The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-12-24
Robert l.. Owens of Muscogee,
Claims That Indian Territory
Settlers Are Disseminated
Against.
COMPLICATED LEASE LAWS.
Work of Government Officers Re-
quired to Be Done Over
Again. and st. Louis
Trade Injured.

Robert L. Owen Of Suscogee. l. T., who
was United States Indian Agent for the
Indian Territory from 1885 to 1889, is a
guest of the Missouri Athletic Club, Of
which he is member. 1t is said that few
men in the Government service have had
better opportunities for knowing condi-
tons in Indian Territory than Mr.. owen.
He was in charge of the schools of the
Cherokee Nation from 1881 to 1884, United
States Indian Agent from 1885 to 1883.
president of the First National Bank OF
Muscogee, the oldest and strongest bank
in Indian Territory. for then years.
Mr.. Owen secured the passage Of the act
authorizing national banks for Indian
Territory secured the establishment of the
United States Court for the Indian Ter
ritory and wrote the act granting to the
Indians OF Indian Territory the blessings
Of United States citizenship.
He has represented the Choctaws and
Chickasaws and other Indians in import
ant law cases determined by the Supreme
Court of the United States, and is the
leading counsel in the famous Eastern
Cherokee case. involving s5,0OO00O, now
pending in the United states Court OF
Claims.
In response to the question of why the
settlement of affairs in Indian Territory
was so long delayed, Mr. Owen said:
Dawes Commission was established, II
took several years to conclude agreements
with the Indian tribes.
Then, when these agreements were
made the Interior Department caused the
agreements to be amended. so that every
act OF the Dawes Commission in de-
termining the rights of $500 cases of citi-
zenship, and twice as many applications
ffy- otf hi had tn ha w
Interior Department employees. and 5000
allotments in like manner are liable to a
like review.
the work of the Government officers in
Indian Territory thus required to be done
over again. sometimes several times.
'"rhe employees Of the Interior Depart
ment, having no local knowledge, are
often misled.
THE most serious and injurious mistake
made by them is the legislation by Con-
gress due to their influence. requiring the
approval OF the Secretary of the Interior
of all sales In Indian Territory as a con-
dition necessary to validate such sales.
They tried to have all agricultural
Secretary. They succeeded in regard to
mineral leases and the development of
mineral is at a standsttll
The act authorizing citizens OF the Mus.
cogee Nation to sell with the approval OF
the Secretary passed in February. l9ol,
"The Interior Department. inspired by
the desire to protect the Creek citizen
ION the theory that he Is ineompetenhp
sales to the extent of.Tery substantiai
notification of the statutes of the United
States Out of 16,000 allotments they mad
approved and returned less than dozen
deeds in two years and nine months, up
to December l, 1903
The appellee has not been allowed to
sell. but has been prevented from seihnS
Il ~, t.. ttvNer
the approval required, by frequent
changes in these rules and, finally, by Inn
posing rules so difficult of observance by
the actual settler as to drive him out OF
the list of bidders and turn the bldolng
over to the spectators.
"The rules governing this subject make
book of forty-eight pages. The actual
settler cannot pay q fair price agreeable
to the allottee himself but must submit
sealed bids with certified check and wait
two months to learn II he Is the highest
bidder, and then wait two months more
to know if the Secretary Will approve II
Then the crop season is too far advanced
to utilize the land, and he is out years
labor.
speculator the exclusive bidder and buyer.
The present sales do not exceed max
imum rate of q dozen week.
This means that it would take 16o years
for each allottee of S5,000 persons to exer-
else his statutory right of sale.
..The settler will not improve this land
on a mere lease. The Spectator Will not
improve 1t when he gets title; so the
result is Indian Territory development;
both in agriculture and mineral, ana
hence in mercantile, lines. is at stand
still.
1.-The restrictions preventing sales should
be removed because the AllObees are as
competent as the people OF Missouri, take
them as a class Even the full bloods have
had school advantages for nearly a full
century. They were not blanket Indians
when they came to the Indian Territory
over seventy years ago, but were farmers.
living in houses. and cattle breeders. with
churches and schools among them.
Indian Territory has 100000 people and
only II 600 full-blood Indians.
"Our people are not willing TO believe
the Department Of the Interior or Its en-
injure our country. but We know they are
grossly misled and are doing a great harm
to the allottees and to the settlers resident
In Indian Territory and TO the Southwest
and chiefly St Louis. st. Louis Is the cen
ter to and from which our trade IN hard
ware shoes and merchandise OF all KINDS
naturally gravitates.
I'VE have 100000 acres In Indian Terri.
tory that could easily produce sls0.000o9o
annually of mineral and agricultural prod
ucts IL men were not prevented by law
and by vexatious regulations from making
this princely domain productive. We have
magnificent area of oil and gas bearing
strata. but must suffer a general paralysis
until st. Louis or other friends unioose
our chains We have not vote and no
voice in Congress. although by numbers
entitled to five members OF Congress.
why do not the business men OF 81.
Louis help us. not for our sakes. put ror
the golden stream 1t would add to- the
Great wealth of ttis ma gpfficent metrop-