Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-02-29
THE OKLAHOMA BILL.

From the Globe-Democrat-
The bill to create and organize the ter
ritorv of Oklahoma does not propose, as
a good many people seem to THINK, to
take lands away from the Indians III an
arbitrary way and throw them open to
immediate settlement. On the contrary,
it expressly provides that all rights OF the
Indians in that respect, under treaty or
agreement. shall be respected, and that
no such lands shall be included IN the
proposed territory without the consent OF
the tribes claiming title thereto. AT the
same time. however, the president Is au-
thorized to appoint a commission to ne
gotiate with the Indians for the purchase
of their claims to certain disputed tracts;
and. in a general way. the purpose is 10
secure all the lands that are desired by the
voluntary action of the Indians, accord
inc to the terms of the allotment act
passed by the last congress. As matter
of simple fact. the whole plan is based
upon the possibility of inducing the vari-
Gus tribes to relinquish their titles and
consent to the proposed territorial gov
eminent. SO long as they may refuse
for any reason to make such a bargain,
lust so long will things remain as they
now are. SO far as this bill is concerned.
There is no compulsion in this case, and
room whatever for fear that any wrong
is going to be done to the Indians.
Those who are preparing to go to
Oklahoma upon the passage of this
bill, therefore, would do well to
proceed slowly. Such piece
of legislation will not really give
them any more right to settle there
than they now possess. There can not
be any Territory of Oklahoma" IN the
true and practical sense of the term until
the Indians shall have first consented to
take an allotment of 100 acres apiece, and
to let the remainder of their reservations
be occupied by white settlers; and the
process of obtaining this consent must
necessarily be a protracted and doubtful
one. 1t is by no means certain, indeed,
that such an arrangement can ever be
made under the provisions of this bill.
The Indians have not so far manifested
any very encouraging tendency to ac-
cept the allotment theory; and the well
known and increasing value of their
lands is likely to diminish rather than
to strengthen any latent feeling that
that they may have in favor OF that
policy 1t will take some very strong
arguments to convince them that they
can make more by selling their vast
domain than by holding 1t, particularly
when they suspect, as they strongly do,
that the allotment scheme involves the
idea of requiring them to work for liv-
ing instead of being supported by the
government in idleness. More than this
we have no assurance that President
Cleveland is disposed to cooperate with
congress in efforts to effect such a solu
ton of the Indian problem. We know
that he has had ample authority for the
last two years to negotiate with the In
dams on the line of this BILL and that he
has not taken single step in that direc-
ton. In short, the prospect of an early
opening of the territory of Oklahoma to
settlement is exceedingly dubious: and
persons wanting homesteads will proba-
bly, find that inviting section of country
closed against them for several years to
come.