, 1906-08-20
HAS BEEN SETTLED POLICY.

Recently The Republican has refer
red to the so-called Warren amend.
ment of the Oklahoma statehood bill,
about which there has been much talk
recently. In a Washington dispatch,
sent out Saturday, an attorney Of that
city takes occasion to denominate the
recent attempts of certain gentlemen
connected with the interior depart
ment as u tempest in a teapot" Sen
ator Warren's amendment was right in
line with the established policy OF the
government. The gentleman in ques-
ton says:
The Warren amendment to the
statehood bill excepted from the OPP
Grafton of the grant for school and
educational purposes to the state Of
Oklahoma, lands duly located as min
eral and found valuable for minerals.
and was in precise accord with the
settled legislative policy OF more than
forty years. with the discovery OF
gold in California, the exploitation oil
the public domain for valuable miu.
erals continued by the implied license
OF the government, until the original
mining act OF 1866 was passed, author
izing citizens to locate, purchase and
receive patent from the United States
for such mineral lands. In all grants
TO the states for educational purposes
or internal improvements, as well as
grants to aid in the construction of rail
roads, the mineral lands have been ex.
pressly excepted therefrom. The acts
admitting Colorado, North and South
Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho,
Wyoming and Utah, each contain the
from the school grant, and a provision
giving other lands in lieu thereof. An
act of congress passed February rs,
1891, made this mineral exception
sweeping in respect to all the states
n territories with like provision for
indemnity.
In the several acts of congress rati.
flying cessions of lands from the In
dams in the present territory of Okla
homa, the mineral laws Of the United
States were in express terms extend.
ed over the lands thus ceded. Hither-
TO, the possession of the miner, under
the mining laws, has never been dis
turbed by congress in any instance,
hence the senate amendment to the
statehood bill in respect to Oklahoma
expressed the unbroken legislative
policy from the beginning. With this
policy now reversed and the lands val
liable for minerals, both known and
unknown, turned over TO the state,
without regard TO the possessory
rights of individuals acquired in lands
known to be valuable for minerals, I'M
der this former and still existing legis.
lation, not only is the new state highly
favored beyond her sister states. bul
the legislative effort to thus ignore and
destroy rights created under the min
ing laws, by express authority of con.
gress has broken all precedent and
stands in isolated partially. If it is
suggested that no school lands are
given for that part of Oklahoma now
embraced in the Indian Territory be-
cause all the lands therein have been
or will be allotted to the Indians, the
answer is that the statehood bill car
ries a lump appropriation of five mil
lions of dollars in lieu of such grant
nf lands Tho ANva r,n,t COLL. /. 90
ricultural lands at one dollar and TWEEN,
ty-fve cents per acre.
"on this basis the grant to the In
dian Territory portion of the new state
would therefore equal four millions Of
acres. Compared with the grants for
educational and other state purposes
made to western and northwestern
states, the munificence with which Ok.
lahoma is being treated closely APP
proaches prodigality, tested by mere
acreage alone. When there is added
thereto the grant of lands known to
be valuable for minerals, at the date
of the grant, the reversal OF the former
policy of congress and the distinct re
%pudiation of mining rights acquired
under express statute, is most obvious.
1t is admitted that lands valuable for
all classes of mineral exist in Okla
homa, including all the precious met
ais, gypsum, oil, asphalt, coal and finer
qualities of building stone. All these
are recognized as valuable minerals
under the United States mining law;
and handed over to the state of Okla
homa mark an exception to the general
body of the mining law which is oper-
alive elsewhere throughout all the pub
lie land states"
Governor Brooks delivered an elo-
quent address at wheatland Friday