The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1900-02-20
sLEDsoE on TnE PLAT BILL
He Warns Farmers That It's Passage
win Greatly InIure Them.

To the Ardmoreite.
desire to call attention oil your
readers to the provisions OF senate
bin No. 2ss3. known as the Piatt
bill. lately introduced, read twice ana
referred to the senate committee ON
Indian affairs.
This bill in its effect upon the IN
terests of the farming class In tne
ohickasaw and Choctaw- nations 10
more radical than any bill that mas
ever yet been introduced i'm congress.
Section OF this bill repeals the pro-
viso of section of the Curtis Dill.
For the benefit of those readers VINO
are not familiar with section OF tine
Curtis bill, 1 will say the proviso Oh
section permits any person, oeing
G non-citizen in the possession OF
lands, holding possession tnereoi
under an agreement, lease or I'M
movement contract to have an ac-
counting of the reasonable rentai
value of the lands occupied oy MIN
and the value OF the improvements
placed by him upon the lands. This
bill embodies the views of the Dawes
commission upon this question.
Tbey insist that the non-citizen has
fer years been clamoring that the
Indian alone stood in the way OF
progress. They say they are about
ready to alIot the lands in the Chick
asaw and Choctaw nations and that
under the proviso of section OF the
Curtis bill it would be impossible for
them to put the alIottee in immediate
possession of his lands.
The declared purpose of this bill IS
to have the Indian agent to remove
every non-citizen farmer in the
Chickasaw and Choctaw nation from
the occupation and possession OF In
dian lands forthwith, and without
regard to whether he has been COM
pensated for his improvements under
the proviso to section 8 Of the Curtis
bill or not. The only thing necessary
for the Indian to do under this bill
to accomplish his removal, is simply
to make a request upon the Indian
; agent to remove the non-citizen and
state that he is Objectionable to him.
1t is true the non-citizen is per-
mitted to file an application before
the Dawes commission to have an
acc ounting and have the nation tax
ed with the present value of his i'm
proyements in excess of the rental
l value of the premises Cor the time be
< has occupied the same. II the party
: thus applying to the commission
should be so successful as to avoid
dismissal of his application upon
some ground to be suggested by the
= commission, as that he had not paid
his permit and was not acting in
compliance with the law at the time
he made same, the commission would
l then take testimony and have il
{ transcribed and probably decide the
case. If the commission should fol
low its rule in citizenship cases and
take down only such parts of the
I testimony as they thought proper
there would be no hope Of the non
citizen recovering in any instance
4 unless his evidence was simply over
whelming.
1t is urged in support of this pro
vision that allotment will be un
reasonably delayed by permitting
p the courts 20 settle the controversies
r under section of the Curtis bill anC
+ that attorneys in North Texas and
the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations
have advised non-citizens that it viii
e be FIVE years before their cases viii
be reached, and they can, by con
testing their cases, get five years
: free use of the land.
D 1t occurs to me very strange, in
t deed, that a person living in Ard
+. more never hears of these things
. and that it is necessary to go tC
Washington to find out what kind o.
> advice attorneys in the Chickasav
and Choctaw nations are givins
their clients,
The commission insists that ther.
is not one person in every hundred
f but who has had possession of Indiar
q lands long enough to more than pay
D him for his improvements, and thai
the action of the non-citizen in re-
fusing to surrender the land is sim
ply an attempt to swindle the In,
t dians. 1t occurs to me that the com
D mission, being thoroughly convinced
I of this alleged fact prior to the hear
ing of these cases, would be disqual
fled from hearing and passing upor
these cases. 1t would further seen