The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-01
LETTER OF HASKELL
TO PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT IS MADE
 PUBLIC.
The Letter Lenounces the President for His Action Regarding Renewal of OH Lease on Indian
 Lands.

Guthrie. ok., Oct. 31.-The follow ing letter from Governor Haskell of Oklahoma. to President Roosevelt, re- Earding the renewal of oil lease on land of osage Indians. was made pub- lie today:
 Guthrie, Okla, Oct. 21 1908.
 Hon. Theodore Roosevelt. President.
 Washington. D. c. sir:
 Tn September called your attention to complaint at the renewal of the oil lease on six hundred and eighty thous- and acres of osage Indian Tribal land. You Ignored the matter.
 "On October fifth, having further pressure for investigation. of the un- just character of that lease and hav- ing ascertained from that the osages. being our citizens, it was my duty be- yond question to demand of you as the Chief Guardian of these particular lands, an explanation as to what good reason, If any, there might have been for the renewal of the lease. at condi- tions fixed by you. I, on that rate made the formal demand of yau in writing.
 october ninth, the Acting Secretary of the Interior. writing as he stated, on account of your having referred my letter to him, his explanation was that you had nothing to do with the lease. except fixing the compensation that the land owners were to receive. I was not satisfied with the answer because that was the very thing we objected to. namely, the grossly inadequate compensation to the land owners, which was the real complaint.
 'on October twelfth. answered you. referring to the Interior Depart ment's explanation, and stating to you:
 "ta1 That you had refused to give the Osages an opportunity to pro- duce evidence before you to show the amount of compensation justly due to them as the land owners:
 "(b) That the oil field. of which their lands were a part was an established. rich. producing field. where royalties and bonuses to land owners were estab- lished by long practices and precedents.
 "(c) That among the lowest averages the osages were at that time entitled to at least seven million dollars cash bonus and one-sixth royalty.
 More Than Bonus.
 "(d) That the Indian Territory H. lumiRating Oil Company, a sub of the Standard OH Company, as the assignee of the original Foster Lease, was by subletting this same Osage property to operating companies, receiving much more as bonus than the Osages would receive as the owners of the land on a one-eighth basis.
 (c) That against the original judE- ment of the Department of Interior and upon the request of Messrs Cuff fey, Barnsdale, Senator Depew and other well known agents of the stan dard Oil Clmpony, you had granted an extension of the lease on this six hum dred and eighty thousand acres of land at the grossly inadequate compensation of one-eighth royalty and not one cent of cash bonus.
 Pursuing my duties to the osage Indians, as citizens of our state, re- quested that you cancel that lease to the end that the Osage Indians might have an opportunity to receive by competitive bids or otherwise, an in- come from the oil values of their lands which they could ready obtain equal to the average obtained by the adjoin- ing land owners to the North, East and 'the South of their ladns.
 T am today in receipt of the follow ing letter from your Secretary of State. e. N. Haskell.
 ''Governor of Oklahoma
 sir:
 Your letter of October l2. 1908. Co the residents of the United States, and signed by you as Governor Of Okla. homa, has been referred to the De- partment of State, which is charged with the conduct of correspondence be- tween the President and the Chief Execu tive of the several states.
 The character of this communica- tion, which I understand to be mainly false and which perceive to be who'll ly insolent, Is such that am forced to regard 1t as a device to attract from the president for thepurpose of a per sonal controversy a degree of notice which yourself would not receive per- sonally. Respect for the State of Ok lahoma, upon which you have inhict- ed the injury of siginng such a letter over your title as Governor. leads me to acknowledge It's receipt. The sub- stances of the communication precludes any further official notice of 1t.
 'Very respectfully.
 (Signed) "Elihu Root
 regret that my duty forces me. Mir. President, to, decline to have this gross injustice to two thousand citizens of our state disposed of by side stepping or evasion.
 Your Secretary of State says; I am insolent.' MT. President. If honest ad- herence to my duties Is insolence. then let it be insolence. but that absurd statement from your Secretary of State will not be accepted as substitute for fifteen or twenty million dollars due to the Osage Indians.
 "Mr. President, your Secretary of State says: My demand Is device to attract from the President for the 1R annAWnUnRaV Q