The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1901-12-18


good condition and repair; except i'm
provements, tools and machinery used
for mining purposes, which shall re
main the property OF and be removed
by the party Of the second part at the
expiration Of this contract
Another clause in the contract pro
vidos for the cash rental that is TO bs
paid
If the Indians were thrifty and de-
termined to hold on to enough Of .heir
land TO acquire fine farms if they
would demand a cash rental in keep
ing with the productive charactes Of
the soil the form Of contracts they are
signing would be most desirable. Un
der the Dawes contract the Greeks
can not dispose of forty acres Of their
land for a period of twenty years So
long as the Indians hold it. it is not
taxable. Even if their contracts call
ed for a seven years lease their lanas
would be turned over to them impro1
cd and ready for any form Of cultiya
ton
Land Barons Are Coming
Wont the Indian be benefited by
leasing part Of his lands for term
fysars under one Of these con
tqacts?" I asked Of man who has
been among the people Of the five
tribes for twenty years.
If he had the thrift Of the white
man, he replied. "it IS probable that
he would. But then he wouldn't make
the kind Of contracts he is now max
ing. The inevitable result Of the ex-
tensive leasing system which has been
inaugurated will be the corporation
and private ownership of hundreds OF
thousands of acres of land. We are
destined to have in the Creek nation
land barons rich beyond the imagina-
tion of the men who have acted from
the purest of motives. In legislation
affecting the Indian. We can not get
away from it If the contracts which
have been made are binding Take
the case of the average head of a
negro or Indian family, He has 100
acres for himself, his wife and each
of five children That makes 1,129
acres in all. He can rent all of this
and sell in short while all except
I ESQ acres, forty acres for each mem
Der of the family II he receives fty
cents an acre offered in advance he
has $500 SO much money he has
never had or even seen before in
lump sum. He at once proceeds to buy
new wagon and pays two prices for
it. he buys and buys without thought
/ of the future. Then he borows from
the man who has leased his land ID
buy bacon and bread. His living ex-
/ penses are provided him without
question. He hasn't had things come
his way so happily in his entire exist
ence And whe nthe time comes, as
come it must, for a final settlement
he is anywhere from $500 to $4,000 in
debt What will he do? Give up part
of his land to pay the debt Even if
he saves half of his land, which no one
expects, the men who have already
leased more than million acres Of
Creek lands and are adding to the
amount daily will own the buK Ct
good lands in the country"
Then you do not think the Creeks
are ready for citizenship"
Fully as well prepared for it now
as they would be fifty years from this
time. With a given per cent of them
it is only question of who will get
the land Already there are more
than 5000 applications for Indian
farms in the hands Of Mussogee real
estate men and lawyers But the fel-
lows who nave the leases will beat
them to the lands r. X. L.