Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1889-12-07

Section u of the general Indian appropriation
act approved March 2 1882 made provision for
the purchase by the United States from the Sem
mole tribe of a certain portion of their lands.
The delegates of the Seminole nation, having
first duly evinced to their power to act in that
behalf. delivered proper release and convey
ance to the United States Of all the lands mem
toned in the act, which was accepted by me and
certified to he in compliance with the statute.
BY the terms Of both the acts referred TO all the
lands SO purchased were declared to be part Of
the public domain, and open to settlement under
the homestead law. But of the lands embraced
in these purchases, being in the aggregate about
five and half million acres, three and half mil
hon acres had already, under the terms of the
treaty Of 1855, been acquired by the United States
for the purpose of settling other Indian tribes
thereon, and had been Appropriated to that plr
pose The land remaining and available for set
Element consisted of 1887 796 acres surrounded on
all sides by lands in the occupancy of Indian
tribes Congress had provided no civil govern
ment for the people who were to be invited by my
proclamation to settle upon these lands, except as
the new court which had been established at
Muscogee, or the United States courts in some Of
the adjoining states had power to enforce the
general laws of the United States
In this condition of things was quite reluctant
to open the lands to settlement. But in view Of
the fact that several thousand persons, many Of
them with their families. had gathered upon the
borders of the Indian Territory, with view to
securing homesteads on the coded lands, and thai
DELAY would involve them in much loss and suffer
ing did, on the ed day of March last, issue
proclamation declaring that the lands therein de
seribed would be open to settlement under the
provisions of the law on the 2sd day of April fol
lowing, at IL O'Clock noon Two land districts haG
been established and the offices open for the
transaction of business when the appointed time
arrived.
1t is much to the credit Of the settlers that they
very generally observed the limitation as to the
time when they might enter the territory. Cart
will be taken that those who entered in violation
of the law do not secure the advantage they un
fairly sought There was good deal of appre
hension that the strife for locations would result
In much violence and bloodshed, but happily thes.
authorizations were not realized. 1t is estimated
that there are now in the territory about 60.0N
people, and several considerable towns have
sprung up, for which temporary municipal gov
ernments have been organized Guthrie is sato Is
have now a population of almost 5000 Clever
schools and nine churches have been established
and three daily and five weekly newspapers arr
published in this city, whose charter and ordi
nances have only the sanction Of the voluntar1
acquiescence of the people from day to day
Oklahoma CITY has population of abont 6vs
thousand, and is proportionately as well provided
as Guthrie with churches, schools and newspa-
pers. Other towns and villages having popula-
tons of from one hundred to thousand are scat
tered over the territory.
In order to secure the peace of this new COM
munity, in the absence of civil government di-
rected Gen. Merritt, commanding the Department
of the Missouri, to act in conjunction with the
marshals of the United States to preserve the
peace, and upon their requisition to Use the
troops to aid them in executing warrants and in
quieting 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 restraints or regulations existed, would
endanger the public peace, and in view of the
fact that such liquors must first be introduced
into the Indian reservations before reaching the
white settlements, further directed the general
commanding to enforce the laws relating to the
introduction Of ardent spirits into the Indian
4
The presence of the troops has giveu sensS of
security to the well disposed citizens and has
tended to restrain the lawless In one instance
the officer in immediate command of the troops
went further than 1 deemed justfakle in sup
porting the de facto municipal government Of
Guthrie, and he was so informed and directed to
limit the interference of the military to the sup
port of the marshals on the lines indicated in the
original order very urgently recommend that
congress at once provide a territorial govern
may at any time lead to violent outbreaks are
awaiting the institution of courts for their peace
full adjustment. fhe American genius for self
government has been well illustrated in Okla
homa but it is neither safe wise to leave these
people longer to the expedients which have tenn
porary served them
Provision should be made for the acquisition of
title to town lots in the towns now established in
Alaska. for locating town sites and for the estab-
lishment of municipal governments Only the
mining laws have been extended to that territory
and no other form of title to lands can now be OBJ
tanned. The general land laws were framed with
reference to the disposition of agricultural lands
and it is doubtful if their operation in Alaska
would be beneficial 4
In the administration of the land laws the policy
Of facilitating, in every proper way, the adjust
ment of the honest claims of individual settlers
upon the public lands has been pursued The
number of pending cases had, during the proceed
ing administration, been greatly increased under
the operation of orders for time suspending
hnal action in large part of the cases origi
mating in the west and northwest and by the sub
sequent use of unusual methods of examination.
Only those who are familiar with the conditions
under which our agricultural lands have been set
tied can appreciate the serious and often fatal
to the settler of a policy that puts
bis title under suspicion, or delays the issuance
Of his patent While care is taken to prevent and
reason
The manifest purpose of the homestead and
preemption laws was to promote the settlement
OF the public domain by persons having bona
hide intent to make home apon the selected
lands. Where this intent has been well estab
lshed and the requirements of the law have been
complied with, the claimant is en-
titled to a prompt and friendly consideration of
his case But where there is reason to believe
that the claimant is the mere agent of another
who is seeking to evade law intended to promote
small holdings and to secure by fraudulent
methods large tracts of timber and other lands
both principal and agent should not only be
thwarted in their fraudulent purpose but shonld
be made to feel the full penalties of our criminal
statutes. The laws should be so administered as
not to confound these two classes, and to visit
penalties only upon the latter.
reference is here made to New Mexico
and Arizona land titles)
Pensions
The law now provides a pension for every soldier
and sailor who was mustered into the service of
the United States during the civil war and il now
suffering from wounds or disease having an origin
in the service and in the line of duty Two of the
three necessary facts viz, muster and disability,
are usually susceptible of easy proof; but the
third origin in the service is often difficult and
In many deserving cases impossible to establish
That very many of those who endured the hard
ships of our most bloody and arduous campaigns
are now disabled from diseases that had a real but
not traceable origin in the service do not doubt
Besides these there is another class composed
of men many of whom served an enlistment of
three full years, and of re-enlisted veterans who
added fourth year Of service, who escaped the
casualties of battle and the assaults of disease
who were always ready for any detail, who were
In every battle line of their command and we're
mustered out in sound health, and have since the
close of the war, while fighting with the same
indomitable and independent spirit the contests
uaty.
am not unaware that the pension roll already
involves larsra