The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1901-05-26
THt NOVA 0pth|hd PROTESTED
PROVES A THORN IN THE FLESH
OF INTERIOR DEPARTMENT.
10 the Enforcement Of Law the Depart
m.n' Is Called Upon to Reverse It's
Entire Policy During Post Eight
years - VIII Delay Opening.
Special to the Ardmoreite.

ututtutuN VI uh ~ bhhiANN iAN'N
on the part of the Kiowa, Conan
che and Apache Indians to prevent
the opening of their reservation in
Oklahoma TO settlement this sum
mer in accordance with the act Of
June 6, 1900, has attracted general
attention. In fact no action has
been instituted at the interior de-
partment in recent years which has
aroused such universal interest.
Great numbers of people residing
in the Eastern States had complet-
ed their arrangements to compete
with the people of the Western
States for homesteads when the
drawing occurred, in accordance
with the departmental plan at FL
Reno and Fort Sill. They had
looked with joyous expectations
for an opportunity to secure 100
acres of fertile land in the Indian
country at the nominal figure OF
Sl.25 per acre, and with a pros
pect that congress might later come
to their relief and extend to them
the benefits of the free homestead
laws. The recent action instituted,
as published exclusively in these
dispatches, has dampened their ar
dor and left them in a state of un-
certainty.
While the officials of the interior
department insist that the plan
agreed upon for the opening will
be carried out there is no disguis-
ing the fact that the law Off
GERS realize that they have a knotty
problem to overcome and that if
the case ever gets to the courts
the opening of the country will at
least be indefinitely postponed. In
fact, some OF the officials of the
department admit that it will be
difficult to maintaiu the position of
the departp;..ollml om 30 . to enforce the
congressional enactment. The pc
culiar circumstances surrounding
the approval of the treaty of 1892 by
the Indians, the misrepresentation
to the department during the years
1893 As by special agents which
resulted in a reversal of the depart
mental position in favor OF the
treaty and the submission to con
gress of numerous protests by both
Secretary Bliss and Secretary
Hitchcock against the ratification
OF the treaty, accompanied by legal
opinions written by the present
assistant attorney general of the
department against the regularity
OF the agreement, and finally the
clandestine methods resorted to by
members OF the Indian committees
Of the house and senate to secure
the ratification of the treaty by
congress all cast reflection upon
the validity of the act, and form
one of the most interesting chap.
tiers in the history of treaty agree
ments with the Indian tribes.
The treaty approved July 25,
1865, under the administration OF
Andrew johnson, ceding the Kiowa
and Comanche reservation to the
Indians in consideration of their
REIMBURSEMENT of valuable pos.
sessions in the Western States ex
tending TO the SUBMITS of the
Rocky mountains, contains certain
binding provisions which it is evi-
dent congress did not comply with
at the time the law of June 6,
1900, was considered and passed
by congress.
On January l3. 1900, Secretary
Hitchcock sent aringing message tc
congress against the ratification OF
the agreement of 1892 for the
cession of the Kiowa lands in
Oklahoma, in which he pointed out
conclusiyely from official data that
the treaty of 1892 was defective
and that it did not comply witt
the provisions of the treaty OF
August %, 1868, and therefore il
ratified by congress without being
returned to the Indians for theil