Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1906-08-17

tAOTDitunt litiSht ios'" ''e""'y
prohibiting the shipment Of coal
from the coal fields Of the Choctaw
Nation to points Immediately con-
tiguous TO those coal fields in Indian
Territory and compelling the people
of towns within radius OF ono
hunderd miles of those coal fields to
receive their supply of coal from
Colorado and other Western coal
fields owned and operated by the
Colorado Fuel 4 Iron company. BY
imposing prohibitive rates on the
few Independent companies operat-
ing in the Indian Territory coal
fields and by granting preference
rates to the products of the Colorado
Fuel & Iron company, the latter
company has had a complete monop-
oily of the markets in Indian Terri
tory. 1t appeared from competent evil
dence that the people residing IN
towns within radius Of one hundred
miles of the coal fields in the Choc-
taw Nation were compelled to pay
from seven to eight dollars per ton
for bituminous coal when the same
coal could have been purchased at
the mines in the coal fields Of the
Choctaw Nation for not to exceed
three dollars per ton.
This one of the questions the com
portance that the committee Will con
nection with its investigation OF the
coal property located in Indian Ter
ritory and belonging to the Choctaw
and Chickasaw Tribes Of Indians.
, Another question of national I'M
portance that te committee will con
slider is tho alienation of lands; and
the comforting upon the individual
allottee of the right to sell or-cispose
of his lands either with or without
supervision by the Secretary OF the
Interior and his subordinate officials.
Under existing laws no allottee In
the Indian Territory can sell or DIS
pose of a foot of his allotted lands
without first applying to the Secre-
tary of the Interior for permission or
by listing the lands he desires to sell
with the Indian agent, who, in turn,
has the land appraised, advertises
the land for sale, all bids received
to be sealed and opened on given
day If the bids received do not
meet with the approval of the Indian
| Agent they are all rejected. Thou
sands of persons of means and char
acter have gone to the Territory
within the last year with the inten'
ton of purchasing property and To-
eating thereon, but when they became
aware of the federal red tape en-
veloping the title to the Indian lands
they moved on to other states anc
have invested millions of dollars II
Texas, New Mexico, Arizona ano
other western states and territories
| in inferior lands, rather than to bt
subjected to the vexatious delays In
cident to the acquisition of title tt
the rich virgin lands of the Territory
and the domination Of autocratit
federal officials. Thus the people OF
| Indian Territory have lost millions
of dollars in the last year by reason
of the operation of the federal law.
and the rigid departmental rules anc
regulations governing the acquisition
| of valid land titles in the Territory
Under the existing law no full
blood can ALLEVIATE his lands fol
twenty-one years next following the
issuance of the patent to the allottet
by the federal government. When
| the rolls Of citizenship of the Five
Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory
were being prepared every member
of those tribes possessing goodly
quantity Of Indian blood asserted al
the time of his or her examination
by the commission that he or she
was n "full blood" whereas as
matter of fact the applicant was Q
"half blood" As the application OF
the individual is accepted as "con'
clusive proof" of his "lndiar
blood" probably fifty per cent OF
the lands in the Indian Territory are
tied up absolutely and irrevocably
for period of twenty-one years ye'
TO come. as but few patents have as
vet been issued to any allottees II
any of the Five Civilized Tribes.
The committee will inquire. into
this condition with great care and
endeavor to devise a plan for enact.
ment into law that will enable title
to lands to be acquired without the
vexatious circumstances surrounding
the acquisition of valid titles exist
ing at the present time and at the
same time safeguard and protect tho
rights of those allottees who are IN
competent to manage their owr
property.
The necessity for some remedia
legislation becomes at once APPARENT
when the existing conditions are I'M
dcrstood. Every member of thu
Choctaw or Chickasaw tribes, for in
stance. receives an allotment of lane
equal to 800 acres of the average al
lotable lands of those tribes. If h
selects as his allotment an inferior
Grade of land he can acquire as higl
n ann o..o. L., ,napy fantlip