The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-06-24
THE CHEROKEE STRIP.
Salient Features of the New Bill OPENING
the Land to Settlement.

salienS edtureS OF the New BIZ OpenlnS
the Land to Settlement. -
WASHINGTON, June 14-The bin open
ing the Cherokee strip to settlement,
which the committee on Indian affairs
reported favorably to the house yester-
day, differs very much from Chairman
Peels bill, which he first introduced.
Concerning it, Mr.. Peel said to cor
respondent:
The committee suggested report
just such a bill as 1 thought best, and
when l gave the matter attention
made many changes and backed it with
report which am proud Of have
blocked all sooners, land grabbers,
town lot grabbers, claim jumpers and
have made it possible for an honest.
homeseeker to get home without be-
ing disturbed by this class of individ-
ualS No person can take claim who
has ever taken claim any place else,
unless he lost such claim by contest
''The president is required to give
thirty days notice before opening to
settlement, and any one going on the
land before the date fixed not only for
feits all right, but is subject to fine and
imprisonment, and government officials
are prohibited from locating ON land.
Any one attempting to take land who.
is not legally entitled to is subject to
fine and Imprisonment.
at is opened to homestead settlers
only, and they are allowed to make pay
ment of one-half at the end of the see
ond year and one-half at the end of the
fourth year. The east one-third is sold
to the settlers for $3.50 per acre; the
middle third, S1.5o per acre, and the
west third, 81 per acre. This is to re-
iInburse the government for money
paid the Indians.
The bill provides that before the
country is opened to settlement the
president shall appoint a commission to
locate all county seats, survey all towns
into lots and blocks and appraise the
same. When the country is opened to
settlement these lots are sold to the
highest bidders at public auction. The
proceeds are turned over to the county
treasurer in the respective counties to
be placed in the school fund"
The bill has nothing to say about
creating new land offices, and Mr.. Peel
expressed the opinion that the business,
could be done at Guthrie and King
fisher. The bill will now go upon the
house calendar and be called up posi-
bly, within month.
Mr.. Peel leaves in few days for Ar
kansas to look after political matters
and says he is assured by the commit
tee on rules that he viii be given time
as soon as he returns for the considera-
ton OF the bill. While in Arkansas
few weeks ago looking after a renoln-
nation he found a strong feeling in
favor Of opening the strip to settlement.
This caused him to take the matter up
and place it before the house. He says
1t viii pass the house with little OppOsi-
ton and meet with practically no oppo-
sition in the senate. -ss
The Indians and whites living in the
country covered by the Quapaw agency
do not want the bill 70 pass which opens
their country to settlement and at
taehes it to Oklahoma as q county. j.
=. McNaughton, of the Peoria country,
arrived to-day with petitions from citi-
zels there requesting that the country,
when opened, be annexed to Kansas-or
Missouri, but not to Oklahoma The
petitions viii be presented to the COM
mittee having the bill Under considera-
ton, and McNaughtOn viii 20 before the
committee in behalf of these opposing
this feature of the bill.