Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-11-09
Washington Bureau,
Of the Courier,

Il
-. Washington. D. c., Nov. s..
NO state ever came into the uni ia
IN which so many conflicting political
and business interests were deeply
concerned to control the politics and
a1airs Of the new government, as in
Oklahoma, II Missouri and Kansas he
excepted. In those state the slavery
issue was paramount. In Oklahoma
the big interests of the railroads, tie
coal miners, the oil ana gas producers,
the various Indian tribes, are SO in
extricably cor fused that no public man
Is admitted b. his opponents to be
more than the agent of some private
graft; and the stories that are told
about the relations of the various
gratis are marvellous beyond belief
The President has given assurance
of signing the proclamation admitting
the state under it's new constitution,
and now he IL. being swauped by poll
ticians demanding the federal offices
that he will have at disposal. 1t is a
strange situation, that the state which
comes in with the most advanced
constitution of all, so far as concerns
apparent intention to make the gov
eminent responsive to popular wishes
NAAo oPA SoohCoSlfc VI tblIcISSIS,
Should also be the one in which the
politicians are most persistently charg-
ed with representing private interests,
For example, there are to be ap.
pointed two federal judges, one for the
eastern and one for the western
district of the state. If the stories
| they tell of each other are half true,
not candidate in either district is
free from the control of some special
interest.
In the eastern or Indian Territory
district the leading candidate is Judge
Lumen P. Parker of Vinita. He mar
ried a Cherokee Indian woman, and a
few years ago, while yet young
lawyer, was made assistant district at
torney Of the territory, under District
Attorney Pliny Soper, who was dist.
riot attorney and attorney of the
Frisco railroad at the same time, To
the scandal of people who didn't like
the combination and who freely charg.
ed that Soper was altogether too good
railroad lawyer and too poor fed
| eral attorney, and who now charge
that Parker was sympathetic with
him. Parker has been charged with
| undue friendliness toward the liquor
interests, and charges were once made
against him, requiring to be invessi
gated here. When he came to meet
them, he brought along as his counsel
Judge ]. G. Stuart of South McAlester
general counsel for the Rock Island III
Indian Territory; anr this again dis
pleased some people. Finally Judge
Parker's father in general counsel 81
the Frisco in Missouri, and has bee,
managing the campaign for tn:
district, judgeship, having secured fol
Judge Parker powerful Missouri SUP
port. The Frisco road is controlled BY
the Rock Island, and the Rock Island
aims to run Oklahoma politics; SO the
anti-railroad people protest against the
Parker combination. 1t is charged
that the interests of a long list NJ
| defendant in two site fraud cases arc
supporting Judge Parker, and that II
one of the cases he is himself named
as defendant
Judge j. T. Dickerson, formerly q
Kansas, and a brother-in-law Of Gov
ernor Hoch, is another candidate il
| this district. Governor Hoch has be..
here working for Dickerson. His chic
reliance seems to be in frequent news
paper interviews that Kansas and til,
country are for Roosevelt for thirt
term. He omits one of these every
few hours, and between times calls al
the White House to see how his
brother-in-law's candidacy is coming
along. Senator Curtis of Kansas l.
for Dickerson, who is credited even by
his opponents with good record aside
from the fact that they decline to ad
NIT that ne Is lawyer of suf1icien