The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-03-31
CHEROKEE LAND TITLE.
A CURIOUS ILLUSTRATION OF THE
sOCiALiSTlC IDEA.

The Land Hold ~ Common Property
but tho improvements Are tho Prop
cty of the Individual - Certain Re-
.trictsons LsId-farmers and Farm
To the student of land problems the Chero-
kee land tito Is q most Interesting feature Oh
their life. and the differences 10 10 drawn
from its workings are many and valuable
The Cherokee IL usually known as com
,nrnist and in come sense Of the word this
Is true: but the peculiar situation ~ sucn
that what he lacks in legal communism lie
makes up through other circumstances. III
50 far as the ideal Of the communist wiiI be
realized when every man lives Oh his own
land, and finds bis wants az a memoer OF
the community supplied by the central gov
crnment--in so far as this is the coninuhistic
ideal, the Cherokee presents today "n Illus
tration Of national land holding.
On the lst day Of August, 1855 the Chero-
koe tribe, assembled III camp at Oquohee, l.
r., BEGAN their proceedings with this some
what grandiloquent claim;
"Wbcrcas, The title Of the Cherokee people
10 their lands is the most ancient and abso-
Lutte known 10 man, its date is beyond the
recall of human record, its validity con-
frlned and illustrated by possession ana en-
ioymcnt antecedent TO all pretense ana claim
by any other portion of tho human race"
NATURALIZATION OF LAND
On this basis the remarkable men assem-
bled in this council proceeded to form the
wonderful constitution under which the
tribe has lived and prospered 50 signally,
n
the constitutions of the other nations Prob
ably Influenced by tho Indian idea OF prop
erty in land-the idea of socialism-they
held that the land belonged to the Cherokee
tribe, and not TO the individuals thereof
Land, slys the Indian like his commun!srIc
brother, is as air and water, the property OF
all: it cannot be given asay 10 the few Pur-
suing this theory,uue Cherokee constitution
secured the naturalization Of land In the
Cherokee state in these words:
1.-The land Of the Cherokee nation shall ro-
main the common property, but the improve
ncnts made thereon and in the possession OF
the citizens of the nation are the exclusive
and indefcasble property OF the citizens re-
spectively who made and may be rightfully
in possession thereof"
These Improvements therefore descend TO
the heirs Of the citizen, or they may be sold
by him, but tho land, occupy it as long as no
will, can never he his lie may occupy as
much land as he can cultivate, provided he
docs not come within one-quarter Of mile Of
his neighbor This prohibition does not, OF
course. refer to the towns He must establish
claim to this land by proving 1t to he I'M
occupied, and at the proper distance from
his neighbor, and when he shall have fenced
it. or put upon it $50 worth of improve
ments he has the right to occupy as long as
lie chooses; but If he fails to so occupy it for
two years, 1t reverts 10 the nation again
There is absolutely no limit TO the amount he
may thus use if he can cultivate it; but If he
wishes to possess himself of two different
farms, they must be the required quarter Of q
mile apart
CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS LAID
To be sure that speculation does not inter
fero with the common right Of all to her
land, the Cherokee nation through her legis-
lature has laid certain restrictions upon her
people The valuable black walnut and
pecan timber belongs TO the nation, the in
dividual may neither cut it nor sell it. The
possible mines Of her rocky hills may not DO
opened, for an old statute makes the discov-
cry Of mine punishable with death The
remembrance of their cruel ejectment from
their rich mineral lands in Georgia is thus
curiously embalmed in the law. And while
there Is no limit to the amount which Il citi-
zen Inav cultivate, he can take up for pastur
age but fifty acres thus effectually prevent
ing the absorption Of the land by great graz
Ing firms. Thus the Cherokee has his land
Held for him forever by his state. He may
sell his improvements, and he and his family
may practically reside in the same place per-
manently, since the right of occupancy may
be devised This right may also be sold.
But the individualizng of the land that
would seem TO be thus brought about is neu-
tralized by the vast tracts of rich unoccupied
territory waiting the industrious hand.
How thoroughly this plan has worked, az
its sanguine modern advocates would have
us believe it always will work, is shown by
the exact correspondence between the num-
Der Of male inhabitants and the number OF
dwellings Is 900 each, and the nearly similar
number Of farms and farmers-3,5 500 farmers
on 1900 farms. Moreover the right of a
woman TO the land is the same as that of a
man and her husband, although not Cher
okee nor even an Indian, may acquire her
rights by marriage, and be adopted into tho
tribe. This is tho only dover; for alien pro-
prietorship and Cherokee rights" joined to
the pretty faces gained from mixed Indian
and white ancestry, have proved strong at
traction TO many wanderer, and herit-
age of Joy and sorrow, as it might be, to
many an Indian woman.-Anna Laurens
Dawes in Harpers Magazine
To Put Out Chimney Fires.
ho t...t ina or