The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1899-09-08
ADDITIONS OF OKLAHOMA.
Statehood and Free Homes are TIVE
Business Issues.

The Eastern mind is preiudicsd
against anything that adds to the
Vests power. AS an extreme ex-
ample of the length that this spirit
is carried to, we copy a remarkable
letter written, and printed in the
Washington Times:
Guthrie, Okla. Sept. 2.-This little
territory, with transient and very
much mixed population, will send
several delegations to Washington
next winter to besiege Congress in
favor of Statehood" and free
homes. :" These are the burning is
sues of this boomer" territory. 1t
claims a population of 4O0, 900, and
some of the boomers put it at 50O.-
900. The more nearly correct figure
is 300.O 900, including about 80. 1000 In
dians and half-breeds. A large per-
cent of the number are not settlers.
They come as land grabbers, and
will leave as soon as they can acquire
title and sell.
The free home" question appears
to have only one side. Soon after
this strip" was opened to the boom
ers and sooners, a belated contingent
swarmed in and squatted upon the
most valuable vacant lands. The
government values these lands at
81. % and S2 80 per acre. These squat
ters contend that the government
should give them the lands without
money or price. What they mean
by free homes" is that every squat
ter who has been living upon gov
ernment lands for the last five years
should be given title to such tract
without cost. Just why this excep-
ton should be made to the public
land squatters of this territory is not
clear to anyone except the ones side
advocates of such a preposterous
claim. A special delegation will be
sent to Washington to shout ''free
homes" into the ears of Congress.
Another delegation will cry out for
statehood, and separate statehood at
|
corporate the Indian Territory. This
will be opposed by a delegation from
the territory, which also wants to
come in as a state. Finally Okla
homa will then give up the combina-
ton, and by uniting forces seek sep
arate statehood. The Indian Terri
tory has a smaller population than
Oklahoma and more Indians. The
population is about $50, 900, includ-
ing 80, 900 Indians. 1t will thus be
seen that neither is fitted for state
hood nor both combined, and it
would be unjust to the more popul-
GUS and civilized states to admit
these territories, separately or to-
gether.
While the constitution is silent on
the matter of population necessary
for a new state, it has been the GUS
tom for Congress to require that the
territory should possess at least the
number upon which congressional
representation is based. Yet, this
does not entitle territory to admis-
sion. Congress judges of the fitness
of the population, as in the case of
New Mexico and Arizona. This is
the argument of some of the large
! property owners who would have
the bulk of the taxes 70 pay. They
do not want statehood under any
circumstances until more people
come and accumulate more property
and help to bear the burdens of n
state government.
The boomers and the sooners will
no doubt represent to Congress that
the territory is on the verge of ruin,
and that statehood can only save it..
1t has had three bountiful crops in
succession, however, and the indica-
tions are still brighter. But the pol
iticians are getting hungry.
a former congressman now in
Washington as the boomer for free
homes" has written back to the ter
ritory asking for funds in order to
push the thing along. He says that
with my experience in Congress /
know that such a bill cannot be got
through without funds are subscrib-
ed" The "free home" land bill and
its special advocates should be closely
watched at the coming session.
Another source of revenue and
fraud is the renting of school lands.
While it is unlawful for one person
to lease more than $40 acres, he gets
control of 10 times that number of
acres by a system of dummies or false
names. There is more corruption in
the territory, perhaps, than in any
other section of country of 10 times
the population. The perpetrators Of
the frauds prey alike upon the In
dians and upon the government, and
the large outlaw element prey upon
all.