The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-12-25
A CURIOUS LAND CLAIM.

Missouri. Kansas and Texas Railways
 Opposition to Indian Allotment Based
 on Unique Reason.
 A curious land claim of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railway is causing much trouble to the commission ap- pointed by congress to bestoW the rights of citizenship upon the members of the five civilized tribes" of Indians. Several years ago congress granted to the railroad company named the right to construct line of railroad through the entire length of the Indian territory from Kansas to Texas distance of nearly three hundred miles. There was attached to this grant of the right of way a further provision that if these tribes should ever cease to exist, or from any other cause should cease to occupy their territory, and 1t should become part of the public domain, in that event this road should be entitled to alternate sections ten miles wide on each side of its track the entire length of the territory.
 The claim put in by this railroad cor poration is that the chance existing in this provision that these tribes may cease to occupy these lands, and they afterward become a part of the public domain by repurchase or otherwise is a vested right and that 1t would be bad faith toward that corporation and a fraud on the part of the United States to do anything to repair or lessen that
 chance. Since the proposed allotment would tend to strengthen the life of this people, and by building them
 homes make more firm their hold and
 title to their lands, 1t would lessen that chance; and so 1t is claimed that the United States in authorizing it, is
 guilty of bad faith and is committing a fraud on the Missouri, Kansas and
 Texas railroad corporation. The con- mission officially comments on this pro- position as follows:
 This claim requires that the United
 States should fold it's hands and do
 nothing to prevent these people from
 going to perdition, if they will, under whatever malign influence may befall them, and then, either by this permit ted extinction or by repurchase, make this land part of the public domain for the benefit of this railroad: other wise the vested chance must fail The commission fails to see why the claim does not likewise require the United States to abstain from all Legislation tending to hinder extinction like laws excluding intoxicating liquors from the | territory or punishing the murder of In. | dians.
 The railway corporation presented | it's claim first to this commission, next | to the Secretary of the Interior and | then to the President, but without sue. | cess. Thereupon emissaries in their in l terests spread alarm among the less in. l telligent and more distrustful of these people, lest allotment would have the | very opposite effect and result 1T turning this large area of the finest DOT | ton of their territory over to railroad corporation. So widespread in the Che rokee tribe has become this alarm, that a commission, appointed before the passage of the act providing for these | changes and at the time favorable tC allotment, meeting by appointment this commission, after it's passage, was 1 turned by this alarm into hostility, and declined to act.
 | Allotment, therefore, under these in | fuences has been thus far successfully | resisted in the Cherokee nation.-NeW l York Times