The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-01-23
35.ooo INDIANS TO BE :.
 MADE AMERICAN VOTERS

A special to The Kansas City World from Muskogee. I. IT., says,
 An interesting result of the consol- idation Of the okIahoma and Indian Territories as the State of Oklahoma. which will soon be done by Congress, may be the appearance of Pleasant Porter. principal chief of the Creeks. as United States Senator, Porter is candidate and he is a man of high ability. Indians will cast S5,000 votes in the new State. Under the law Indians who take up lands in severalty by that act be- come full-fiedged American citizens. This includes the ballot box privilege. man now has the privilege of mixing in politics. He Is most numerous as voter in Minnesota and Wisconsin. There is no such proportion, of the aboriginal vote in these States. how ever, as will loom up in Oklahoma. in the latter State the Indians will control perhaps one-sixth of the total vote. This Is not so much, but the reds stand a chance of securing rep- resentation in Congress because of the ability of their leaders.
 With one exception the head men of the five nations have a strong
 
 dress and the manner of white men and they are individuals of education and property. Porter, chief of the Creeks, has a large predominance of white blood. He is engaged In mer- canti1e business and stock raising and Is rich. Porter and Green McCurtain, who are three-quarter blood and prin- cipal chiefs of the Cherokees, are prob- ably the ablest of the Indians in In- dian Territory. Either of them. it is stated, would command the full vote of the Indians.
 Douglas H. Johnson. governor of | the Chickasaws, and w. c. Rogers. principal chief of the Choctaws, are of mixed white ant red blood. They are business men. Hulbutta Micee, principal chief of the Seminoles, is the only full blood now at the head of a | nation in the Territory.
 John F. Brown, who was until re- gently governor of the Seminoies, and T. M. Burlington, who preceded Rogers as chief of the Cherokees, are leading men among the Indians, and will prob ably be heard from in politics. They are of mixed Blood. but fully up to date in all that appertains to business and public affairs.
 As an example of the knowledge l ROSBcDSEu tains there may be cited this sentence from tho annual message of Principal Chief Rogers to the national council of the Choctaws:
 l "Inasmuch as the educational depart ment has been thoroughly systema- l tized by rules and regulations adopted by the Cherokee board of education the supervisor of the schools for the Cherokee nation and the superinten- dent of schools for the Indian Terri tory and approved by the secretary oi the interior. and under these rules and regulations each item of expense is closely scrutinized and vouchers re- quired therefor. suggest that il would be inadvisable for the national council to interfere with this system which is now in successful operation but permit the schools to be run un- der the rules and regulations adopted as the secretary of the interior is al- ready authorized under section 34, of the Cherokee agreement to direct the use of a sufficient amount of the school fund to pay all necessary expenses for the efficient conduct of the schools strict account therefor to be rendered to him and the principal chief, and he is also authorized under section SS to use the interest arising from the I ing the orphan asylum"
 Of course. the sentence is a little long. but in the matter of English 1t will compare favorably with the an nual addresses of some Governors.
 Government estimates of the num- Der of Indians in Indian Territory vary from 1000 Oto s7,0Oo. There are prac- tically no blanket Indians. or nomads, in the number. Only 10000 of the to- tai are full bloods and all but about 10000 are able to speak English. In- dians are to be found not only on farms, but in all sorts of business en- terprises.
 Not until few months ago was it | possible for the white man to pur- chase land in the Indian Territory. Until recently the land was owned in severality by the so-called five civil ized tribes, the Cherokees. Creeks,