The Portland daily press., 1893-12-26

Menace to All the Country Round,
Robberies Being Planned and the
Perpetrators Finding Shelter There -
Young Indians Incited to Lawlessness
Tho Governor Wants Uncle Sam to
Take Control.
Memphis, Tenn, December 25.-Gov-
ernor Fishback Of Arkansas has ad-
dressed the following open letter to
President Cleveland: ''The develop
ments incident to the recent train
robbery and murder at Oliphant, in this
state, render it proper. it seems to. me-
that should call your attention to the
dangerous relation the Indian Territory
west of the United States occupies to the
states of the Union, especially the adja-
cent states of Arkansas, Kansas and
Texas and Oklahoma territory. Upon
the person of one of the captured robbers
was found map of the route they had
taken from Indian Territory, 175 miles
map of the country around Chattanooga,
Tenn, showing that another robbery
was contemplated at or near that city.
1t appears that the captured leaders are
noted characters in the business and
have inveigled some very respectable
citizens along the border into this rob-
berry. have good reason to suspect that
very large per centage of the bank and
train robberies which take place west of
the Alleghanies and east of the Rocky
Mountains, are organized or originate in
Indian Territory. Let me add that the
refuge which this sparsely settled rem
devious of outlaws affords to criminals
is constant temptation to crime in all
the country around. During the past
12 months there have been issued from
Arkansas, Texas and Kansas and Okla
homa Territory, sixty-one acquisitions
upon the Indian Territory authorities for
fugitives, while we have reason to be-
lieve that as many more are hiding
among their comrades in crime in this
asylum of criminals.
''These criminals who find refuge in
this territory are rapidly converting the
Indian cauntry into school of crime.
They are demoralizing the Indians and
are especially stirring up the young In
dians to deeds of blood and theft
Young Henry Starr, for example, al
though less than 81 years of age, and of
fine capacities, has been charged with
almost every crime in the catalogue, and
is now under sentence of death for muir
der. The records of the federal courts
of Paris and Fort Smith tell a startling
story in this direction. Yet they do not
tell one tenth of the whole story. Prior
to the late civil war resided in the city
of Fort Smith, on the border of this ter
ritory. The merchants did half mil
lion dollars worth of business in that
country every year and their clerks
all o1v ,sO1s
elling openly and known to have large
sums of money with them Nobody was
ever molested and travel was safer than
in these days.
According to the estimates of one of
the newspapers published a year or two
since, in Muskogee, the number of MUIR
ders had reached the appalling figure of
200 in year that were not cognizable in
the Federal courts. The Federal Jail at
Fort Smith is at all times nearly full of
prisoners from this territory, and the
Federal court holds sessions continuing
through nearly every month of the year.
This state of semi-chaos and farce of
government which exists in this territory
rendering it a constant menace to the
peace and order of the states of the Mis-
sippi valley, suggest very serious ques-
ton as to whether the time has not az
rived for the Federal government to as
sert its right of eminent domain over
that part of the national domain and
change its political relations with the
United States. can think of no valid
reason upon which to base the opinion
that the Indians rights of person or
property are any more sacred than those
of the white man which it is conceded
must give way to the public good. In
this case. not only the public good but
the public safety, as well as the highest
interest of the Indian, himself, demand
the suggested change"