The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-10-20
CURTIS COMES HOME.
Talks of the Indian Territory
Investigation.

Congressman Curtis is back from the
Indian Territory where he went to in
vestigate conditions that he will
have personal knowledge of affairs
in the Territory when congress meets.
MIR. Curtis has now gone on to Dom
1phan county to see how his congress
s1onal fences are fxed. 1t is said that
he and Cyrus Leland went on the same
train but it is doubtful if they confer
red on the way. although Mr.. Leland
can doubtless give Mr.. Curtis some
valuable pointers on Doniphan county
affairs.
In speaking of conditions in the In
dian Territory, Mr.. Curtis said:
Il did not go there in my official ca
pacity. but simply as private citizen.
The department of justice has two in
spectors in the territory making a
thorough official investigation of COM
plants. am advised that this inves-
ugatIon IS covering every field and all
questions. The fact that certain ap-
polnJees of the department of justice
are tangled up in some of the land
to conduct an investigation of wide
range. L listened to complaints from
all sides and have fund of informa-
llon that VIII be useful to me when
CONGRESS meets.
The chief complaint against the way
things are run down there comes from
people VINO go there to engage in farm
ing on small scale. This class of peo-
PIE mas gone 10 the territory in good
faith to buy or lease small farms. They
are a good class of citizens and are
ready and willing to help build up a
great commonwealth. But they are
handicapped on account of the opera
tionS of the big compa nies. They can't
get hold of the land. The companies got
it first, and by methods which cause the
small farm seekers to complain. Many
of these companies leased the land be-
fore it was allotted. Then they would
hire and send out members sof the tribe
to get indians in to ailot on lands
which they had under lease and would
get another lease for the land from the
allottee. Later on the small farmer
would come along and find nothing left
for him to buy or lease. Then he would
howl. l don't blame him.
In my opinion all leases before al
lotment are absolutely void,' continued
Mr.. Curtis. Unless. of course, they
were approved by the secretary of the
interior. I also believe that all other
leases on allotted land where the con-
sideration is inadequate are also void.
This question will no doubt come up be-
fore the courts before long. The IN
dians themselves are not complaining
much only found two or three dur
ing my trip that had anything TO say
against the way things were running.
Aside from the small land owners the
only other class of people complaining
are the negro freedmen. They are up in
arms. They claim they have been
worked into leasing their lands at in
adequate figures and want some relief
THE townsite work is progressing sat
isfactorily. 1t will be completed in all of
the nations except the Cherokee by next
December. 1t will take about eighteen
months yet to complete that work in
the Cherokee country.
II understand that an effort is being
made to get another agreement with the
Choctaws and Chickasaws concerning
the allotment of the timber land in the
Choctaw country. This land has been
taken off the allotable list arbitrarily by
the Dawes commission because timber
speculators had conceived a scheme 10
get the timber practically for nothing
Congress never considered the timber
worth enough to have the timber land
segregated. Some disposition is soon to
be made of the question.
so far as the segregated coal land is
concerned. want to see it sold in small
tracts, so that the independent opera tors
can get a whaek at some of it. There
are many independent operators mining
coal now. and I want to see more engage
in the business. The land will be sold at
public auction and 1 hope in tracts not
to exceed $40 acres each. That would
give the little fish chance TO get some
of it.
THE needs of the territory are many
The most urgent is the need of dele
gate in congress to present the wants