Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-24

Choctaw nation 90 1880
Chickasaw nation. ...1S0 23,6So
The areas reserved range all the way from
so acres in some of the interior villages to
2,444 acres for Muskogee, 2,7o0 acres for
Waggoner, 2,902 acres for South McAllister
and 2 2G2 acres for Ardmore No town site
reservations have been made in the Semi
mole nation. The members of that tribe
prefer to handle the matter themselves, and
their conduct uD to date shows that they
are perfectly competent to do so.
The sites having been located were sur
veyed. laid out into streets, alleys and
blocks, and divided into lots of equal size
Each lot was appraised by a commission of
experts and the price was printed upon the
plots. In cases where the land was already
occupied and improved before July /, 1902
the squatter was allowed to remain and pur-
chase one lot at 30 per cent of the appraised
value If he had more than one lot he was
required to pay 621a per cent of the APP
praisement Where improvements were
made subsequent to July, 1902, the owner
was made to pay the full appraised value.
But in no case was any person allowed to
purchase more than two lots, and If he had
improved other property the improvements
were appraised and paid for by the pur-
chaser.
Disputes Over Town Lots.
Nearly all of the town sites have been
disposed of in this way to a greater or less
extent. Most of the lots have been sold,
and a large proportion of them. notwith-
standing the precautions of the govern
ment, have passed into the hands of specu-
lators. who are holding them for ad-
vance in value. This could not be prevent
ed. All the commission could do was to
give every buyer a fair show. 1t could not
prevent him from selling his purchase at
higher price than he paid for 1t II he de-
sired to do so. There has been very little
public satisfaction, although more than
one thousand lots in different locations were
contested, and the claims of the contestants
had to be heard and determined like an
ordinary suit at law by some member OF the
commission. The five members have sat
individually courts in different parts of
the territory for the convenience of liti-
giants. Last September Mr. Charles o. Shep-
herd, chairman of the commission which
has been laying out town sites on the Choc.
taw reservation, was brutally assaulted at
Hartshorn by disappointed claimant VINO
will be severely punished.
The several tribes have already realized
more than 100000 from the sale of town
sites and the money will be distributed pro
rata among the members. In some cases
citizens have organized for the purpose OF
securing lots for public purposes. l was
told the other day that the white citizens OF
Indian Territory had contributed more than
100000 during the past four years to pay
bonuses subsidies and assessments to pro-
mote the public interests.
Public Improvement Bonds.
This private enterprise has been neces-
sary because there have been few municipal
organizations to provide public utilities. In
the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations towns
having a population of LEGO or more and
In the Creek and Cherokee nations towns
having a population of 1900 or more can
issue bonds for public purposes, subject to
the approval of the Secretary of the In
terror to an amount which will not require
more than a tax of five mills to pay the in
terest. A large number of towns nave
taken advantage of this privilege. Duncan
has issued $4,000 in bonds for water works;
Chicka Sha. $4,000 for water works ana
sewers; Durand, $S90O0 for water works and
electric lights, and nearly every town mas
borrowed money to build school houses.
In almost every instance the prices or
town lots have advanced rapidly, as soon
as they were placed upon the market by
the commission. and many people nave
made comfortable fortunes in speculation.
So rapid has the advance been that many
people think the Dawes commission, before
it expires, should have increased the orig
nal prices unsold lots for the beneht
of the Indians. But any such proposition
would have been very unpopular.
The newcomers-the people who are buy
ing the lots, building houses establishing
stores and organizing these communities
are mostly young men and women OF edu-
cation and energy. They come from the
best stock of the eastern and central
states The northern and southern states
have about an equal representation The
newcomers are mostly people of small capt.
tal-a few thousand dollars each-but they
could not have found a country of greater
promise