The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1898-01-02

committee until after the holidays.
We will then ask for a hearing and
present our side of the various ques-
tions. We came to Washington at
this time to present our protest
against that part of the last appro-
priation bill taking away the juris-
diction of our courts. Our people
thought it best for us to come to
Washington and present a formal
protest SO that in future litigation
and legislation, it might not be said
that we failed to protest at the
proper time and slept on our
rights
For the past week l have several
times met and talked with the Ard
more and Purcell townsite delegates,
Messrs ) I. Bledsoe and }. II.
Humphreys. They are active, alert
and hard at work.
They are giving special study and
consideration to the legal status of
the townsite question, i. e., as to the
right of the United States to extin-
guish the Indian title to the town
sites. AT the next meeting of the
committee, or as soon thereafter as
the committee may indicate, they
will ask to appear before the sub
committee and present the legal
status of the question.
Judge Little will, in a few days, in
States Jail at Fort Smith into a peni-
tentiary for the confinement Of those
convicted in the courts of the Indian
Territory and sentenced for one year
and less.
A report from the marshal and
jaller at Fort Smith shows the jail TO
have holding capacity of 5ss. This
number can be accommodated bv
using all the available space. Judge
Little has conferred with the officials
at the Department of Justice, and the
plan is looked on with favor by them
Mr.. Curtis. of Kansas, has intro
duced bill to grant a right of way
through Oklahoma and the Indian
Territory to the "Muskogee Coal
and Railway company" The pro-
posed line extends from Fort Gibson
in a westerly or southwesterly di-
rection through the Indian Territory
and Oklahoma to Vernon, Texas.
A bill has been introduced by Mr..
Callahan, delegate from Oklahoma,
to create the Office of surveyor gene
raj of Oklahoma and the Indian
Territory. The bill provides: "That
Oklahoma and the Indian Territory
shall constitute one surveying dis
trict, that the surveyor general shall
receive salary of 81, 900 a year, and
that the Office of surveyor general
shall be located in Oklahoma at such
place as may be designated by the
president
The Bar Association of Sallisaw
has petitioned congress for a court
at that point. The petition recites
the location of the town of Sallisaw,
the scope of country by which it is
surrounded, the distance to courts at
present established, and other facts
in support of the petition. 1t has
been referred for the consideration
of the judiciary committee.
The senate has just published the
protest of the Choctaw-Chickasaw
Union party against the treaty made
by those nations with the Dawes
commission, as Senate Document %.
The protest is signed by B. Jack
son, Josiah Gardner and others, and
is the fruit of the convention held at
Antlers on the oath of November
last.
The fraudulent Creek warrants
are now engaging the attention of
the Indian Bureau of the Interior
Department. Some time ago the
Department detailed Hess, Zevely
and Ross to investigate the matter
and report their findings. They as
certained that some 500, 900 of fraud
ulent warrants had been issued.
Their report has just been made to
the secretary of the interior, and
will be, by him, it is thought, laid be-
fore congress. When asked as to
what would be the probable course
of the department in settling the
matter. the officials stated that
nothing would likely be done toward
paying out the money, without the
specific authority of congress. They
stated further that while the fraudu-