The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-08-16
.LANDs'SAvED
G:0.R|'|I.0|| OKLAHOMA Q
II ny ys
How Secretary. Hitchcock '':ls Check {. n
cd Lcgislatio Which He ss.
'SS Deemed Injurious.
LEARNED OF AMENDMENT A 1 4 !! }, :!
Promptly Sent Letters and T l.,s:ts
5 grams e Both . Houses st,s
Of Congress. at5
LEARNED Of /. AMENDMENT "A e 1 y Z: /
tsnec,al q rho Times .p,spat chs

(SOecihl to Inc
& II WASHINGTON3gED d g. August 1b.-lng
d statement issued to-day by the 1nte-E
srior Department, the claim Is Il made
4 that through the activity OF Secretary
4 Hitchcock and the officials Of the de-3
\ partrnent while the statehood bill % was vas
being considered by Congress at the y. /, re-
cent session. tho government. or ratner
the unborn state OF Oklahoma, was savea
from d. raid Of peculntors wh1ch Wo ~ =
have cost 1t nearly i2o0o. 900. :.
sat TO quote the statement: "a e. ;,
lThcre were about u twelve dinerent8
openings OF public lands in Oklahoma,
from 1889 to 1901 ard In most cases tne
act provided that the lands should pc
open to settlement under the Homestead e
and township laws only, thus exc!u lt1E
mineral entries. u ri 8, 4 N "a, Ni
|. tracts to the territory. Congress did not
{ except mineral lands, so that the territory
took 4 all the specified sections, neither
L mineral or not Tho original tatehood
i bIll contained no exception OF mineral
lands IN the grants to be nades to Okla
I, forna, though It did except such lands .
from grants to the State or Arizona ma "a
Secretary Hitchcock's Discovery.
~ Early In March, however, Secretary
Hitchcock learned that an b q mend rnent
had been slipped into the statehood bill
Il In the Senate (known as the arren
7amendmentD,5 by which alleged mineral
locations under the Federal mining laws
upon Oklahoma school lands would bas
validated and the new State would have
to pick out other lands In the place OF
+ those thus los + Fs l s{557f ;f$j
-The Interior Department had already
4 examined and reported upon the state
hood bill, at the request OF the Senate
and House committee s. but this provi-,
syl.7s to.nsN
\ was Y ma de-. Tho Secretary. on looking
into the matter. reached tho conclusion
that the claims Of the parties who5would
benefit by the and dn1ent were en-
tirely u,ithout merit. and that tho whole
scheme bore some resemblance to q raid
upon the treasury. rs lss d 35S s5si
3 ''At&thls time the bill had READY been
I passed by the sena te. with amendme 2 = IS
ana 81 had gone back to 4 the House. and
there were reports that II might pass the.
latter body, as amended at any monen Mt t'''
Checked the Legislation.
& How tn o secretar sent telegraIns and and
letters to both houses OF Congress. giving 4 I
{ his view or the situation, is told In ID tail.
& Through these efforts and briefs prepared
Blythe 1ntarior Department In answer TO
brief submitted by a torn eys for the al
legged speculators, 1t Is claimed he wv ar
ren amen nent was stricken out OF the!
bill and a ubstitute, prepar BY the de--$5
lpartme.it, inserted 41
5$ss5tt...Nhen the people h Of klahoma} were
celebrating the passage OF the IS tatehoodS
BILL says the staten ent, - is probable
that they did not know how near the new
4 Commonwealth came to losing some Of Its
i understandable possessions. besides having
\ a blot on It's escutcheons from having
been made the victim OF Inscriptions
spectators upon Its first entrance into
q the Union OF States. Ii /.
The mos valuable mineral lands be-
longing to the Territory are probably
those near the town Of Cleveland. in
Z Pawnee county. f< s3 5$ ii, 55S
i zone achool section alone con taintng oil \
and gas is estimated to be worth half
\ d million dollars, and there are others In
the Immediate vicinity. Il is also res
ported that an oil and gas field Is being
developed in Kiowa county, near school
lands, and there are also rumors OF.
discoveries in Greer and Comanche coun-S
ties. There are also deposits or cement.
gypsum and salt in various parts OF the
territory, and$it has been claimed by
prospe ctors that Beaver county contains
/ considerable deposits OF lead, copper and
silver. All lands known to contain oil
/ or other minerals will probably be leased
soon after the creation Of the new State"