The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1908-09-29
HASKELL BLAMEs ROOSEVELT
Writes President a Letter Charging
Him With Being Responsible for
Oil Company's Having Pipe
Line in Oklahoma.

Kansas City, No., Sept. 26.-Gov.
Charles n. Haskell, passing through
this city tonight on his way from Chi
cago to Guthrie, gave out letter ad-
dressed to President Roosevelt defend
ing his (Haskell's) attitude toward
the Prairie Oil and Gas company and
assailing the president for granting,
before statehood, a franchise in In
dian Territory for Standard Oil pipe
line at the request Of Senator Chaun-
cey VI. Depew.
"You KNEW writes Gov Haskell.
S:that Senator Depew was the great
est Standard Oil agent in the senate. "
Gov. Haskell says:
"'I said that the secretary of the in
terror granted the Prairie Oil and
Gas company franchise before state
hood; that the federal courts would
prevent our States interference and
that we are compelled to treat it as
we find the grant and that hence I
properly dismissed the suit brought
by our attorney general without my
approval Ex-Secretary Hitchcock
says he did not grant any franchise.
Secretary Garfield says be did, but
that the States power is not in any
way limited to control it, and that I
am quiabbing. The press reports this
morning say that Hitchcock is hear
ing that company's application for
franchise in the year 1908 (three
years before -statehood) hesitated
about granting it, whereupon Senator
Depew and others went over Hitch
cocks head to you, Mr. President,
and got an order to the secretary to
make the grant.
E'The Prairie Oil and Gas company
was a Kansas corporation and under
that franchise at once built its main
line. from Kansas down about 100
miles into Indian Territory, now the
State Of Oklahoma, and began opera
ton. A right was also included to
lay lateral lines to assemble oil from
wells into the main line, three such
1aterals being laid to the nearby
cluster Of wells now in question. Thus
statehood found this foreign corpora
tion with its vested rights under the
interior department. grant embracing
an interstate property.
"Mr. President, can we ignore your
grant and tear up that line under
State authority? You know we can
not. Will a domestic corporation
come in row with that interstate line
existing and parallel it to the same
wells? Certainly not, no more than
new State railroad would build paral-
lei with an existing interstate road
to carry an amount of grain produc-
ton not ample for both. Who wants
an additional lateral line in this in
stance? The owners Of that cluster
f wells who produce the oil and must
-narket it or 60 into bankruptcy; the
land owners who want their royalties;
the laborers who want employment;
the local merchants whose trade de-
pends upon production and sale of nu-
merous small producers. We would
J all like to see this company take out
a domestic charter; our attorney gen.
eral brought suit to prevent its laying
the additional lateral line until it
should domesticate. The oil pipe
company said: All right, stop us, Mr..
Attorney General. If you wish, we
can wait
"But our interested citizens above
mentioned appealed to me in their
distress. / saw that our people were
the only sufferers and that we could
not compel the oil pipe line to domes-
tieate and I stopped the case, and for
this reason. Mr.. President, YOU say I
have been corrupted to aid the oil
pipe company"