The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1901-12-05

he new country to the exclusion of
III other roads.
The Rock Island is supreme in the
Kowa country, al the principal
towns are located on this line. Prior
to the opening Of the Kiowa country |
Judge Bierer, representing the Black
well, Enid and Southwestern road call |
ed at the interior department with a
for pushing the construc-
don Of the Bes line through the In
dian allotments. The department
treated Bierer with scant
courtesy. "No concessions viii be
made to railway corporations to ira
verse the Indian country" was all the
satisfaction Bierer got. Yet at that
very time the Rock Island was work
ing six corps Of engineers in the In
dian lands.
When the question Of locating reg
istering booths came up, the appeals
of ali land office towns in Oklahoma
were ignored Ell Reno and Lawton,
on the Rock Island, were alone favor
ed. All centrally located towns,
where crowds could have been speed
lily handled. were coldly ignored.
The Rock Island railroad dominat.
ed the entire Klowa opening 1t had
first call In everything.
Having declared princely dividends
from the rush" aud beamingly salts.
fed with present business and pros
poets, the Rock Island now sticks it's
dirty finger deeper into general ter
ritorial affairs President Roosevelt
was on the verge OF dismissing the
charges against Jenkins, when Low
of the Rock Island. arrived In Wash
ington. Low conferred with Secre
tary Hitchcock jenkins was sum
marily ousted. His successor must
be appointed Rock Island interests
must again be subserved Low push
ed the claims of Ferguson--and Fer
gusoa landed Ferguson is said TO
be a tool of the Roc klsland. He
is identified with the Hobart townsite
company He is in the same boat
with Flynn. Two years ago Ferguson
was the only man, aside from Marshal
Thompson, woh could raise Flynn
campaign funds from the Rock Island,
The Rock Island is now seeking to
control the next legislature. 1t will
use Ferguson
The Rock Island is today the only
active agency lighting single state
hood 1t is hog and it has crowded
all the other railroad corporations IN
Oklahoma to the wall.
The average man can easily grasp
the Rock Islands ultimate view point.
It's tentacles are longer than gam
blers dream and more resistless than
a hunchbacks luck. Single statehood
only can shake off this appalling rail-
road octopus.
Where does the Rock Island get its
prodigious pull? Easily answered.
The son-inlaw of Secretary Of the In
terror, Hitchcock. is Rock Island Of
fetal Hitchcock himself, it is al
legged, owns stock in the road.
The fight in Missouri between the
Kerens and Hitchcock factions is
merely a railroad fight. It is not po-
litical. Kerens is high up in the
councils OF the Frisco corporation.
The Frisco would have some of the
tea the Rock Island is getting. The
Rock Island can not sec it that way
testify that there are fewer white
people in Oklahoma who can neither
read nor write than in any state or
territory In the United States, show
that Oklahoma's thrift and intelli-
gence entitle it to the advantages OF
statehood which are accorded other
great communities.
The disinterested view in other sec
tions of the country regarding the
matter is voiced by the Chicago Jour
nal editorials as follows:
while there are grave doubts about
the Indian territory, Oklahoma Is ripe
for statehood and should be admitted
to the union"
The demand is a general one in Ok
lahoma itself Out side of the inter
ested leaders who have fattened at
the public crib, the plea for statehood
is voiced as eloQuently and earnestly
by the Republicans OF Oklahoma as
by the Democrats. Statehood means
home rule and home rule means hon
est government.
all