The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-08-12

undertake. the case. He it,imod lately pros;
3ceedcd to washington md secured II the;
passage OF a resolut ion throus III Cong
authorizing the Court Of Claims TO asctr.3
tain Just what the faets Z, yere. eng i'.i
1902 thnt tribunal made to finding hvor.
able to the claim. Then Congress author.
tied the Cl,orokees to again sue III the
Court d Claims .rlio suit was brought,
sand III May, 1906, the cot rt nj wed the
clnltr,. The thing was Appealed Ito the
Supreme Court. and n May, 1905, Is that
tribunal f1lrtned tho Judgment Il Of the
Court Of Chains. Thus this great gov.
ernment was e. repudator Of q Just debt
for Lens years froir, 1898 till 1906. And
It would have boon d rcpudiator forever
sthe government had not wanted ORIG Il
3hona for Its white citizens, lfisa tiate IN
their hunger for land. "a t5S 4553
565I have tried to 4 give "a general outline
of the case. Mitch I have omitted. ~ De- ,-B
tails < I have avoided as tedious to thes
general reader The main facts are the
otitrage perpetrat ted on the Cherokees IN
Georgia. the cru city Of the exodlus, the
dishonesty Of postponlng paylnef1 Il 81
Just &and legal obligation n \ u 55ss
GB{$ I now want to stly something about q
remarkable man, who secured the pay
f1lent of tho claim-R Robert j.. Owen, him
self@of Cherokee blood. He made the
leading argument In both the Court or
Claims and before the United States su-
prefne bench. Chief Justice Mott, of the
CORNER tribunal, stated that OVENS
speech before l,Ihl was the nblest that
had been made before that court during
.l1ls entire service Of forty yenrs Senator
Clapp, In a speech in the Senate, re-
marked that X Justice Of the Supreme
Court said to him that Oven $ speed be-
fore that tribunal was one Of the finest
argu nents lie had ever heard. ", S5is$
3 / E ! l
Robert Il. owen was born Mt Lyncl,-,
burg, vn., forty-flve years ago I Els \
father was d colonel in the Conf &c dlernte
army, and subsequently president Of the
Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. His
mother was of Scoch-1 IRISH extract on,
sNarcissn Chlsolm, born lnS the Cherokee /
Nation, and OF Indian blood. Il n Mr.. Owen.
after graduating at Washington y. and q Lee
with distinguished Ehonors, wen to Y the {
Cherokee Nation and became a TEACHER
In the schools Of his mothers people. He I
was secretary Of the board OF 3education,
and was Indian agent for the Five CIVIL
tied Tribes from 1885 to 1889. III
As fiscal ngent OF the Choctnwi Nat ton
he disbursed S, 436, 900. He was leading
counsel of the Choctnw3and Enthusiastically
the famous a leased district" case, and
recovered s., aol ,450, and for the Vestern
Cherokees he re covered d $500, 900. lie was
the founder Of nsVoni'thesy Chero-
kee Outlet He waEf Instrumental Elm Sc
curing the act Of Congress- estnbl ishing
a court with civil jurisdiction in indian
Territory and dr<w the bill himself He
is a distinguished and Influential member
O.. the Bar Association of Indian Terri
tory He procured the extension Of the
rational banking law to- the Territory.
After the passage Of the Curtis
act, which he bitterly opposed as an In
vaslon of treaty rights, he drafted an act
giving full citizenship to the Indians In
Tie Territory. The late Senator Plat,
81 Connecticut highly II commended the
project and ably contribuqtea to It's pas pas
sage. ElsS s5 Il IS II. fsf Il, IN s5
His, last service Ito his people, I have
tried Ito .elate-the securing Of o judg-5
nent against the government for his peo-
ile Of above IS, 600, 900 Mr. Owen spends
j great deal of time In Washington looks
nE after the interests Of his people. lie
10 a man of talent land tact. He Is q
nan Of culture, familiar with six Ian
yllag es. He is learned at the bar and elo-
luent in heacouncil. In politics he is a II
Democrat, and If that party should name
the first Senators from the youngest
daughter Of the sisterhood; Sno doubt one
If them will be r Oljnrt III Owen /