Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1895-11-28


ination should be made. 1t is a
notorious fact that all other officers
OF the Cherokee government, even
including the chief, are paid in
warrants, that under the present
state of the treasury are at ruin
GUS discount, when the members of
council are paid in cash. Prob
ably the hardest worked officer
and also the poorest paid one in
the whole nation is the district
sheriff. He earns his salary by
riding over the country attending
10 his duties in all sorts of weather
and gets his meager salary in de-
preciated warrant at the end of
the quarter. The chiefs position
on this matter, Notwithstanding
the bill passed over his veto, will
be endorsed by the people at large,
for there can he no question but
what it was right in principle.
One of the reasons why the veto
was not sustained was because so
many members were interested in
getting their pay, having been al
SO members of the last council.
***
The most exciting debate that
has yet occurred this session took
place in the senate chamber last
Friday afternoon. The occasion
was the consideration of Senator
Gritts' bill abolishing the permit
law. Senators Gritts, Hendricks,
Smith and Roach Young spoke in
favor of the measure, and Senators
Faulkner, Davis and Rogers op-
posed 1t. The full-bloods fought
for their bill to do away with the
permit law entirely with great
courage and ability. 1t was clear
ly test of strength, and it looked
awhile as though the permit bill
would have to go. Senator Bill
Rogers, of Cooweescooowee, said
in the course of his remarks that
he was a farmer, running a farm
with white permitted labor, and if
he was denied the privilege Of hir-
ing non-citizen labor that his farm
along with those of his neighbor's
would grow up in weeds. He said
further that he could not hope to
obtain Indian labor, as there were
no Indians to speak of In his sec
ton. Sam Smith said that his sole
and only desire was to do the best
for his people that he could, and
that he believed the only hope of
the Cherokees lay in the exclusion
of white labor from the country, so
lis children and his grand child
ren could get homes.
***
The fullblood element in this
country are getting farther and far
ther away in their sentiments and
wishes and desires from the bal
ance of the citizens of this nation.
This observation is made regret
fully, out it is certainly true. In
the senate the fullbloods are repre-
sented by the very best talent they
have and they are making the
grandest fight of their lives for the
natives and for their kind of people,
making it honestly and as none but
an Indian could see it. 1t is no
longer a question that what is good
for the white man and the mixed
blood is bad for the fullblood.
Their interests can never be in
common /; it is impossible their
cases are not parallel. The full
blood Cherokee's dream is to con-
tinue an Indian nation for all time
to come and they will never con-
sent to anything else. They want
the whites all removed from the
country; and who could blame
them? They want to repeal the
permit law and if they were strong
enough they would certainly do it.
A few days ago in discussing the
direful influences of doing away
with white permitted labor Sena =
tor Rogers said that his farm would
grow up in weeds and grass if he
were not allowed to hire white
men. A fullblood senator answer
ed by saying that is just what we
want" The fullblood idea is to
turn all the land out for future
generations except a very small
tract for each family. The real
Indians in the Cherokee nation
are not monopolists in any sense
of the word. They are not occu-
pying large tracts of land, neither
are they crowding each other in
their small holdings.
The fullbloods' dream is to cut
down the wire fences, to drive out
the vast herds of cattle, to see the
great wheat farms of Cooweescoo-
wee and Delaware run wild and
again see the sunf1ower and native
grass nod in the wind, to hear the
howl of the coyote-in short to