The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-08-04
READY To PROBE
. CORES CHARGES
Investigation of Alleged At
tempt to Defraud Oklahoma
Indians of Millions.
BLIND SENATOR SAYS
HE WILL TELL THE STORY
Declares He Was offered Bribe
of $4,000 if He Would
Cease Fighting.

MUSKOGEE, Okla, Aug, 3.-Invesu-
cations OF charges made in the United
States senate by Senator It, P. Gore that
he and member of the house OF repre-
sentatives each had been offered bribe
Of SIS 900 70 foster a scheme whereby the
Indians OF Oklahoma were to be deprived
of SO 600, 900 profits due them through the
sale Of coal and asphalt lands In inns
state is to be begun here tomorrow.
on the eve of the investigation, SEN
ator Core tonight said;
81 will tell the full details OF the scheme
hatched at Washington TO mulct these
Indians out of SO 900 900 through the sale
of their lands. l Will give names, dates
and other circumstances relative to the
brlbe of $25 900 offered to me and to a
member Of the house OF representatives
TO remove our opposition to the scheme
which would throw that vast sum of
money into the hands of private attor-
neys.
Specific Charges.
The committee was appointed by the
house OF representatives to investigate
what are known as the McMurray con-
tracts with the Chickasaw and Choctaw
tribes OF Indians. The charges as made
by Senator Gore in the senate on June
"a and which form the basis for the pres
ent investigation were:
That ]. f McMurray OF McAlester,
Okla, and his associates had obtained
10000 individual contracts with Chicka.
$50, 900 acres of coal and asphalt lands.
estimated To- be worth from $50, 600, 900
TO sl60,000. 900.
That the profit to McMurray and his
associates was to be 10 per cent. or Il
sum ranging from S3. 900, 900 to SIG 900. 900
That n New York syndicate already
was prepared to take over the land at
$50, 900, 900. That when opposition to ap-
prove the contracts arose In congress, he
(Scnator Gorc) was approached and was
told that SIS 900 or perhaps $4,000 would
be available TO him and that q like sum
would be available to n member of the
house OF representatives IL all opposition
was removed,
What Might Have Been.
That If the contracts had been approved
the Indians would have been deprived of
10 per cent OF the profits guaranteed
them by the government and the money
would have gone TO pay attorneys fees
for which no material service had been
rendered. Senator Gore also charged that
IAN ex-senator from Nebraska and an
cx- senator from Kansas were Interested
In tho contracts.
In my charges before the senate.
did not givc any names concerning the
offers Of bribery said Senator Gore.
THAT and other Information / am now
ready 10 impart before the investigating
committee.
when the government made its treat
les with the Indians II agreed to soll
the land and hand over the full profit TO
those Indians. Ii would be absurd for
the government TO sanction reduction
OF 10 per cent to be handed out I'm the
shape OF attorneys fees. II Is especially
absurd since no attorneys services are
Dennis 7. Flynn. counsel for ] f. Nc
Murray. said today that he would con-
tend that the contracts were valid since
the Indians were members OF what arc
known as the five civilized tribes" and
ns such had the right OF citizenship to
make contracts. lie said he would as