The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1898-12-04
OPEN vloLAToRs or LAW.


eially in the Chickasaw nation who
are going to get themselves into
serious trouble if the Curtis law
an the rulings of the Interior de-
partment are enforced. So far not
one citizen in a hundred is paying
any attention whatever to the law
or rulings of the department.
Many citizens are holding, and say
they intend to hold, thousands of
acres of the finest lands in the Ter
ritory, while there are other citi-
zens who are unable to secure al
lotments. The Curtis bill says
emphatically that it shall be un-
lawful for any citizen of any tribe
to inclose or in any manner, by
himself or through another, di-
reeEly or indirectly. to hold pos
session of any greater amount of
lands belonging to such tribe than
that which would be his approx
mate share of the lands of said ma
ton and that of his wife and mi
nor children. All who so violate
the law shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor and punished by a
fine of not less than 800 for each
day that said lands are so held.
The law gives them until April
1st, 1899, to remove the improve
ments from said lends in excess of
their allotments or sell them to
some other citizen who wishes to
take said land as an allotment.
After April 1st any citizen can go
and take possession of any land
that is being unlawfully held and
report the yiolator to the federal
authorities. After that date all
such illegal holders of land will
lose their improvements.
Besides Indian citizens there are
negroes who have thousands of
acres enclosed which they are at
tempting to hold in fragrant viola
ton of the law. At best they can
only hold 40 acres each. They re-
fuse to sell or release the lands
they hold, claiming that they are
told that they can hold the lands
for another year. Many real Indian
citizens are hunting for good lands
to .allot now so they can raise
crop next year or rent the same,
but many of them are unable to
secure the best grade of lands on
account of these unlawful hold
ings. Though the law is enforced
in April and all citizsns will then
be enabled to get good lands,
the season will be so far advanced
that renters cannot be had and a
crop pitched.
These wanton viOlators of the
law should be reported, and should
be made to suffer the extreme pen
atty of the law. One citizen is as
much entitled to a good piece of
land as another, and no citizen
should be allowed to hold four
and five times more lands than he
and his wife and children are en-
titled to, thus preventing other cit
liens from getting good lands. The
law should be as rigidly enforced
against the rich, large landholder
as against the poor man, and as
far as it lies in the power of the
to expose these illegal
of lands to the federal au-
thorities it shall do it. For months
past it has warned citizens and all
other parties not to violate the
law; that while it does not believe
the ruling of the Interior depart
ment prescribing the holding of a
citizen to 240 acres is law, it has
advised every one to conform to
the Curtis bill and not attempt to
hold more land than was their ap-
proximate share, which will not
exceed 500 acres, but hundreds of
citizens, and even negroes-who |
have no legal right to a foot of
land-are violating this plain pro-