The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1908-07-28
PAST GRAND MASTERS
Of GENTLE ART or CRAFT
Pool Their Lands and Double
the Price to Prospective
Land Buyers
Special to DAILY Leader.

7
Muskogee, July 27.-"s "stung by the
grating aliottees." is the way the
land buyers are suuming up the Sc.
| quel 20 tile removal OF restrictions in
Eas ern Oklahoma, and while the IN
dams and negroes are giving the pros.
pective buyers the laugh, they have
proved themselves past grand masters
in the art OF grating and have pu,
quietus to the much heralled sale
of lands by pooling their lanis and
doubling the price.
While II was expected that in the
early hours of the morning yes erday
thousands OF acres would change
hands under the action of the gov
omment In removing the shaekles,
careful summing up shows that but
Ia deeds have been filed in Musko-
gee county, wnen It was expected
that the days result would show In
much larger figures.
Land buyers made no effort to con-
ceal their surprise and chagrin when
the facts of the various pools were
promulgated The indians, after liv-
ing off .he prospective buyers for the
past week. have becoH pssessed Of
considerable money. enough at least
to mold out against the odeis of the
buyers, who now face The uldmatTr
Of paying double or not at all.
Many buyers who had been keeping
negroes for days did not get a single
deei
Repors Of similar conditions are
coming I'm from other counties. With
ten million acres of land in forty
counties released today the lanl men
have not been able to buy one-tenth
of what thy expected. 10 developed
that great deal of the land had
been plastered with fve-year leases
to keep other buyers off.
IL was charged that buyers had
caused the arrest of many allottees
on various complaints In order TO get
them imprisoned and would go to the
Jail and agree TO pay their fines ana
make their bonds if they would sell
their lands. One buyer lured six ne
groes into a crap game and then had
them arres,ed and jailed for safe
keeping
Prosecutions, it was rumored, will
probably follow
Assistant Attorney General Russell
issued a warning TO people against
buying lands upon which government
suits have been fled.
The land IS selling cheap. The buy
ers are anxious to get It. but tneir
anxiety lies in the price, not the
scarcity of land They are choosing
the best ana buying II cheap II IS
the belief Of many tha. this scramble
Is unnecessary and that land will be
Just as cheap three weeks hence as
II is now.
The buyers are taking no chances
on the negro and Indian allottees
grating them this time. This Is the
sale that sticks. SO most Of them
have had their cappers out, using
negroes and Indians for the work
ana corralled the owners Of the land
they wan TO buy, and they have, in
ono way and another kept them under
guard ever since.
None buyer has seven rooms I'm &
building right in the 0eart of the
city ana he has hal negroes cOrralled
there three DAYS. They are furnished
everything they want, the only condi-
tlon imposed that they do not leave
the rooms or allow anyone else 20
enter Guards in the hallway night
and day see tnat this rule is obeyed
they made deeds 10 their land at
midnight
Cut OF by Buyers.
Two buyers found an OIL negro
woman who iB land poor They sent
her TO Kansas City and found her
place as a housemaid and she is paid
$40 per week. Ths owner of the
70-so GETS her services free The
land buyers are putting up the $40
She Is safe from other buyers and
as aho never before saw so per
week sne VIII sell all her land and
that ct Der children and decide to
live IN Kansas City. As soon as the
lana Is bought the buyers will cut on
her pay and she viii fni herself with
out land and without a Job.
Another buyer, more ambitions. goi
fifteen negroes together and made en-
agreement 70 buy their land He
boueht tickets and cent them all 10
ST. Louis IN charge Of a young white
man WAC was to look after them. show
them she sights and nav Tor whatever
they wanted on their vacation. At
midnight deeds were 10 he
taken on al their lard. Everything
went well un,il the bunch was steered
up against a negro minstrel show ans
dnrins the excitement ne negroes