The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-11-25
THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA
Governor George W. Steele on the situation
in Oklahoma---The Plan for Becoming
State.

Governor George W. Steele, wife and
daughter Meta, and MI. and Mrs. f. r.
Cannon of Guthrie, reached Wichita on
Sunday and leave this morning on their
return trip. They were shown the city
yesterday by some of the prominent citi-
zens and expressed themselves as greatly
surprised and very much pleased
Governor Steele passed through the city
! in '6S and be had remembered Wichita as
consisting OF few cattle pens and broad
prairie. He had passed through the city
by night few times since assuming his
( official duties in Oklahoma, so he had
little personal information concerning
Wichita added to his impressions of '6S.
Last evening the governor expressed him
self as greatly surprised to find so much of
city here and one thing that assisted
in abreviating the hours of yesterday
was the fact that he found 50 many
of his old time Indiana friends here He
could scarcely go half block in any di-
rection, but he would meet some one
whom he knew calling for moments re-
Election upon the happy days of the past
This fact may be in measure explained
by the wonderful power of the governor
himself to remember names and faces He
represented in congress for eight years the
Eleventh district of Indiana and it is said
of him on exceptionally good authority,
that he knew every man in his district
well enough to call both ends of his name
with precision and ease. And it was no
ticed yesterday that no one he met whom
he had ever known was so far away from
him that he could not call his name at the
hand shaking
When Governor Steele received his APP
polntmeDt he was president of a national
bank at Marion and he was made governor
of Oklahoma without any solicitation on
his part. He was a warm and earnest
friend Of President Harrison and had been
for many years in personal and
political matters in Indiana. and his western
life of five years in the regular army had
prepared him TO do the work assigned in
Oklahoma, imparting to his general make
up some of the qualities of the metal his
name suggests.
Since the football game with the capital
question temporarily has ended, the lead
ing matter that concerns the Oklahoma
people Is how o get to be a state. Under
the present conditions Governor Steele |
suggests a receipt for quick results, that |
proposes for the legislature to pass an act |
empowering she governor to appoint mem !
bers of constitutional convention sub !
ject to the confirmation of the legislature. /
The delegates to enact in convention and 1
form constitution Knock at the doors /
of congress for admittance as state. Let |
congress put on such provisions as it |
might deem best and if the people of Ok. !
lahoma accepted the same the presidents |
would end the work of add
ing another state.
The governor suggests that the state of
Oklahoma take in all the Indian territory
excepting the Five civilized tribes, and in
order to meet the expense organizing into
a state congress should pass an enabling
act, allowing certain lands to provide
various state funds, following the plan
adopted for Wyoming and other western
states. And it is hoped that the enabling
act" will set apart some of the valuable
lands which Will protect the bill from the
of being misnomer.
The governor thought the statement of
a certain Kansas judge to the effect Okla
homa fails to have over q, 900 is entirely at
fault when the census shows 602l7 and at the
same time the census failing to show COM
Dlete returns by reason of the fact that the
work was done hurredly and some of the
,parsely settled districts very imperfectly
worked Should the adjoining lands be
opened to settlement it would not be one
year before the population would be over
, 0OJ0 and this in fact would be con-
,idered a very low estimate.