The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1898-10-09
cHocTAw POLITICS
To the Ardmoreite. A


regular session last Monday and
organized by eleeting Judge Henry
Ward president of the senate, and
Joe Dukes speaker of the house.
The Tushka Homma party has a
handsome majority in both houses
and can pass any party bill desired
The. Unions have refrained so fan
from offering any resistance and
did not put up a candidate for any
OF the offices. But very few of the
Union party men are here.
The votes of the August election
for governor were counted Tues
day, resulting as follows:
Green McCurtain --------- 1856
Wilson Jones -12Z5
Wednesday Governor MeCurtaln
was sworn in for the second time.
he read his message, then both
houses adjourned until the next
morning.
Nothing has been done so far,
except the filing of one or two con-
test cases. They were referred to
the committee ON elections.
Several parties have been here
this week with the intention of
lobbying some railroad and timber
bills through the council, but their
prospects are slender, especially
the timber contractors.
Following is Governor McCur-
tain message:
To the Members of the General
Council:
Gentlemen-For the third time |
am before you to deliver my annual
message. l will set forth the con-
dition of our nation to-day and
give you for your guidance, my
views touching our recent and fu
ture welfare. 1t fell to my lot to
be principal chief during the most
critical and trying times We have
ever experienced as nation.
Heretofore the chief had only to
deal with mere details as laid out
by council, and because our gov
ernment was running smoothly had
little or no trouble. But in my
case it was different. The United
States had grown tired of our man
ner of holding our lands and with
certain parts of our government,
and by slow but sure pressure had
brought us to the point where we
had to turn our faces to those diff
ficulties, and regardless of our per-
sonal wishes or desires, meet these
demands and make the most of
them. The history and result of
all this is our agreement entered
into at Atoka on April 23d, 1897,
and ratified by us on the oath
day of August 1898, by the hand
some and gratifying majority
Counting all the votes) of over
one thousand. To fail to add that
feel a great personal pride in this
majority would be to Withhold the
truth. In all these trials and
changes I have been actuated by a
desire to do that which | believed
for the best interest of my people.
In advocating and carrying out
these changes have had to con-
tend the most trying difficulties
known in politics, viz: Money
and ignorance. The representa-
tives of money are those who have
drawn large individual royalties
from coal as well as from the pub
lie domain through large pastures
and other monopolies. And so
through all this campaign where
the bawling has been the loudest,
where the dust has been thrown
the highest into the air, an exami-
nation of the case has always re-
vealed some coal owner wailing
and decrying the agreement because
it has shut off the royalty. The
one thousand majority shows just
how much real sympathy they de-
serve; for it is true of this class
as it is of all others actuated by
selfishness, they get more than they
deserve. For that class against
the agreement from prejudice, much
can be said that is worthy and
true; they are our full-bloods and
well advanced in life; they are for
the most part uneducated and have
heard all of their lives that our
right to hold our lands and gov
ernment as they think best, was a
treaty right and therefore would