The St. Louis Republic., 1904-12-12
Interior Department Regards Av-
erage Offer of s7.7t Per Acre
as Ridiculously Low.
THE BIDDERS ARE sKEPTiCAL.
Not Convinced that Choctaw and
Chickasaw Lands Possess Min
eral RichnessS Attributed
to Them by Survey.

|
| Washington, Dec 1l.-Disposition of the
coal and asphalt lands of the Indian Ter
ritory is one of the points joint solution
| OF which falls upon the Indian Depart
ment and Congress this winter. Sale of
| the lands by bids for blocks of $50 acres is
provided in the present law. Bids twice
authorized have failed TO COME UP TO cx-
pectations, and the question now is wheth-
er Congress should permit the sales in
| larger areas.
Secretary Hitchcock has not formed a
complete plan OF action in the matter. The
fear is expressed that. should the act he
so amended. the lands would be placed i'll
| the field of speculation. This. it is de-
! clared, the department seeks to avoid.
1t was stated at the Interior Depart
| ment yesterday that all of the bids so far
| submitted on the segregated coal and as
| phalt lands in the Choctaw and Chicka-
saw Nations, Indian Territory would be
rejected on account of the ridiculously
low prices offered. The first bids on these
lands We're opened here on October g. Only
thirty-two were then received. covering
twenty-eigft OF the seventy-four tracts in
the McAlester district aseresating $4,000
acres The average per acre was about
S1.74, or less than the lands would bring
If sold for agricultural purposes. The sec
ond lot Of bids Were opened December ).
covering eleven out of thirty-two tracts
In the Wilburton-Stigler district. The
average per acre was somewhat smaller,
but relatively about the same. Four dis
trtcts are still to be offered.
A cogent reason for the low prices Of
fered for these lands is found in the fact
that the bidders are said not to have been
entirely satisfied with the statements of
agnts of the Geological Survey that the
lands are coal and asphalt lands
AT the dapgrtmppf official bp
did not know but they had good ground
for that feeling, as no standard test, in
Guiding actual borings of the lands. had
been made, the conclusions of the survey
being based principally on the fact that
the lands are located in what is called the
coal belt, or copper region of the
Territory.
Therefore. it seems probable that. before
Congress is asked to amend the act. which
is designed to prevent large concerns get
ting control of major portion of the
lands, the Secretary of the Interior will
take steps to ascertain what is the rela-
tive value of these lands from 4 mineral
sta standpoint; When this question is salts
adequate bids will be received;s
Dorsey W. Shackleford of Missouri is in
the lime light just now. Mr.. Shackeford. |
as news dispatches have informed the pub
lie. went down to Panama as a member
of the House Committee on Interstate and
of the committee, he did not find the con-
ditions there to his liking, and he was
particularly dissatisfied with the affairs OF
the Panama Railway.
est. He does not long to disturb the
serenity of the session by Grating and |
gesticulating in the center aisle. He usu-
ally sits calmly at attention in an in |
conspicuous corner of the House In fact, |
when he does arise in the performance of |
some necessary duty. his MIR. Speaker
n Snl l., ! III,
tremble nervously. !,
In reference to the Panama matter Mr. |
Shackleford evolved a resolution 1t was
a sizzling resolution. 1t resolved that |
crooked work had been done at Panama. |
and that Congress should turn up a few |
unsightly truths. Mr.. Shackleford did not |
rise with the usual solemnity and conse- |
9uence Of man inviting the attention of |
the country. He overlooked the dramatic |
opportunities Of the occasion entirely. He |
did not have his resolution read by the |
dropped his bomb noiselessly into the bin.
where 1t nestled innocently among PEN
sien and private bills. The explosive ma
ture Of his document did not appear until, |
out In the clerks office. it was sifted from
the ruck by newspaper correspondents.
He awoke next morning to find himself
famous, Judging by the number of top
pers Of the land.
OF course. on that next morning MEM
bers and correspondents were looking for
Of other Missouri members.
Skipped" was the reply.
"How's that?"
Lit out-skipped for home"
He had been away from Cole County
and Jefferson City since the day after
election, and he had utilized the first
westbound train. being bent-solely on this.
of course-on learning whether the land
slide had carried the Statehouse away.
Not the least of Speaker Cannon's char
acteristics is the inimitable way in which
he holds a pure Havana filler. So far as
known nobody has yet attained unto any
thing that nearly approaches the ''regula-
tion angle" at which the Sage of Danville
carries the fragrant weed.
1t Is said by those who have the honor
of close acquaintance with Uncle Joe"
that they would not have the slightest
trouble picking him out of a crowd If all
were given cigars. In fact, of all the
idiosyncrasies credited to him. the insep-
arabic Havana at the proper angle is said
to be the most striking and best known.
Uncle joe is more than a trifle faS-
tidious about his smokes too. One of
his favorite purchasing stands is famous
tobacconist's establishment on the ave
nue." Here '.Uncle joe may frequently
be seen examining the weed long and care
fully choosing and rechoosing.
OF course, he must exercise the greatest
caution in selecting such close compan-
Ions, and it is not surprising that often
quite a crowd of genuinely interested adj
cOnRrpgate around the door |