Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-10-04
Startling Discoveries Regarding the
Cherokee Strip Settlement.
HOW TEE FACTS BECAME KNOWN
Lots Wrongly Supposed to Be the
Governments
KEPT FROM THE SETTLERS
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.


the Cherokee strip that many frauds had
been practiced by government agents and
others, but no one dreamed of the sys-
tematic manner in which "sooners'' and
others connived to defraud the honest home
steaders and settlers. Every day these
frauds are being brought to light, and evi-
dence is accommodating to demonstrate to
| the authorities at Washington the injustice
| of the methods adopted for opening large
tracts Of land to settlement.
When on the 10Th day of last September
the signal was given at II o'clock to the
| multitude waiting along the border of the
| promised land. it was intended that none
| but bona fide settlers should be permitted
| to acquire title to the lands, and that all
| should be given equal chances in the great
| race.
At the time II was known that frauds
were being perpetrated, but no one realized
| how extensive they were,no how carefully
| they had been prearranged with the knowl-
| edge and consent Of the officers, whom the
government had sent from Washington for
| the express purpose Of preventing IMPOSE
| tions upon honest homeseekers.
After the first excitement of the opening
had passed away complaints of fraud began
| to pour into the authorities at Washing
| ton, and with such persistence that the In
| terror Department was finally compelled to
| take cognizance of them. The department
sent Col. L. L. Poe of Arkansas, a special
| agent. to investigate the frauds. He has
| now been at work several months. and has
| already unearthed enough Irregularities to
| keep him busy for years. Col. Poe has
| srent several weeks In Wichita. where he
| went to investigate the charges against
| VIM. Morey, jr.. young surveyor. who
| was one of a party sent by the Interior
Department to survey the town site of
| Perry, prior to the opening. 1t was his for
tune to be assigned to the duty of establish
ing the metes and bounds of the streets.
| alleys and parks of the future metropolis
of the strip.
| MOrey's Schemes.
Morey. as the story goes. was well up in
his profession, and did his work well. but,
as the sequel shows. he had an eye to the
main chance, and while taking one look at
the interests of the government he took
| two at his own.
When ne started for the strip it had been
| decided by the department that two blocks
| in the business center of the city should
| be reserved by the government. upon which
| the principal business streets should face.
| but after his plan had been widely adver-
tised, II was concluded that one block would
| be sufficient. The surveyor, Morey, was
| notified of this change promptly, but the
| department did not deem IL of sufficient i'm
| portance to give notice to the public. So
| the thrifty engineer found himself in pos
| session of some valuable information.
| which he determined to turn to his own
| advantage.
| Immediately upon the completion of the
| survey of the town site, he returned to
| Wichita, where, with accurate map of
| the location he established himself in rooms
| at the Leading hotel and sent word to the
| spectators waiting there for the opening
| day that he had some valuable informant
| to sell. OF course. he did not advertise
his business In the newspapers but it was
| only day or two after his arrival when
| he became very popular. and his room was
| visited frequently by a number of town.
| site boomers. who were known to be in
Inf
| advantage to them on the opening day. 1t
| was rumored that Morey was engaged in
| selling tips on the advantageous locations
in the town of Perry. but as there were
| many exciting things occurring at that time
| little attention was paid to him.
Two months after the opening a suit was
| filed in a justice court at Wichita, in which
| VIM. A. Morey, jr. appeared as plaintiff
| ant. the amount involved being 500. The
| suit was instituted by f. B. Northrup for
| Morey, and a firm of local attorneys was
| employed by him to prosecute the case.
The issues involved were recited in full in
tie complaint, and in brief were as fol-
lows:
MOrey Ovcrreached.
| When the government decided on having
| only one block in the town site reserved
| Morey, 1t seems, conceived the idea. that as
| the public generally was of the impression
| that two blocks would be reserved, a little
speculation could be INDUCED in. He ap-
preached Jackson. and, after stating the
| facts to him, said that for 800 he would
| guarantee him certain lot on the block
| supposed to be reserved, and that he would
not require him to pay cent until he was
| located. jackson agreed to the proposition.
| and paid Morey $40 for providing him a
| certificate of registration, emitting him to
| make the race The day of the opening
finally arrived. and the rush took place.
AS Mr.. Morey predicted. no one except
those he had let into the secret thought
the block was open to settlement and
| there was no attempt made to take pos
session of it save by those to whom he had
sold the information. This little Land of
| schemers pretended that they had arrived
| too late to get a desirable lot and that
| they had camped on the public square tenn
porarily until such time as the govern
| ment should request them to get off. 1t
| was several days before the official an
| nouncement was made that the block, then
| conceded to be the most valuable in the
| city, had not been Reserved, but that it
| belonged to the people who had been &C.
| cupying 1t. Mr.. Jackson had his tent
| pitched and was congrdtuating himself on
| having come into possession of such valua-
| BILE property, when ne found to his surprise
that he had located in an alley. AS he was
| not on the lot !tself he could not claim
| 1T, and, having failed to secure it, he re-
fused to pay Morey the 500 as agreed.
| The suit was never tried, for as soon as
| Morey found that his agent had filed it he
| instructed him to withdraw it, claiming
| that he mad never ordered Ii brought. Col
| Poe in his Investigations at Perry learned
| of Morey's transactions. and hearing of
| the suit that had been filed there went to
| Wichita and procured affidavit from
| Northrup that Morey had authorized him
| to file the suit, which was withdrawn be-
| fore it ever came to trial. Col. Foe re-
| ported these facts to the Interior Depart
| ment
| Other Land Frauds.
| 1t is a fact we'll known that on the day
| of the opening the swiftest racers from
| the southern border of the Cherokee strip
| found the choicest lots On the town site
of Perry occupied on their arrival, not
withstanding the fact that a company of
| soldiers was stationed here for the ex-
press purpose of keeping "sooners'' off the
| town site and preventing fraud.
| The majority of these "sooners' were
| from Guthrie, and il has since been charged
| that they gained their advantage with the
| land office officials and the army officers.
| At first these allegations could not be sub
stantiated, but after several months of
! hard work Col. Poe has succeeded in col
| lecting sufficient evidence to connect
| number of men in high positions with the
| frauds, and a sensational exposure is ex-
pected at almost any line.
| These frauds are not confined to the