The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-08-26
AS TO OKLAHOMA.
X. U. Whitfield Is Back Home and
Writes in Defense of McAIester.

To the Readers of the State Journal:
The news and art department (es-
pecially the latter put one over on
me in Saturdays issue. 1t must have
been a dull day for news to have de-
voted so much space to such a rotten
jolly. However, 1 forgive them. They
are jolly bunch, even If they do not
know what they say or do.
True, 1 did take a vacation and
spent ten days of it at McAIester, Ok,
one of the prettiest and most sub
stantial little cities in the southwest.
If the weather is like Tom bstone.
Ariz., or Death Valley, failed to no
tice it, The temperature is a few
degrees hotter than Topeka, but there
is less moisture in the air and one
does not notice it. The country is
very icturesque-similar I was told
to that of western Arkansas and
southwestern Missouri-in fact it is
in the foothills of the Ozark noun
tains.
Some people think a vacation
should consist of rushing. off hun
dreds of miles to some out-of-way in
land lake in the north or some noun
tain resort in Colorado-out of reach
of the daily press, where they can
devote their time to golf playing or
prefer some quiet place where 1 can
receive two daily papers day,
(morning and evening", a copy Of
Emerson's Essays and some late eic-
ton; pipe and plenty of good water.
McAleSter furnishes all of these and
1 enjoyed myself very much. I had
arranged to stay three weeks, but I
found two sufficient, and am glad to
get back to the fascinating grind Of
the daily press, where one is in COM
plete touch with the world.
McAlester is strictly a young mans
city. The people are mostly from
Texas, Arkansas. Mississippi, Tonnes
see and Louisiana, and a more hos
pitable and courteous lot are hard to
find. The land around there is what
is known as segregated land. When
the government made the allotmeniS
to the Choctaw Indians in this part
aside and held for future sale as it
contained valuable mineral deposits.
They are now surveying and apprais-
ing it and when through will open it
to the public.
McAlester is in the center of a large
coal mining district Some 20 or 80
mining towns with populations rang
ing from 1000 to 5000 are within a
them connected by electric and inter-
urban lines. A large amount of coal
is shipped from there all over the
southwest. Here and there vast fields
their principal crop is coal-a crop
that never fails-hence McAlester's
growth and prosperity is staple.
The Oklahoma state prison is To-
amount of improvements they have
accomplished all with convict labor is
worthy of mention. Up until four
years ago Oklahoma had a contract
with the state of Kansas for the care
of her convicts. They became dis
satisfied with the arrangement and
decided to erect a prison of their own.
They cancelled their contract, pur-
chased 100 acres of land near Nc
Alester, appointed a warden and sent
him to Lansing for the prisoners.
many of whom were desperate men.
The man selected for this task was
r. w. Dick, a lawyer of Ardmore, a
man who had had no previous exper-
fence in this line of work. He is a
man of wonderful executive ability,
however, and was known as the per
petual mayor of Ardmore,' for up
until that time Ardmore had had no
other mayor.
Warden Dick went to Lansing with
enough guards to assure a safe trans
fer of the prisoners, loaded than
aboard the train, and lar ded them at
McAlester without an escape. where
he marched them to a crude stock