The daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Ind. Ter. [Okla.]) 1898-1902, 1899-01-19
ROSS CLOSING ADDRESS
On the Signing of the Agree
ment Last Saturday.

and after the agreement had beer
signed by the two commissions
Col, r. B. Ross, Chairman OF the
Cherokee commission, arose ano
addressing the members of both
commissions said;
"Mr, Chairman and Gentlemen
of the Commission: The action
this evening is a sad one for the
Cherokee people; it is trying in the
extreme; we have been nation OF
people that has been granted the
privilege of conducting our affairs
for more than a century; we have
been possessed of large scope ol
country and today we have but
little, as it has been remarked in
the presence Of your commission
in our negotiations, here; that the
Cherokee people were once pos
sessed of more than eight million
acres Of land and today we are re-
duced to less than than five million
OF acres. The advance of civiliza-
ton requires these changes; this
reminds me of what Col. Bays said
to me, while standing on the Ozark
Mountains and seeing train com.
ing around the corner of the noun.
tain. He said, There are the
footprints of civilization. Today
we realize that this is one Of the
footprints Of civilization. The
railroads and the telegraph wires
have carried civilization to the
innermost inhabitants of the globe.
Wherever the Anglo Saxon race
penetrates there they will carry
the onward march of civilization.
We have, using the ancient phrase
Laid down the bars to the Anglo
Saxon race and they have entered
our country They have come
among us; they have married our
daughters and our sons have mar
ried their daughters, and this has
necessarily brought about civiliza-
ton, and it seems to have been
understood by US that we are
changing today into higher step
in civilization. We are told today
that our treaties are made for a
certain purpose and they were no
longer necessary to be continued.
We have annually sent delegations
to the city Of Washington to ward
off all threatening dangers, as to
change of our form of government
at an annual expense largely
against our treasury. While we
have been successful in warding off
action by the congress of the Uni
ted States, until right recent years,
if am correctly informed, not un-
til the question was sprung in
congress as to the authority of con-
gress to abrogate our. treaties. This
matter was referred to the
attorney general OF the United
States and Ne decided that con.
gress had authority to abrogate
our treaties whenever necessity
warranted 1t. The bulwarks that
we had thrown around our country
as we thought, were there and
then broken down. II the congress
of the United States can abrogate
our treaties without our consent
why should we longer contend
that we should oppose the legisla-
ton that is had by the congress Of
the United States? The Cherokee
people have been, you might say,
benevolent people. You will
notice that from the treaty Of 1866;
while it may be considered that it
was arbitrary and unjust and all
that, we as the Cherokee people
are party to that contract; we
have not only adopted the freed
men to full and complete citizen
ship with all the privileges of ma
tive born citizenship but we invited
friendly Indians to settle among
us; and in signing up this treaty
tonight if we have erred it is in
the head and not here. / believe
I can speak for those who have
signed the treaty thus tonight and
that we recognize the treaty as
being full and complete. We went
so far as to amend our constitution
to conform to the treaty of 1866
and, gentlemen, / can say that /
feel that while We would have