| have so recently sworn to execute, then it is a
high crime and they should be impeached The
question is, is Oklahoma Indian country?"
In 1884 an act of Congress was passed that pro-
vided as follows:
Sec. l. Be it enacted, etc, that all that part of
the United States west of the Mississippi and not
within the Statesof Missouri and Louisiana the
Territory of Arkansas and also that part of the United
States east of the Mississippi river and not within any
State to which the Indian title has not been ex
ngulshed for the purposes OF this act be taken and
| De deemed to beIndlan country.
| This Indian country at the time this act
was passed, embraced what is now the States of
Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska as we'll as what is
known as the Indian Territory, and other States
and Territories west of the Mississippi river, in
| its general scope, butwas only applicable to such
| lands within these general boundaries, to which
| the Indians held title. This question to what
| constituted Indian country under that act is
clearly settled by the Supreme Court of the
| United States in the case of Bates vs. Clark 95
simple criterion s. that all lands thus described
| were Indian country wherever the Indian title
rad not been extinguished, and it continued to
be Indian country so long as the Indians had
| title to it, and no longer AS soon as they part
ed with the title it ceased obe Indian country
| without any further act of Congress"
The same ruling was held in United States VS..
Forty three Gallons of Whisky, {93 u. ST. 178), and
the same principle was held in the case of Amer
lean Fur Company VS.. United States e Peters,
| 358, decided in 1921 Now, if the Indians have
parted with their title to the lands in Oklahoma
it becomes very clear that it is no longer Indian
country" The record of the United States gov
| eminent in the Interior Department at Washing
| ton shows the following facts as to the transfer
of the Indian title in these Oklahoma lands: "In
| 1855 treaties were made between the United
sTases government and the Cherokee Chocktaw,
| Seminole and Creek Indians, by the terms Of
which certain lands lying west of the Seminoles
| and Creeks, and south of the Cherokees were
| coded to the United States by the tribes named.
There was'no condition attached to the cession.
1t was absolute and the title passed uncondition-
| ally. The lands were afterwards surveyed into
| sections by government authority and have
ever since the treaties in 1866 been borne on the
| rolls OF the General Land Office as public lands.
These are the Oklahoma lands"
The act Of Congress of July &C. 1866, very con-
clusively declares the title of the United States
| to these lands, for by it the Atlantic e. Pacific
Railroad Company is given the right of way
through these lands, and the same act also gives
this railroad company twenty (20) sections to the
mile on the line of this road Then by Sec of said
act, the following provision is made: '.But the
provisions of the act Of September, 1841 granting
pre- emption rights, and the acts amendatory
thereof, and of the act entitled an act to secure
homesteads to actual settlers on the public do
main, approved Aug. 20, 1862, shall be, and the
same are, hereby extended to all other lands on
the line of said road when surveyed, except
those hereby granted to said company"
Also. another statute Sec 225-, Revised Stat
utes of the United States, provides as follows:
rAll lands belonging to the United States to
which the Indian title has been or may hereafter
be extngushed, shall be subject to the right of
presumption under the conditions, restrictions
and stpuatious provided by law"
The above statutes are in force that most
clearly authorize citizens of the United States
to pre- empt and mako homesteads upon these
Oklohoma lands. Will President Cleveland ex-
plain how and when it became his duty to order
citizens to be shot down, by the military power
of the government, because they have entered
upon these Oklahoma lands by authority of the
law to establish homes for themselves and fam
lilies?
The above presidential order is nothing less
than approving in advance of premeditated MUIR
der. If Col. Hatch or his troops shoot a single
citizen on these Oklahoma lands, who has en-
tered there to make homestead such act will
be murder. Whether Col Hatch carries it out
by committing the murder, does not alter the
character of this order. Here is the order of the
President, directing cold blooded murder to be
committed, and for issuing it he and his Cabinet
officers who concurred in it should be impeached.
and removed from Office at once
The third whereas in the above has a singular
look. 1t reads: 1.-THE laws of the United States
provide for removal of all persons residing
or being found upon such Indian lands and terri
wit icoin 81 anI
obtained of the Interior Department"
Wealthy cattle companies now occupy and
have occupied these Oklahoma lands for years.
under an agreement with the Interior Depart
ment, an agreement corruptly made without
any authority of law, but in violation of the
above laws, giving the citizens of this country
the right to establish homesteads upon same 1t
is. therefore, these fraudulent and corruptly OBJ