The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 4, 1918, Page 4

Oklahoma, Its Constitution and “Teddy” The Flght of the Farmers and Workingmen for a Fair Fundamental =~ _ L Law and the Help They Got The discovery of oil in Oklahoma has helped in the wondeiful progress of éhe state and has made millionaires out of many of the Indians. In the northern part o Fei of Oklahoma are thousands of acres covered with oil derricks like these, each marklng a producing well. Oil, which ten years ago sold for 30 cents a barrel, now A" 21 brings $2.28. This picture was taken in the Healdton fleld near Ardmore. i E BY E. B. FUSSELL land.” Kansas, Colorado and Texas all claimed it. the writer visited Oklahoma the other day it 3 N THE way to Oklahoma I got to talking There were only a few settlers but they decided, ' -boasted a population of 2,500,000. with a man on .the train. He was a fair- - without any particular authority, to set up a new ; 1 skinned, hrown-haired, well dressed fellow state of their own. They called it the “state of HOW THE OSAGE INDIANS B BN of about 30. He evidently had a good edu- €imarron” and elected a delegate to congress. But CONSERVE THEIR RESOURCES : s cation, had traveled considerably but was going home to Oklahoma to stay for a while, he said. He had mentioned farm conditions in Oklahoma and also seemed to know a lot about oil. I asked him if ‘he was a farmer. ' “Not exactly,” he said, and smiled. “Really, I don’t do much of anything. I'm a member of the tribe of Osage Indians, you see, and I get my money from Uncle Sam regularly.” : It wasn’t the first I had heard about the Osage Indians and after I got to Oklahoma I learned a lot more. I learned that while my acquaintance of the train, who had only one-sixteenth Indian blood, was only moderately wealthy, with an income of from $3,000 to $5,000 a year, there were plenty of full- bloods and half-bloods who were millionaires in their ‘own right. J Oklahoma is an interesting state. When the writer went to school and studied geography there wasn’t any such place. It was listed on the map as “Indian Territory.” Nearly 90 years ago the national government first set this land aside for the use of the Indians. It moved from their homes, as far away as the Atlantic coast, the “five civilized tribes” of Indians—the Osages, Seminoles, Creeks, Cherokees and Chickasaws—into this new country. Other tribes, not quite so civilized, ‘were also moved " there. Large tracts of land were set aside for each . tribe, Later the land was divided among the. indi- vidual Indians in personal allotments. The govern- ment kept & watchful eye over the Indians, to see that they did not waste their inheritance. LAND HUNGRY PIONEERS “RACED FOR FREE FARMS Something like 30 years ago it was seen that the Indians would not need all the land of Indian terri- ~tory and large tracts were opened to ‘entry for white settlers. Twenty-four years ‘ago there was probably the largest and most spectacular land opening in the world when “the strip” was thrown open. “The strip” comprises the Oklahoma pan- handie and much other. rich farming territory in ° the northwestern part of the state. The panhandle section for many years Was known as “No man’s the United States never recognized the new state and it died a-bornin’, as the saying goes. At the opening of ‘“the- strip”. pioneer, hungry for land, appeared. They were for- bidden to enter the new territory until the set hour and United States troops were there to enforce the order. So the settlers all lined up. At noon on the appointed day a shot rang out—the signal for the _ land opening, and a mad rush of men and women, in buggies, in wagons, horseback, muleback and afoot dashed across the line in one of the ‘wildest races in history. This was less than 25 years ago and Oklahoma territory, as it was known, had only a few thousand . whites, a few thousand Indians and a few thousand negroes,. less than 100,000 altogether, as citizens. But the land was rich. Other farmers flocked in and original settlers sold out at an advantage. In- dustries began to be set up. Towns and cities sprang into being on the prairie. Then "o0il was struck. Great gushers were brought in and shortly after the discovery of thfs great natural resource, the price ‘of oil began to boom. ' It kept going up from 30 cents, a matter of ten years ago, to $2.25 per barrel today, and Oklahoma produces 100,000,000 barrels a year. Population doubled and redoubled and when This is one of the most interesting stories in the big historical series. It tells how:. the farmers and labor men united in Oklahoma and gave that state the most progressive state constitution in the nation. This constitution has the same sort of a public ownership clause that North Dakota farmers propose for - their new constitution—the clause that hold-over senators in North Dakota said ‘was ““Socialism,” ““I. W. W.’ism,” ete. < Yet dlstmglushed ‘statesmen have de- elared Oklahoma’s constitution to be the best ever wntten. “PAGE FOUR. thousands of - magnificent. country home, well farnished, - with ' waste their inheritance. The Osages, the wealthiest w“"« ; homa. but about the whites. - Much of the oil was struck on Indian lands and é this, in part, accounts for the wealth of the Osages, i Cherokees, Creeks, Chickasaws and Seminoles, “" Thousands of the Indians, like my acquaintance of £ the train, have also been well educated at-govern- R ment expense. They live, dress and act like the whites and mix with them in society and business. - Many other thousands have more money than they know how to use. It is a common sight to see a hardwood floors, and to find dogs racing unmolested through the house while the owner lives outside . in a tepee in the yard. One Indian that I heard of built such a house but decided later that the tepee was more to his taste and uses the kitchen’ as a stable for his horses. Each of the five civilized tribes has a government 78 of its own. Each tribe elects a governor, who gets B iq $5,000 a year, an attorney and a tribal council, - e which corresponds with a state legislature. As was stated previously, the government looks after the Indians generally to see that they do not tribe of all, carry government control farther on their own account., While most of the tribes have alloted their land and mineral mghts to individuals and the individuals have, with government consent, disposed of these rights in many instances, the Osages hold all their mineral rights- as tribe prop- erty. While the land is alloted to individuals, the tribal council holds and administers all.the oil prop- erties, the money goes into a common fund and is equitably divided among the 2300 members of the tribe, each member getting around $3,000 a year from this source. The Osage Indians have had the good sense to know that a people should not part with their natural resources—that they should be kept for the benefit of all and 80, perhaps, white men who have not learned this principle should not begrudge the Osage Indians their prosperity. FARMERS AND LABOR MEN : ; UNITE IN PEOPLE'S FIGHT = - gy - But this story is not about the Indians of Oklar With the settleme.n‘ty, el