The Van Buren press., 1893-02-04

W. uHU III y FcCcnt CVpS W wv
Kansas City, MO- Times an inter,
view with Colonel Peel. An ADLER
and more clear headed man on the
Indian affairs of the country Is
not in the House. And it is un-
fortunate for the people interested
in the opening of the Indian Reser-
vations of the West on our border,
that he shonld have been super.
ceeded at this time.
This il what the Kansas City
Times ssys:
Representative Peel Of Arkan-
sas, chairman Of the house com.
mittee on Indian affairs, hardly
needs an. Introduction. He has
ever been first and most vigorous
in pushing civilization toward the
west. The southern west this ceh-
fury and the succeeding one will
scarce find time or ability to pay
the heavy debt It ows to Peel Of
Arkansas. The legislation he has
framed aud fostered through con.
gross to the throwing down of the
legal barriers to the settlement Of
our western wastes, has founded
more homes, created more farms,
than ever before found their places
on the map through the energy of
q single man. Peelis one ofth0se
very few members of congress who
seems to have had . purpose and
Q mission in his coming. How well
he has fulfilled these, let Oklahoma
with its cities and towns aud farms;
its churches, it's school houses, it's
agriculture and its commerce, and
it's LOG, 900 citizens, which the wis
dom Ofbis measures wrought from
the hard wilderness itself. be at
once the proof and the monument.
The present bill, which provides
for the opening Of the Cherokee
outlet, is the draft Of Peel and was
reported by him as chairman of
his committee to the house for ac-
ton. This bill is known as the
"Peel bill, y and is now in his charge
for passage. Naturally, by virtue
and by rank alike, his opinion
should be asked at this time.
"There is nothing" said Mr.. Peel,
In response to The Times mans
question, sin which ! have been
more interested, or which has CIV
en- me more hard work aud trouble
than this question ofthe Cherokee
opening. Everybody agrees that
IT seems to them a good thing. We
need this land. We need it to raise
corn aud wheat aud potatoes and
hay; we need il to Craze cattle on,
need 1t to build towns and cities
upon, need it, in fact, just as we
need all the other arabic lands
within the confines 0fthe country.
1t is not good policy-it is not
good government policy, to main
tain great bodies Of land in a state
of desert like inactivity. There is
no more sense from Q government
standpoint in keeping . body Of
land idle. than Of keeping . body
of men idle. Everybody lie ready
to admit that the sooner we get
plows aud harrows and reapers
and threshing machines ut work
in the Cherokee outlet the better
for all concerned, whites and In.
dams alike,
ut would therefore seem that
with this general public admission
Of the propriety of the Cherokee
opening there ought TO be very
little trouble about it. Neverthe-
less there has been great deal
OF trial and tribulation. In the firsi
place the Indians did not want to
give up the land. They knew they
would finally have to give it up, but
they wanted more money, and they
thought that by hanging ON they
could get a fat price; so when the
first Offers OF the government al.
lowed the &1.25 an acre the Chero.
KEGS acted like lot Ofhorse trad
ers, put on airs and generally con.
Quoted themselves like people who
never intended to part with the
land at all.
'They were put up to a good
deal Of this by the cattlemen. The
cattlemen were renting the strip
for song and making . good thing
in beef and money out OF it. Nat.
urally they were not In favor of
strip settlement and strip occupa-
ton. The longer they could keep
It In Cherokee hands the better.
So, one way and another, bv Offer
ing big money themselves for the
land and in other ways they kept
the Indians on the wrong side of
the idea of selling the strip to the
Unvarn m ant for anna f,mo Wo