Los Angeles daily herald., 1890-02-19
NATIONAL CAPITAL.
The House Discusses the
Oklahoma Bill.
OTHER LEGISLATIVE MATTERS.
The ExtraditiOn Treaty With Great
Britain Ratified by the
Senate.

Associated Press Dispatches to THE HERALD
WASHINGTON, February 18.-In th'
House today. Morrow, of California
from the appropriation committee, re
ported the pension appropriation bill
Referred to the committee of the whole
The Speaker laid before the House {
message from the President, ira nsmit
ting, without comment, a communica
ton from the Interior Department pro
posing an amendment of the act provid
ing for the allotment of lands in severalty
to Indians.
The Senate bill providing for the ap
pointment OF an Assistant Secretary o.
War was laid before the House. As it il
substantially the same as the House bill
already favorably reported from the mil.
itary committee, the Speaker held that
it was, under the rules, entitled to i'm.
mediate consideration, so the House
went into committee of the whole there
on. Discussion was continued until hall
past o'clock. when the committee rose
without action and the House resumed
consideration of the bill to provide a
temporary government for Oklahoma.
The general debate was limited to
three and one-half hours, despite the
appeal of Barnes and others for five
hours time, and in retaliation for its
enforced Limitation, they called for the
reading of the original bill and the
House substitute, together making fifty
nine printed pages. One hour and
twenty minutes was consumed in read.
ing, and it was after O'Clock before
Struhle, of Iowa, took the floor in sup.
port of the bill. He criticised the Sen.
ate bill because it failed to include all
the Creek and Seminole lands pur.
chased under the last administration
The House bill embraced all Of the terri
tory not occupied by the five civilized
tribes. This tract, in area, compared
favorably with the surrounding States.
1t was in the heart of a country we'll
watered, with 1900 miles of railroads,
with business enterprises, coal lands,
agricultural industries and population
of $4,000 people. The House bill pro-
posed to organizs it into Territory. The
first part of the bill related to Territorial
Offices and was similar in that to the
Senate bill. For convenience six coun-
ties were to be established. Provisions
were to be made for the establishment of
Supreme Court and courts for the trial
of cases. National banks could be
established. No Mans Land was to be
opened to settlement, and town sites to
be reserved. A section of the bill pro-
vided for the speedy settlement of the
controversy between the United States
and the State of Texas respecting the
ownership of Greer county. What
might be called second division of the
bill related solely to Indian Territory
exclusive of Oklahoma, and created a
Supreme Court and three District
Courts to administer the law o1
Arkansas 80 FAR as applicable to that
Territory.
Ba-nes advocated the Senate bill in
preference to the House substitute.
Springer said Barnes unintentionally
tried to misrepresent the scope of the
bill. Under the treaties the United
States had as much right to legisste
respecting the lands of the Cherokee
Outlet as it had to legislate on any sub
ject.
Hare had read, as part of his remarks
q protest from Governor Bird, of the
Choctaw Nation, against the passage o
the bill as violation of the treaty made
at Dancing Water in 1880.
Msnsur and Perkins both insisted tha
they had had communications from Gov
ernor Bird asking to have courts estab
lished at certain points.
The committee rose before the debate
had concluded, and the House adjourned