Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1890-01-29
thereto. This act confirming the treaty
with the Indians was approved March

| with the Indians was approved March
/. 1889.
The act providing for the opening of
the territory to settlement was approved
March 2, 1889. one sday later. In this
| act there is provision of this kind. that
any person entering upon and occupying
said lands before they are opened for set
tlement by proclamation of the presi-
dent shall forfeit all right to ever acquire
title thereto. Now we were watching
this legislation closely, and when in the
act opening the lands to settlement, or
providing therefor, added the word oc-
cupy to enter upon, we said at
once: That allows us to enter
the territory but not to locate
our claims until after II o'clock. 1t
means this if it means anything, and it
IS plainly manifest that the congressman
who drafted the law so understood it.
The exact language used in the act con-
firmlng the treaty which was ap-
proved March l, read thus: 'Any person
who may enter upon any part of said
lands in said agreement mentioned prior
to the time that the same are opened to
settlement by act of congress Shall not
be permitted to occupy or make entry of
IL
we entered upon any part of said lands
we were not to be allowed to occupy
them or enter them as homesteads ac-
cordIng to the first act, and according to
the second act, approved a day later, if
we entered upon and occupied the lands
before the time fixed by the proclama-
ton we are not to be permitted to &C
qufre title thereto. When we were for
hidden to enter upon any part of said
land we knew what it meant and kept
out, but when the act was passed au-
thorizlng the opening of the land to set
Element and the word occupy" was
added we went to Webster's unabridged
dictionary to see what occupy meant,
Webster's defines accupy to mean: % To
seize or take, to take possession. The
person who first occupies land which
has no owner has the right of property.
~ 10 keep IN possession, to hold or keep
for use.
This settled the question with me that
the legislators meant to allow us to
enter the territory but not to take poses
sion OF our homes until after the time
fixed by proclamation 0 the president,
If this is not true understanding of the
terms used then Webster is at fault, and
the English language is failure.
The Guthrie officials in rendering
their decision in the White Blanchard
Cook contest admit this indirectly. They
say that it is not probable that so large
a body would make SO radical change
Of policy IN SO short time | submit
that it is not for the officials of the land
office at Guthrie or any where else to
say whether it was or is probable or not
that the congress of the United States
changed its policy in regard to this mat
ter. They as well as the rest of us are
bound by common reason, common
sense and the rules of understanding to
accept what our Legislators say as an ex-
preston of what they mean The |
language of the legislators expressed in |
the proclamation of the president per-
mitted us to enter upon but not to |
occupy the lands before the hour of II |
clock noon on the 22d of April, 1889. |
We have acted in good faith and in |
accordance with the plain letter of the |
aw, with no strained construction
If the same. We have spent |
Ill our means in improving |
our homes; have worked hard from |
he time we entered the territory in pre-
Barring our land and our homes for future |
comfort and profit. Now shall we be
iriven off pennyless and our homes and
be given to thieves, land
srabbers and skullions of every grade |
who are here in abundance, watching
ike vultures ready at any moment to
Dounce upon the innocent victims of
houghtless and improper legislation?
But the most shameful part OF the Per-
lins bill is the third provision of section
hlee, which provides that any person
Who was lawfully in the territory before
he day fixed by the presidents proclaim
ltion for entering said territory and dur
ng such time selected lot or lots. which
he after the time fixed filed his claim
hall obtain no title thereto. nor shall the
ssignee or vender of such wrongdoer
ecure title by purchase or assignment
herefrom. Now it appears that the
bove provision bars any persons
Who was ever in this territory and
elected place where they would, if
hey could get it, make a future home.
What is the object of such legislation?
S there any sense in it? All this clamor
nd howl about sooners comes from
,ersons who where to slow to get there,
nd others who haden't sufficient cour-
ge OF knowledge TO find and take pos
ession of what they wanted. They
lave nobody to blame but themselves.
:'SOONER.'