Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1890-04-24
rHn BURNT oI1rLD.

When tho strip lis solditwill not
take long q fnd out what the peo-
ple want done with the money All.
mostevery person III thc Cherokee
nation has already expressed de-
cided opinion and II is unanimous
" il favor of dividing the pro.
cccds per capita among The people
Not only do they want It divided
at once bat they want it done by
representatives Of the party that
purchascs the strip They say
they do not want our government
officials rs handle the finds-it
costs tie people ton much "'fhe
burnt child fears the fire,
and in like manner The people are
afraid to let the money be paid in
TO the treasury to he disposed OF by
council And their fears are not
groundlcss. A great deal Of mon
ey has gono into the treasury and
that VAS the last Of ii, So FAR as the
people were concerned, From
1883 to 1883 The company now oc-
cupying the strip paid a rental Of
five hundred thousand dollars, and
since then three hundred thousand
dollars. One per capita payment
Of three hundred thousand dollars
has been been made and about one
hundred thousand spent in build
ing the new female seminary and
colored high school, and it is said
there is about three hundred thou
sand in the sub-treasury at St.
Louis. Where is the rest Of it ?
Some of it was loaned to the
school fund, and some spent on
extra sessions. 1t has all been
spent some way or other; but how?
That is what all wish to know.
OF course cverybo dy knows why
council spent SO much money in
extra sessions. 1t was to get the
highest price for the lease. So
far, well and good. But it is a
strange fact that so long as there
is a surplus in the treasury, ooun-
Gil always finds some reason for
holding extra sessions till the sur.
plus is about gone. Whether the
reason is good or bad, the same is
reached-that is, they spend the
surplus. Now if council should
have the disposal of the funds,
again in case Of Il sale Of the strip,
past experience tcacncs that extra
sessions and extra long ones, too,
may be expected. Councils mo-
tives for holding the sessions may
be the best in the world, but for
all that, that some motive will cost
the nation a big sumof money. The
people do not want council to be in
session so olong-it costs too much.
But councils extravaganza is not
the only reason for demanding a
direct per capita payment. In
1888 per capita payment was
made, and it cost the nation s22,-
500. At the expiration Of the
lease, the strip was leased for
three months, and it cost the ma
ton over $4,000. Some say all
this was done legally; but whether
twas legal or not, it cost the ma
ton too much, and no man should
cast his vote for an officer that is
so expensive to the country
Then, too, that recent Greek trans
action where the Greeks paid such
an enormous fee to its agent for
making a bargain that could have
been made for nothing, that has its
effect upon the Cherokee voters;
and so it is; money by the hun
dreds Of thousands Of dollars is
put into the treasury, and like wa
ter poured upon the sandy deserts,
isnever seen any more. The peo-
pie are dissatisfied with this mys-
tcrious disappearance Of the ma
tion's money and want all that
comes from the sale Of the strip
paid to them.