Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-12-13
ation OF Indians on the 10th day of January,

by the United States to about three and a
half millions of acres of land. Section II of
the general Indian appropriation act APP
proved March 9, 1889, made provision for the |
purchase by the United States from the |
Seminole tribe of certain portion of
their lands.
The delegates of the Seminole nation
having first duly evidenced to me their power |
to act in that behalf delivered a proper re-
lease and conveyance to the United States of |
all the lands mentioned in the act which was
! accented 10y me and certified TO by me in COM |
/ piance with the statute, BY the terms of !
| the acts referred to all the land as purchased |
were declared to he part of the public do
main and open to settlement,
Oklahoma.
/ did, on the 23d day of March last, issue a
proclamation declaring that the lands therein
described would be open TO settlement under
the provisions of the law ON the 22d day of
April following at II O'Clock noon. Two
land districts had been established and the
offices were open for the transaction of bust
ness when the app inted time arrived. 1t is
much to the credit of the settlers that
they very generally observed the imi-
tation as to the time when they might
enter the territory. Care will be taken
that those who entered in violation
of the law do not secure the advantage they
unfairly sought. There was a good deal of
apprehension that the strife for locations
would result in much violence and bloodshed,
but, happily, tn Sc anticipations were not
realized. III is estimated lllau Jnefe are now
in the territory about 10000 people: and sew
eral considerable towns have sprung up, for
which temporary municipal governments
have been organized. Guthrie is said to have
now population of almost 5000. Eleven
schools and nine churches have been estab-
lshed, and three daily and five weekly news
papers are published in this city, whose char
ter and ordinances have only the sanction of
the voluntary acquiescence of the people
from day to day.
la ~ m n Loft of oh
5000. and is proportionately as well provided
as Guthrie with churches, schools and news
papers. Other towns and villages hav-
ing populations from one hundred to
thousand are scattered over the territory.
In order to secure the peace of this new
community, in the absence of civil gov
eminent | directed Gen. Merritt, com
, handing the department of the Missouri,
to act IN con junction with the marshals
of the United States to preserve the peace,
and upon their suggestion to use the troops
to aid them in executing warrants and in
quoting any riots or breaches of the peace
that might occur. He was further directed
to use his influence to promote good order
and to avoid any conflicts between or with
the settlers. Believing that the introduction
/ and sale of liquors where no legal restraint
. or regulations existed would endanger the
public peace, and in view of the fact that
such liquors must first be introduced into the
, Indian reservation before reaching the white
settlement, | further directed the general
commanding TO enforce the laws relating to
; the introduction of ard mt spirits into the
, Indian country. The presence of the troops
has given a sense of security to the well dis
, posed citizens and has tended to restrain the
, lawless.
The American genius for self-government
, has been well illustrated in Oklahoma, but it
is neither safe nor wise to lesve these people
longer to the expedients which have temper
arily served them.
Administration of LAW in Alaska.
Provision should be made for the acquisi-
ton of title to town lots in the towns now
5 established in Alaska for locating town sites
2 and for the establishment Of municipal gov
ernments. Only the mining laws have been
extended to that territory, and TO other
form of title to lands can be obtained. The
) general land laws were framed with refer
ence to the disposition of agricultural lands,
, and it is doubtful if their operation in
Alaska would be beneficial.
The Public Lands.
} In the administers zion of the land laws the
7 policy of facilitating i'll every proper way the
ad justment of the honest claims of individ-
ual settlers upon the public lands has been
pursued. The number Of pending cases had
during the preceding administration, been
greatly increased under the operation of or
4 ! ders for time suspending final action in a
large part of the cases originating in the west
and northwest and by the subsequent use of
unusual methods of examination. Only those
who are familiar with the conditions under
r | which our agricultural lands haze been set
I tied can appreciate the serious and often fatal
5 consequences to the settler of policy that
f puts his title under suspicion or de
t lays the issuance of his patent. While
' care is taken to prevent and to
: expose fraud, it should not he i'm
t puted without reason. The manifest
purpose of the homestead and pre-emp-
d ton laws was to promote the settlement
of the public domain by persons having a
/ bona fide intent to make Il home upon the
. selected lands. Where the intent is well es-
: tablished and the requirements of the law
= have been substantially complied with the
S claimant is entitled to the prompt and
r friendly consideration of his case. But
f where there is reason to believe that the
IS claimant is the mere agent of another who
v is seeking to evade "a law intended to pro-
n mote small holdings and to secure by fraud
Q ulent methods large tracts of timber and
V other lands, both principal and agent should
g no. only be thwarted in their fraudulent
q purpose but should be made to feel the full
o penalties of our criminal statutes. The laws
o should be SO administered as not to confound
these two classes and to visit penalties only
v upon the latter.
d The Pension Law.
!, The law now provides pension for
y every soldier and sailor who was mustered
! into the service of the United States during
= the civil war aud is now suffering from
= wounds or disease having an origin in the
u service and in the line of duty. Two of the
. three necessary facts, viz: muster and disa-
bility, are usually susceptible of easy proof
=, but the third, origin in the service, is often
q difficult and in many deserving cases, i'm
u possible to establish. That very many of
. those who endured the hardships of our most
> bloody and arduous campaigns are now dis
;, abled from diseases that had real, but not
q traceable, origin in the service, | do not
II doubt Besides these there is another class
composed OF men, many of whom served an
&c enlistment of three full years, and of re-
= enlisted veterans who added fourth year
u of service, who escaped the casualties of bat
=, tie and the assaults of disease, who
u were always ready for any detail,
g who were in every battle line of
. their command and were mustered out
. in sound health and have since the close of
, the war, while fighting with the same indom-
', liable and independent spirit the contests OF
~ civil life, been overcome by disease casual
!, ty am not unaware that the pension roll
u already involves very large annual expen-
= diture; neither am l deferred by that fact
u from recommending that congress grant a
20 blxr nhar al