The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1898-10-25
GIVE THE INDIAN JUSTICE.

ton the ,ARDMOREITE is pleased 10
take in reference to the action of
the Dawes Commission and the
construction placed upon the Cur
tis bill and Atoka treaty by the In
terror Department, and proceeds to
brand the paper as an obstruction
list. The Register says the ARD
MoREITE is opposed to allOtting
the Territory. This is a mistake.
The ARDMOREITE believes this is
the best thing that can be done
under the circumstances, but it
should be done according to just
rules of law, and not to suit the
whims, fancies, prejudices or in
terests of any clique, ring or set of
men.
Congress has passed a law
however full of defects it may be
which prescribes how this allot-
ment shall be made and how the
citizenship rolls shall be made up.
The Interior Department is given
power to prescribe rules for the
enforcement Of this law, but not
to violate its provisions. Section
"a of this law says: Citizens
shall not be prevented from Occu-
pying or renting their proportion
ate shares of the tribal lands until
the allotments provided for are
made" This doesn't say they
shall be prescribed to 240 acres,
but that they shall occupy or rent
their propOrtionate shares of the
tribal lands" The Register wants
to know how we know that 240
acres is not their prOportionate
share. From statistics that have
been published. Not long since
the Auskogee Phoenix published a
carefully prepared table of statis-
ties giving the population of the
two nations, the number of freed
men, the number of court claim
ants and the number of acres of
land in the two nations, showing
that after all the lands that were
to be taken for the freedmen, for
churches and schools and other
purposes were deducted the Indian
would be entitled to 551 acres.
Since these statistics were publish
ed the Dawes Commission has
thrown out quite n number, max
ing the total number of claimants
less than the Phoenix figures show
ed, thus making the average allot-
ment to which each citizen is en-
titled possibly 700 acres. Many
of our best informed men on Indi-
an affairs think the average allot-
ment will not be less than 700
acres, and all we have heard ex-
press themselves believe that each
citizen can safely occupy or rent,
under the Curtis law, fully 500
acres until final allotment is made.
If this is true has the Interior De-
partment the right, under the law,
to say the citizen shall hold and
use but 240 acres until allotment
is made. The law also gives the
citizen the right to allot where he
now lives. Suppose he has SOC
acres improved with good fences
and tenement houses, water, etc.
Under this ruling he can only hold
240 acres. Some one else will al
lot the balance. When final allOt-
ment is made, suppose it is ascer-
tained that he was entitled to the
500 acres and could have held his
improved property, Isn't it plain
that an injustice will have been
done him by prescribing him TO
240 acres! Again, the right of
the Indian to these lands is not
questioned, but the right of the
freedman is questioned. His right
is yet to be settled by Congress
and through the courts of the
country. Notwithstanding this,
the Indian is prescribed to 24O
acres when he is entitled to 500,
but the freedman gets his 40 acres