Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1893-09-21
GOV. HARRIS, MANIFESTO.
"Ned Buntiin" Indites a Few Lines
on that Document.


Mr.. EpIToR:-I see in your issue !
of the 14th the most remarkable
manifesto that ever emanated from
a chief OF this nation or any other
since the dawn of christian civili-
cation. Nero fired Rome and rev.
eled and danced in drunken de-
bauch while it was burning, but
Nero was a tyrant and lived in an
age in which the world was ruled
by the sword and not by law and
regular constitutional governments
established by the people. But
since the days of Nero the genius
of freedom and free institutions
have asserted the rights of tho
people and christian civilization
has dawned on the world and the
decalogue has taken the place of
the tyrant and the sword. In other
words, a government "of the peo-
pie, for the people and by the peo-
pie" is the genius of our free
American institutions. But 1t re-
mains for Governor Harris in the
blazing light of the nineteenth GEN.
tury to trample under foot the
genius of our freedom and free in
stitutions that were dedicated to
liberty and freedom for all time to
come and slight and misrepresent
the sacred right of petition and in
suit constituency that had hon
ored him with the first Office in the
gift of the people. He has forgot
ten that public officer is a public
servant and not a public master;
has shown himself to be a public
master that disregards the will of
the people and laughs at the ca
lamity of his sovereign constituents
when they command him to call
council together and recommend
such Hesitation as will give relief
to commerce and trade. He in
suits their intelligence and gives
them a stone instead of the bread
for which they ask. In his stub
born and insulting manifesto he
don't seem to comprehend what
his petitioners ask for. In his re-
ply after a months delay he
wholly misrepresents the glst and
meaning OF the petition. Now let
us quote the petition and see if we
are correct:
eve, the people of the Cherokee
nation, at the general election held
the 7th day OF August, 1893, do
hereby petition the Hon. q. j.
Harris, principal chief, to call a
special session of the national
council and to recommend such
legislation as will relieve us of our
financial distress which was
brought about by the failure of the
Cherokee nation through its repre-
sentatives to negotiate the bonds" d"
This petition was signed by
twelve hundred persons without
regard to party, race, creed or
color, and in addition to this peti.
tion and prior to it he received a
petition signed by all the mer-
chants in the Cherokee nation ask
ing for the same thing; but what
did they and the people ask fo,?
Chief Harris would have us believe
that they had petitioned him to
call council together and recon-
mend such legislation as wonld
authorize a sale of the bonds for
less than their face value and ac.
crued interest, when the fact is
they never thought of such a thing.
They knew the financial situation.
They knew that you had refused
an offer of face value and accrued
interest in the hope of obtaining a
premium. They knew you couldn't t
throw those bonds on the market
and obtain anything like their face
value. They knew that you had
let that time slip by, and now all
they could hope was that you
would recommend a division of the
bonds among the people according
to the per capita share OF each cit.
izen. That is what the petition
meant, and that is what the peti.
ton asked, although awkwardly
worded. 1t could have meant
nothing else, and every person so
understood it except Chief Harris.
That would have given the peces-
sary relief Immediately, but in his
remarkable manifesto he conveys
the impression that they are ask
ing him to recommend such legis-
lation as would authorize n sale Of
the bonds for less than their value,
when in fact they meyer thought of
such a thing. There is not one of
the whole twelve hundred petition
ers but would oppose the sale of the
bonds for less than their face value
and accrued interest. 2ut ~ q
Chief conveys the impression ..nat
this is what they are asking for.
Now sir, where is there 0 line or a
syllable that asks you to recon-
mend legislation for the sale of the
bonds for less than their face value
and accrued interest? There is
nothing of the kind in the petition
that has the remotest relation to it
and yet your whole manifesto COM
bats that idea. The chief tells us
that we already have law on the
statute books that forbids the sale
Of the bonds for less than their
face value and accrued interest.
He insults his petitioners by mis-
representing the object of the petit
tion and reveals to us the astound-
ing fact that we have chief
magistrate that don't understand
and comprehend a simple petition