The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1909-09-30
KANSAS CITY Post
MAKES IhVESI ATION
Gives Full aid SuCCiRCt Rea-
sons fuT Persecution
Of Executive

rbe Kansas city Post Of Sunday
has inc following interesting article.
written by "W A. G. special writer
Theodore Roosevelt never forgot
.rIgnd nor tlrsate toe.
can This be the secret of the prose
ulon Of Charles s. Haskell. governor
Oklahoma for thy alleged town
%. trauds
Can this be the reason why other
men Who ave done the same things
which Ode government declares to be
q crime in Haskell have not been
prosecuted. while the Roosevelt ad.
m.nistration bent every effort to CON
rict the governor of Oklahoma who
eled Rooseyelt2
Again, is 10 crime in Haskell and
thousands of other Oklahomans. who
have helped TO build up the Baby
tate, to have obtained land in strict
compliance with the rules and regua-
tions Of the department of the in
.erior as enforced by government in
spectors?
Is it a crime for Haskell and thou
sands of his fellow citizens to have
obtained land by a process which
brought to the Indians who owned IL
z compensation far in excess of its
intrinsic value?
These are some of the questions
That the people of the United States
how, l,,.+, ,plefn,, etpo, tt, "a t,,ap,ara bIa
weeks Of the last presidential cam
a.gl when two political giants,
Roosevelt the President Of the United
States. and Haskell, governor of Okla
homa. held the center Of the stage in
= hcrculean struggle that, for a time,
I'll but eclipsed the contest between
Mr. Bryan and Mr. Taft, the presiden-
Hal candidates.
These questions have never been
answered. for the reason that there
has not yet been given to the public a
complete and comprehensive state
ment Of the case.
IN Che complete survey of the case
which am able to give to the public
ut this time. it may find the answer
10 some of these queries.
For my own part. feel certain OF
one thing II President Taft or his
attorney general We're TO make a per-
email investigation Of The town lot
cases" there would doubtless be an
Immediate end to the prosecutions.
As news gatherer in the Kansas
city district, my attention had for
0me time been directed to the Mus
Rogee town lot litigation. Although |
rad no acquaintance with Governor
Haskell or any of the other parties
ad no knowledge of the controversy
lcept as a general reader of the
metropolitan press. finally decided
Is 20 TO Muskogee and make a per-
lna and exhaustive inquiry into
-hese matters. What | shall say here
after upon the subject is based upon
authentic records and information
rom reliable sources and is my find
aes Of fact. which can not be truth
uly disputed In fact where | found
a conflict of apparently reliable In
1rmati0n or uncertainty | have given
he government side of the contro-
ersy the benefit of the doubt.
Nuskoqee's Development.
I'm the beginning of the year 1900,
uskogee was town Of about 1000
apulation. of which about one-fourth
als temporary population, sustained
St the government office employment.
The town then had one line Of railroad
and outside Of the government offices
depended ON the mercantile trade
alone for its industry Tn govern
ment had recently plated the town OF
ell5 acres Of Creek Nation land;
23l acres into town lots, sixty-one
acres donated to the NJ, K & /. Ry.
ard l4q acres reserved for public puf.
peses. T ere were about fourteen
other towns in the Greek Nation, plat
ted under the same law Under the
act Of congress- a toRnsIte commission,
composed 0f three persons, had been
placed I'm charge of one or more OF all
these towns. These commissions
were created by the act of congress,
one member appointed by the secre-
tary of the interior OF his own choice,
one the choice OF the Creek Nation
and one the choice OF the respective
town authorities. Their duty was to
appraise the lots and open the same
for scheduling by persons found quail
fled to schedule The townsite COM
missions began their work and pro-
gressed until about October, 1900,
when Napoleon b. Moore. a member
CONTINUED on page 80