The daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Ind. Ter. [Okla.]) 1898-1902, 1900-12-28
The appended story of Christ
mas day crime was published in
vasterdav's Kansas CITY Star:


Yesterdays Kansas City Stars
Cheooiah, |. T., Dec. N,-Re'
ports which have reached here
show that Eve men were killed
and several dangerously wounded
within radius of fifteen miles Of
here Christmas day. In nearly
every case the slayer was intoxi-
Gated when the shooting was done.
In one case one man shot his
friend.
The United States statutes make
il unlawful for any person to in
troduoe or in any manner dispose
of intoxicating liquors in Indian
Territory and provides severe
penalty for such offenders. New.
ertheless ii is a we'll known fact
that hundreds of people in the ter
ritory make il business to intro
duce and dispose Of liquors in vio-
lation of this law, and the loss Of
80 many lives in a single day and
within so small a radius probably
will call for an investigation by
people interested 10 Indian Ter
ritory affairs. The Dawes COM
mission, which is usually charged
with all Irregularities in Indian
Territory, is not blamed, because
it Is something over which the
commission has no control.
Neither is the blame attached to
the comptroller Of the treasury be.
cause of his recent ruling regard
ing the fees to be allowed deputy
marshals, jurors and witnesses in
certain criminal cases, as the
comptroller's ruling does not af-
feet the fees allowed in cases where
a person is charged with introduce
ing or selling liquorin Indian Ter
ritory. The United States courts
in this territory, alone, have pow
or to punish persons charged with
this class of crime.
The people appear to be at sea
as to who is the cause Of the con-
tinuation Of the liquor traffic in
the Indian Territory. 1t is posi-.
lively known that hundreds of In
dians, halfbreeds and whites are
yearly sent to the penitentiary
from this territory by the United
States courts, for what is common
ly called "bootlegging, and it is
common talk in every town in
this district, that some drug stores
carry on their business, not for
the drugs which they sell or the
prescriptions which they COM
pound, but for the purpose of traf-
ficing in Intoxicating liquors in
violation of this law. Yet the
number Of proprietors OF drug
stores who have been sent to jail
or the penitentiary, from this dis
trict, within the past two or three
years, for introducing or disposing
of intoxicating liquors, can be
coonted on the fingers of one hand.
The correspondent would covert
ly have it appear that some Of the
officials of the northern district are
lax in their duty. The article is
an attempt to reflect upon the Of
fiCials and the charge is made just
as openly as a metropolitan paper,
without proof" would stand from
from correspondent. The Che
cotah papers can make their SLAM
derous insinuations more boldly
and plainly because they are not
as responsible as newspapers who
desire to be fair, and whose editors
their personal prejudices
in presenting "both sides' of
story TO their readers.
The fact of the matter is that
is being brought into the
territory In spite of the law. The
fact is also apparent to any man
that there is less liquor being i'm
ported and used than there was
three years ago. This would be
admitted by even the ChecOtah pa
pers were their editors not per
sonally aegrieved."
In order to detect all the cases
Of introducing liquor the marshal's
force would have to be doubled