The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1899-12-08
FARnERs' MEETING.
The Troublesome DIGESTION OF Lesalnn
Land cussed and plscunned.

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| Pursuant to adjournment at the
last meeting of the lease holders,
and TO call. issued in the WEEKLY
ARDMoREITE, the lease holding
farmers met last night at the city
hall. The convention was called
to order by Chairman Gumm with
Secretary j. M. Bryant at the desk.
Speeches were at once called for
and several responded. Ike Hobbs
of Woodford made sensible talk in
which he said he was afraid of the
United States government, and told
his experience of ten years ago,
when people were being elected,
and their cattle confscated. The
speaker had organized companies
10 resist the police and was under
arrest by that body when a tele-
gram came ordering them to dis
continue their highhanded methods
of enforcing the Indian laws. Mr..
Hobbs said that if every other
lease holder in the country backed
down he would continue to resist
the surrender of his holdings.
(. c. Evans, J. M. Bryant and
j. c. Purcilla also made timely re-
marks.
Through the columns of the ARD
MoREITE the Graham people learn
ed of the move being made by the
farmers and called a meeting and
sent delegates to the convention.
T. M. Stroud and r. T.. Rickets
were the delegates. Mr.. Stroud
addressed the convention, making
strong appeal to the Commercial
club and to Ardmore for assistance
in their struggle. G. T. Goars
Hoxbar; Will Brown, Leon; S. M.
Dial. Durwood, and G. w. Allen,
Hewitt, favored the convention
with few remarks.
Repeated calls were made for at
torneys and R. w. Dick, w. 81.
Bingham, Summers Hardy, NJ. l..
Garrett and w. A. Ledbetter re-
sponed with short speeches. Each
attorney gave his construction of
the section of the law which expires
all agricultural lease contracts on
January l, 1900. On this point
they seemed in harmony but as to
the manner of obtaining redress
and to the power possessed by the
federal government they were not
in unison.
They all acknowledged the ques-
tion to be new, but Mr.. Ledbetter
argued that the matter Of the
power of the interior department
to eject leaseholdsrs had been fur
nished with a precedent in the
ejectment of miners.
1t seems the most feasible plan
of redress was suggested by w. A.
Ledbetter. His argument was
about this, that when the Curtis
bill was passed it was thought by
congress that this nation would
have been allotted in severalty to
the Indians and that it would be
necessary that all lease contracts
expire on January /. That the
Dawes commission had not pro-
gressed SO rapidly with allotment
and that it was not the policy of
this government to pass law an
nulling contracts until it became
absolutely necessary. The speaker
referred to the extensions made by
the interior department in the graz
ing leases in other nations and said
that if the claims of the farmers of
this country were properly placed
before the secretary of the interior
that an extension of time would be
given the lease holders.
A committee consisting of T. M.
Stroud, Graham; J. M. Bugant,
Newport; l. NJ. Hobbs, Woodford;
II. R. Dougherty, Hoxbar; G. w.
Allen, Hewett and s. NJ. Dial,
Durwood was appointed by the
chair to meet the executive COM
mittee of the Commercial club this
morning. with instructions to- re-