Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1897-10-07
THE CREEK AGREEMENT.
THE DOCUMENT CAREFULLY CON.
SIDERED.
LoOp-hOles for Speculation Pointed
Out by Correspondent-NO Protec-
tion From the Railroad Grant.


possible for carrying out the town
site speculation, and it also guards
nicely the railroad grant. 1t is
amazingly curious that, in a docu-
ment OF such gravity, there should
be found so little to reflect credit
upon the common, sense and pat
riotism of the one, and the chris
tian cand n of the other, OF the two
contracting parties.
To begin with, this townsite
business, from beginning to end, is
a gigantic steal; and if it is not
that, it is downright robbery. 1t
has a bad origin. Its lineage is
very short; it was never heard OF
in this country until just a few
years ago when capital, under the
inspiration of greed, mounted the
saddle and began war of plunder
upon poverty and honest labor;
when trusts, combines. corners,
and corporations hit upon the
happy idea of making slaves of all
poor people, and rope in the civil
government as a useful adjunct
in the execution OF their diabolical
scheme.
Cities and towns, il eras of hon.
esty and freedom, found them
selves. There is no city or town
in the United States, over ten
years of age, but came into exist
ence just in this way. 1t is no
part of the function of civil govern
ment TO hunt up sites and build
cities for the people to live III.
Cities are the results of commerce
and population. In the days of
the Herods, Alexander the Great
and the Caesars. when the people
were all slaves, when population
and the currents of commerce were
all manipulated to suit the caprice
of the monarch, then 1t was that
cities were located and built and
named by the government. A re-
turn to this kind of administration
in the afternoon of the nineteenth
century indicates incipient disease
in our glorious true liberty; some
thing rotten somewhere.
If the government Of the United
States deems it expedient to lay
off her own soil in town sites and
60 into building cities on specula-
tion, there is no reasonable cause
for invidious criticism; for the cap
ital she proposes TO use is all her
own; she has a right to do what
she pleases with it. But that she
should require such thing to be
done here among these Indians,
where the land taken for the pur-
pose belongs to the poor people of
the country, is an invasion of prl-
vate rights too hagrant to have the
endorsement CT any sound mind.
A townsite commission is to be
appointed to select the ground and
lay of the foundations of the cities
The precaution to be taken in or
der to secure an honest commits
sioner on part of the nation, is
truly laughable. He has to be a
man "who is not interested in
town property, other than his
home;;" just as though a man with
one house in town, when seated in
his place on the commission,
would not have just as great
temptation and just as great an op
portunity and motive for being
dishonest, As the man who has Il
dozen houses. The other member
of the commission is to be ian Of
ficer of the United States;" that is
all. Just as though official posi-
tion is reliable guarantee against
crookedness in dealing with and
among Indians. We had lately
some experience in that direction
in the case of one Mr.. Dixon out
here. There are no pains and
penalties whatever provided for
the purpose of securing straight
conduct on part of these commits
sioners.
But there is one good thing
about it; there is check provided
which limits the discretion of these
commissioners as to the actual
amount of land they are to set
apart for town sites.
l. No site is to contain more
than four square miles; very well.
And, If they please, they need not
make any of them less than that,
whether it be possible ever to
build a town there or not.
2 These towns, too, are "to be
restricted to their present limits,
where towns are now located" "
Very good. But this regulation
need not be observed any further
than the commission shall deem
to be "pc ssible.'i Hence the COM
missioners are to have it in their
power, should they see fit to do so,
to lay off half the territory in town
sites, and put the lots on the mar
ket.
3. The owners of these. town
lots are to "have the right to buy
the same at hfty per centum OF
their appraised value" Now
some of these lots are worth ten
thousand dollars; this scheme,
then, in all such casess, will give
these favored purchasers 50 1000 OF
the poor peoples property for
every one Of the many lots of this
value, and the only apology which
is offered for this kind of robbery,
is the simple fact that these same
purchasers jumped these lots some
time ago and held the people off
of them. This is a piece of in
Justice so defiant of reason, that
the English language can hardly
find for it terms of adequate de
nunciation. Again, if these favor
ed monied men in the towns are
allowed to buy off and segregate
their lots from the common tribal
nroDartv hafora tho allotnant