The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-27
HASKELL COMESBACK
HE SENDS ANOTHER LETTER TO
 ROOSEVELT.
Oklahoma Governor Says the President Granted OH Franchise at the Request of Senator
 Depew.

Kansas City, Mo-, Sept. Ex-Governor Charles N. Haskell. passing through this citw tonight on his way from Chi cago to Guthrie, gave the Associated Press a letter address to President Roosevelt, defending Haskell's attitude toward the Prairie oil and Gas Com pany, and assailing the President for granting before statehood, franchise In Indian Territory for Standard oil pipe line at the request of Senator Chauncey M. Depew.
 You knew" writes Governor Has, kell, that Senator Depew was the | greatest Standard Oil agent in the Senate"
 Governor Haskelrs letter says: "In regard to the Prairie oil and Gas Company, oil pipe lines franchise in Oklahoma, I said the Secretary of the Interior granted this franchise be- fore statehood; that Federal courts would prevent our States interference and that we are compelled to treat 1t as we find the grant. and that hence I properly dismissed the suit brought by our Attorney General without my ap- proval.
 "Ex-Secretary Hitchcock says he did not grant any franchise, Secretary Garfield says he did, but that the State power Is not in any way limited to control 1t. and that am quibbling.
 The press reports this morning say that Hitchcock's hearing that com panys application for franchise in the year 1903 (three years before State hood) hesitated about granting 1t, whereupon Senator Depew and others went over Hitcheock's head to you, Mir. President, and got an order to the Secretary to make the grant.
 The Prairie Oil and Gas Company was a Kansas corporation and under a HHn 6t nk Gw,N1 nNw. line from Kansas down about 100 miles into Indian Territory now the State of Oklahoma; began and still keep 1t in operation. Right was also included to lay lateral lines to assemble oil from wells into the main line three such laterals being laid to the nearby c1us- ter of wells in question:. Thus State with It's vested rights under the Inte- rior Department grRNt embracing an interstate property.
 ''Mr President. caH ignore your grant and tear up thaA ~ under State authority7 You know we cannot. Will a domestic corporation come in now with that interstate line existing and parallel it to the same wells? Ger tainIy not no more than a new State railroad would build a parallel with an existing interstate road to carry an amount of grain production, not am- pie for both. Who wants an addition al lateral line in this instance? The owners of that cluster of wells who produce the oil and must market 1t or go into bankruptcy; the land owners who want their royalties; the laborers who want employment; the local mer- chants, whose trade depends upon pro duction and sale of numerous small producers. We would all like to see this company take out a domestic char ter. Our Attorney General brought suit to prevent it laying the additional lat eral line until 1t should domesticate;
 '"rhe oil Pipe Company said All right. stop us, MT. Attorney General If you wish we can wait.
 But our interested citizens. above mentioned, appealed to me in their distress. I saw that our people were the only sufferers and that we could not compel the oil pipe line to domes- ticate and I stopped the case, and for tbis reason. MT. President, you say I have been corrupted to aid the oil pipe company"