The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-11-23
OKLAHOMA, 46IH STATE
Youngest Member of Uncle Sans Family Immensely Rich
None of Her Older Sisters Has Future More Full
of Promise.

Over 1876 900 farms OF leo acres each
were awarded to settlers by lottery.
The figures show that nearly ali OF
these awards went 20 people from
Texas, Missouri and Arkansas.
Oklahoma, wisely following the
! Teaxs pattern, has set aside an unus-
ually large proportion Of her lands for
school purposes, and 1t is TO the credit
of the Territory that sentiment of the
! pee. lie is almost unanimous against
an! proposition looking TO their sale,
In re face Of a clamor from outsiders
for their disposition. Two sections in
eacl township are set aside for the
schools, and in addition there is a lib-
, eral allowance for state institutions,
I normal schools and colleges. There
are a number Of Indians in Oklahoma,
but they form on Insignificant portion
of the total population.
The political complexion Of that por-
ton OF the new state which is o
Indian Territory depends entirely up
on the section OF the country from
which it draws its immigrants. There
are now SOC, 600 white people there,
chiefly from the southern and border
democratic states, and as it stands to-
day the Indian territory undoubtedly is
democI attic. Within the mex ten years
another half million people will in
wade this Territory and buy homes. If
diana. Kansas and Nebraska, the polit-
they are farmers of Illinois. Iowa. In
ical complexion of the Territory may
change. Some of the Indian chieftains
are powerful among their tribes, and
in he congressional districts where
the more populous tribes reside it is
reasonable to presume that a full-blood
Indian may soon have a seat in n
gress. The preponderance Of white
people, however, preludes the idea that
any one other than a white man will
go to the United States senate.
In some measure at least, the In
dians of the Territory are fitted for self
government. They were made citizens
a few years ago, and for a long time
have been controlling their tribal af-
fairs through elections, which have
been fairly and honestly conducted.
Tribal relations recently ceased under
the provisions of the Curtis act.
The Territory Of Oklahoma has all
the economic requisites for the making
Of one of the richest agricultural and
| uuS Idl SUdIcS Ill Lie CulOu. II mas
a cosmopolitan population, drawn from
the most substantial elements of the
older commemorative. 1t is made up
OF men who sold their farms in the
East, North and South, after making a
success of them, and sought a larger OPP
%rortunity than the old conditions af-
lied. II Horace Greeley were living
t~day he would be more specific in
his advice to the young men, and tell
them to go to Oklahoma, for it is in
such a new community of splendid re-
sources and progressive spirit that sue
cess is found.
The total population today is about
100000 distributed mostly over the
farms of the state. The APT, 900 remain
Ing homestead lands were taken I'D In
1905. A half million acres of the re-
naming Indian lands will be sold I'M
der see'Cd bids in 160-acre tracts early
in December. This land is situated on
the southern border next to Texas
line, and is considered as rich as any
in that section. It is part of the orr
glnal klOwa, COanche, and Apache
Indian reservations, and was used by
the Indians for pasturlng their horses.
So great is the demand for his soil
that the land Office officials expect to
do a real land Office business at $50 an
acre. This will be the last of the ex-
tensive tracts thrown open to the pub
lie in 1891 and 1893. In the fourteen
years up to 1905 a total of 81. 29S, 354
acres had been taken the balance of the
24,718,354 acres of land surface Of the
state being turned over to the new
state for school purposes under the
Statehood act.
Agriculture is the foundation rock
upon which stands the prosperity OF
the new commonwealth. Wheat was the
chief crop Immediately after the great
opening" but the secretary of the Ter
ritorial department Of agriculture
soon brought in a car road of cotton
seed, with the result that the northern
l farmers learned from the experience
of the southerners how to raise the sta
pie. From that time cotton growing
has extended. until this year nearly
500, 900 bales are being marketed.
l Without the prejudices Of the Older
communities, the farmers of the new
; land quickly adopted the most up-to-
date methods. This is especially true
in the raising of corn, which in the new
SLdtc 10 uOI III uduScT oI hilIluS lTOSLS
as it natures by September 1. The crop
} this year will amount to than
s. 100000 bushels. The total income
from all agricultural products in Ok.
> lahoma this year is estimated at s60,-
, 600, 900, a healthy asset for the latest
OF Uncle Sans family.
Those farmers who have migrated
from New England and the Middle
States have tried to transplant some OF
) the conditions they knew at home
: Hence the extensive orchards of ap.
, Piles, peaches, pears. plums, grapes
and cherries, the products Of which
[ are shipped to New Orleans, Kansas
, City, and St Louis. And as the eli.
, mate of the new state enables the gar
, dener to supply the table with fresh
vegetables seven months OF the year
from AnriI m November truck garden.