The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-02-14
GOV. HASKELL AND THE MUSkO'
GEE FRAUDS.

GOV. HASKELL AND THE MUsko.
GEE FRAUDS.
At last an unsuspecting innocent
man has been unwittingly dragged in
to the mills which grind exceeding
slow. The grand jury has indicted
the governor along with other prom
inent citizens in an attempt to recov-
er some of the lands which have been
pilfered from the Creek Indians.
And this Is what the Governor says:
"T have just heard of the indictment
for conspiracy. coupled with seven or
eight of the Oldest and highest char
actered citizens of Muskogee, men
who developed and built up that coun-
try by their unselfish effort. From
now on the proceedings will be open
to both sides. Hearst's crooked man.
ipu1ations will be at discount.
II am satisfied that the Interior
Department has been misled by false
statements. am confident that there
has not been a dishonest act done by
any of the indicted parties, and that
good citizens in general regardless Of
politics feel the same way
The public may discount what Mr..
Hearst has to say about the matter in.
deed. 1t needs only the evidence &C
cumulated by the department OF the
interior to show that Gov. Haskell and
the glorious company of Muskogeans
are grafters of the first water. Indeed
it proves nothing at all that the men
can be said to be the highest charac-
tered men in Muskogee.
This is the state of things in Okla
homa.
The Creek nation held all the land
and still holds it as tribe. No men,
Der of the tribe can give the land
away nor sell it. The Creek citizen
has no title. for the title is held-not
by individuals but by the whole tribe.
When the land in the Creek reserva-
ton was found to be good and the
deposits of minerals and the oil wells
were discovered "squatters and
squawmen" came into the country.
White girls endeavored to marry a
Creek brave. For citizenship in the
Creek nation means a matter Of sew
eral thousand dollars and the girl who
marries Creek marries wealthy
citizen. And so the land was populat.
ed with men who had no right to the
land at all. Some actually settled on
the land and in due course Of time
the town of Muskogee was founded.
In 1898 the policy of the government
led to the Dawes commission which
had for its cause of being the object
the allotment of lands among the in.
dividuals and the extinguishment of
the tribal title in the towns. This
the towns and villages which were
springing up should be laid out and
sold under the provisions of the Cur.
tbs Act in 1898.
Whether by accident, carelessness
or design the Curtis act was full OF
treachery to the Creeks and the
Dawes commission was instrumental
in the debauchery of the lands of the
Indians. 1t is significant fact that
the Dawes commission had at least
one man on it who advanced himself
from comparatively little means to a
millionaire. The chief of the Greek
nation himself was in completely with
the grafters it afterward developed by
his own confession to Secretary Gar
field and he alone restored what he
had defrauded from his fellow Creeks
although it made him a bankrupt man
What this Curtis act was it is impos
sible to mention in detail except that
1t was provided that certain towns
be laid out and the lots scheduled and
sold. The squatters were treated with
liberality so that the so-called owners
was enabled to buy his lot at hall
the appraised value otherwise his 10,
was to be sold and he was to get the
whole value of his improvements
The theory of these provisions was
that although settlers had no title
yet, inasmuch as their settlement ant
their improvements added to the
value of the real estate, they should
be allowed one-half the value of an,
lot they wished to buy.
This was not all: it is enough t.
say that by the loose terms of the ac
any one who stuck even piece of til