Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1891-11-12

zen. Opeecnes were maue on DOtn
sides, Sargeah and Wolf support
ing Keys, and Buagh, and Butiing-
ton. of Flint, for Harris. Just why
! cannot say, but the president
ignored Keys objections, and on
motion Of one of his henchmen,
put the question, and Harris by a
strict party vote was elected. The
facts are, am informed, that Har-
ris is only an adopted citizen, hav
ing been born a citizen of the
United States, in Georgia, and
adopted by the national council
some fifteen or more years ago.
II is said that Hon. ]. A. Scales,
late chief justice of the supreme
court who is now basking in the
sunshine of executive benificece
and earning his four dollars a day
as law officer of the crown, gives it
as his opinson that Harris is elig-
ible. Tb9 judge ought to know;
he is one of the three men that
made the law and if he does not,
who does2 If blood is the SUI
preme test as was argued by SEN
ator Baugh and accepted by the
majority, what could be objected
to scores of negro freedmen who
are of unquestioned Indian (Cher-
okee) blood now in this nation,
who were born slaves and after
wards adopted aud made citizens,
as was Mr.. Harris ?
In the morning of the day fol-
lowing the election and at the
closing of the reading of the min
utes of the day before, Mr.. Baugh
offered to correct the journal by
striking out all that part of the
record that made mention of Mr..
Keys objection to Harris. He
and others siding with him offered
several what they called reasons
for so doing. 1t would be no cred
it to the senator or senate to write
them here. The president, des-
pite the protest, put the question
and ten OF the eleven Mayes men
voted for Baugh's motion. One
man alone of the party had the
courage to stand by his conscience
and that was Burlington of Flint
he voted no.
The new justice, Mr.John Wick.
life, is what is called full blood,
in that he is a Cherokee straight
and uses only the Cherokee Ian
guage in his intercourse with the
world. Whether he can talk any
English l am unable to say. Be.
yond what he may have learned
from the new testament and hymn
books and the Cherokee part oi
the Advocate and the code, he is nc
scholar. Iadeed it looks as if we
had reached that point where we
do not need scholars. Mr.. Wick
life is no doubt a very good man
but Just what he will do with the
intricate questions of law thai
must necessarily be brought before
him, when he can't inform himself
with a whole library before him,
simply because he is ignorant of
the language in which it is written,
am unable to see. He may do
like some OF the senators-borrow
an occasional point, as will be
seen by the following pointer
picked pp in the senate chamber
Immediately after the vote was
taken on Baugh's motion to in-cor
rect the record The debate was
little warm and the opposition
were having the best of the argu-
ment when a Jealous Harris man
and an official of the senate
undertook to post one Of the sena
tors. MAKE this point, that
nothing but motions to be acted
on are to be recorded in the jour
nal and there was no motion al
part of the procedure"
With three or four exceptions
the senators are without expert
ence. Fargo has been in th'
house but is no speaker; Wolf
Sanders and Greece, o.the Nation
ais, have all been on the floor o
the senate as members before ant
have about all the knowledge o
precedents and usages there is in
the chamber.
The allotment idea either eas
or west does not seem to taxi
among the fullblood Indians and i
is going to be no little job to eve
get them to see it that way. ant
politicians are afraid to offer 1
word in explanation Of the plan.
don't believe there will for th'
present be any steps taken by th'
administration to sell, allot or dc
anything else with the Strip. W.
have the promise Of the Cherokee
commission and the senate sub
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