Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-10-13
Addresses Letter to Him on Con-
troversy Over Leasing Of
Usage indian Oil Lands.
WANTS LEASE CANCELLED.
He Threatens to Appeal to Con-
gress to Have it De-
cIared Void.

Insists Indians Should Receive Same
Just and Reasonable Compcnsa-
\ ton Others Arc Getting.
Kansas City. Oct. 1S.-Gov Charles
N Haskell OF Oklahoma, who arrived
here this morning among others, gave
I to the Associated Press signed state.
lnent addressed to President Roosevelt
contributing another chapter IN tiiu.
! controversy arising over the leasing OF
! $780, 900 acres or Usage Indian oil lands.
II shall" says the governor, in the
course or his statement, Insist upon
the cancellation of this lease in the
& interest of these citizens of our state,
or that Congress take action to declare
! this improvdcnt and unjust lease void,
and secure for the Usage nation the
just and reasonable compensation that
other owners are receiving"
HAsSELL's LETTER.
The letter i'll full follows:
TO Hon. Theodore Roosevelt. Presi-
4 dent Washington, d. c.: Sir--I have
/ Just received & letter from Frank
i Pierce, acting secretary OF the interior.
4 department, dated Oct 8, stating that
I my letter to you,asking for an eHplana
ton IS to the oil lease on the Usage
i lands. had been referred to his depart
lnent.
He attaches all explanation, which is
Z not at all satisfactory; ii contained
practically nothing in conflict With MY
complaint. I agree that in 1896 the
l Democratic administration made a
= lease TO T.. b. Foster on the entire
Il Usage nation for 10 years at 10 per cent
royalty. AT that time the nearest
i known oil production was about 100
smiles from the Usage nation, so that
#the Foster lease of 1896 was rank
ssWild cat proposition, and the usual pho
ganeer royalty of 10 per cent was allowed
$SBut during the 10 years the field was
developed, and found to be unusually
rich. and 10 years at this low royalty
Twas an ample reward to those who de-
3sSVeloped it.
III BY 1905 Foster had transferred his
s$lease to the Indian Territory illuminate
ing OH company, q well known sub
ssstitute of the Standard Oil company.
Development showed that oil COW.
& cred 6so,0oO acres. being the. east part
sgof the Usage nation, also extending
8florth into Kansas, east into Indian
TERRITORY. and south into Oklahoma,
Ii and the whole area is known as the
y richest oil country in existence at this
date. The remainder,of the Usage ma
ton was barren.
POWER TO FIX PRICE.
Congress gave you the power to fix
the consideration that the Usage peo-.
pie should receive, as their part of the
oil value after the expiration of the
10-yaar lease 1t was well known to
n of m y1,pf y, r, 4 arcnD
4 were paying for small tracts in the Os-
age nation and adjoining lands in the
Cherokee nation. as the Cherokee leases
4 passed through tho interior department
and their approval and the royalties
and bonuses received by the land own
ers were o. matter OF record and APP
prevail in the interior department rec
a ortls. 1t is scarcely possible, that with
these records before You, you failed to
II notice that $40 per acre, cash bonus
and onc-sixth royalty was much below
Il the average compensation to the land
y owner. Indeed. in many instances. cash
n bonuses Of from $50 to even 500 per
acre were received by the land owners.
h a few cases found in the interior de-
II partment records are as follows:
The Lannon family,70o acres. Chero-
Il kee nation, Immediately joining the Os-,
age nation. Interior department lease.
4 made in 1908, cash bonus $40, 900. royalty
one-eighth. We have eight or 10 SINH
II lar leases where general public nfor-
81 nation shows cash bonuses Substantial
Il ~ as large as the above, and royalties
3 running along sixths, but your subor-
Y dinate officers in charge Of the Indian
81 office at Muskogee, on orders from the
& interior department this morning re-
VI fused to permit examination of the rec
IL ords to confirm same accurately, but
" they are subject to your investigation
Il and you will find, no doubt. that the
Il Lannon lease was only an average
" lease.
.sAnd numerous other leases. adjoining
the Usage nation give you the. oppor-
tunity to know that a bare one-eighth
royalty, without any cash bonus TO the
Osages. was a gross outrage on that
nation.
osAGEs FILED REQUEST.
Congress no sooner gave you the au-
thority to fix the amount Of compensa-
ton than the ,Osages filed a written re-.
4 quest with you for an opportunity 70 De
heard and produce evidence, winch tney
could easily have; produced, showing
you that a cash bonus of 81 wv ana
one-sixth royalty would be indeed a
Ri moderate compensation for them.
You neglected to give the Osages
q any snpportunity whatever to be heard.
q The fact that $4,000 acres of rich OIL
land was the stake that the Standard
oil company was pia!lliBi iol sthu III
land owners denied the right TO pc
/ heard. IS something tlatsWill REQUIRE q
more lucid explanation that MI Pierce
has seen fit to give.
! ANY practical business manfis ready
~ recognize that $4,000 acres IN one
tract of land is OF far greater proper.
ticnate value than the small tracts OF
few hundred acres each. and there :
fore, the greater surprise that you
stoud have fixed a royalty. without
any cash bonus, much lower than the
i indigidual land owners We're securing
on small tracts. There was no sucn
i in.proyident leases being made in tha'
whole combined field
4 .Mr. Pierce suggests IN his letter
To ne that as IL matter of fact it was
B not known at the time that the stand
Il ard oh company was, the real party
In Interest. / submit to You that the
q very fact that Messrs. Guffsy, Barns
u dale and Senator Derew, we'll known
Il Standard OIL representatives with oth-
u ers IF the same odor, making per-
"a soiial., appeal to you for this low royalty
ii TO tile land owners. should have beei,
s& ample evidence that the Standard 2i
y company was the real beneficiary
# DEPEW's PART.
zk s.sJr wa 6 tl,a ca I,,a Soma for DepeWs WHO