Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1892-03-31

Interest of the Masses Secondary
to Those Of the Few.


Tahlequah papers about, or rather
favOring the 9th article of the ne
gotiation between the Cherokee
and the U. S commissioners
The common adage is the more
you stir an old stencil the louder
il smells SO it seems to be with
this 9th article; the more you turn
it over aud the more it is scrut-
inized the more rOttenness can be
seen in it. 1t has grownnow until
the list of supposed beneiiciaries
number about three hundred;
about two hundred aud thirty of
them are hoodoud in order to keep
them quiet until the last when they
f. will themselves necessarily left
out in the cold with their visionary
claims. Men who never were
west of the Arkansas river are
claiming 80 have farms and i'm
provements there. Every one who
has been there knows about the
Improvements on the Strip. IL is
unnecessary for these fellows to
blow their norns; # the Cherokee
commission has put feather in
their cap the reading aud thinking
portion of our people will see il,
and the kick made by the "little
Ninita crowd as referred to in
late issue of the Telephone will
amount TO nothing. But oh, how
the immortal CD seventy would like
for vision of their scheme to be
confined to few around Vinita.
Well do they know the eyes of
the whole people are being opened
to their acts, and the leaders of
the scheme are all branded, they
have been watched since long before
council met two years ago. Is it
strange TO see the men who bitter
ly opposed "A sale at all two years
ago, claimoring now for the ratifca-
tion of the negotiation at less than
one-half the price they estimated it
at then. Not at all strange, when
we remember at that time the re-
suit OF the last August election was
pending. No one knew what
party would have the handling of
this important business ana the
distribution of the vast amount Of
money that would accue from it,
But how different last council; il
was well known then who would
handle the reins for the next four
years; 1t was known then whose
bogus and old rejected claims
could be paid, and who had the
creation OF new offices and the ap-
pointment OF men to fill them, and
who could claim the honor OF so
handling the administration as to
pay all the public debt aud put our
paper at par A good electiOneeriug
scheme for those in power. Just
such a one as the National party
had when Bushyhead was chief.
1he money was in the treasury
from the sale of the Cherokee lands
in Kansas; he deserved no credit,
uuless it was for paying our debt
from the sale OF land at 40 cents
per acre that was worth at least
three dollars and IL to-day worth
ten. ANY man can settle a debt
when he has an overhOwing treas
ury to draw on. Again, it reminds
US of the famous lease of those
lands few years ago TO the cattle
barOns Is 1t strange that men
stood in our council halls and eX.
l...s.sso,l vlnsUl,e- UUufend1n.-s 49,
49, - -arffaTf NOT 50 much 80
could you see the veIl lifted. Is it
strange that the Nationals are to-
day, so many of them, blinded
to the interests OF the people in
this matter? Not 50 strange when
you realize that ABOUT seventy of
their leaders and best lashers form
a part ol the immortal seventy, in
Guiding Royal Bob, II" who so Law.
ishly spent his opinion through
the columns OF the Telephone last
week. We venture to say that
four-6ith of the Cherokee peo,
pie to-day would oppose the whole
transaction from beginning to end
could they be free from the inhu.
ences THAT has always prejudiced
them against their own interests.
The iullblood Indians aud the
less informed portion Of our peo-
pie are to-day awaiting to hear the
announcement Of a payment TO
distribute the proceeds oi the sale
of those lands, while others don't
anticipate any payment at all, or
al least Tor few years, and then
but a small amount of it, Their
anticipatiOns are after every old
bogus claim is settled, every APP
preparation that can be showed
through the council, aud every de.
iunet fund replenished to over
flowing, and every outstanding
warrant redeemed-then to make |
an appropriation of the remaining
fund Just before another campaign |
opens authorizing the payment OF it |
out some siX months ahead to give |
the merchant and schemer time to |
gobble the most of it before pay
ment. Would this not be strange |
legislation? Not at all, when coun-
Gil Is filled with a lot OF men who /
We're elected on a ticket bearing /
their names, headed in black and |
white with these words, 1--WE favor |
a sale OF the Strip and paying out |
the money to the people" Did |
they make one effort for the pso-
Pile in approving the negotiations? |
II they favored paying out this
money to the people why was there
not law passed for paying this
money out to the people while they
were confirming the negotiations,
the same as there was a few years
ago in the grnss mnnrv2- Cnnncil