The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1902-04-20

present the future royalties will FIJI
the national exchequer and be amply
sufficient to educate every ambitious
Choctaw and Chickasaw child. The
coal industry in the Choctaw country
Is but in its infancy. II the coal lands
be now sold, by the result of scientific
effort and modern enterprise II may
transpire in after years that the
tribes have not secured one.ffth of
their real value. Were the agree.
ment to remain in its present form.
few would purchase the coal lands.
except those who now have them.
and inasmuch as they have leases
upon these already developed lands
ranging from fifteen to thirty years,
II is doubtful II they would care TO
purchase. And even II they did. could
not these persons have a secret. mu.
tual understanding. whereby no one
but the agreed person should bid on
"A certain tract OF coal land and thus.
there being but one bidder. could Sc.
cure IL at his own figures? In other
words. II would he striking and ef.
fective exemplification Of the rather
trite saying. You tickle me and will
tickle you
There Is no doubt but that the min.
eral question should be settled. But
why not defer the final solution of
the matter until 1906. just before the
expiration of the tribal governments.
or let a citizen allot the coal lands
and charge him up with the reason.
able cost OF the same and deduct Il
from his quantity of land?
In the provision relative to the
reservation at Sulphur Springs. see
nothing either advantageous or detri.
mental TO either the inhabitants Of
that village or 10 the United States.
or the Choctaws and Chickasaws. To
the latter IL Is a matter of little con.
sidera!ion as there is already town
site laid out there under existing laws.
and there is little use to add more
to it.
AS TO the excessive land holding
matter there is need of some legis.
lation. There is no question but that
there are many citizens who are hold.
ing far more than their pro rata
share of the lands of the two tribes
But, instead of making the time 90
days in which to release all excessive
lands, why not make II January l
| 1903. and thus both citizen and non
citizen will know just what to de
pend upon for this year and the com
ing year, and the rental contracts al
ready made for the current year vii
mot be in any wise lnterefered with
for II they are by this law II will
bring about much confusion. litiga
don and annoyance.
AS there are no particular road
laws in this country, il strikes me
there should be some provision rela
tive TO the same.
There should be fixed a date after
which no more town sites could b,
laid out, particularly by private indi
viduals.
The Indian courts are unable tC
cope and deal effectively with the
divers and complicated question,
arising out Of matters with which ex
ecutors and administrators have to do
Under the present system, the United
States courts have not Jurisdiction
in questions of this nature wherein
Indian estates are involved. and they
are often badly mismanaged owine
TO the inadeQuacy, the force and eff
cheney Of the Indian legal machinery
Hence, the United States courts
should be given jurisdiction.
The Atoka agreement is an able
instrument, and the new agreement
should have nothing to do but amend
wherein the Atoka agreement is mani
,festly deficient"