OKLAHOMA. 



G21 



ley. saccharine, sorghum, and the great forage 

 plants, alfalfa, clover, and timothy in the eastern 

 and central portions of the Territory are profitably 

 cultivated. The estimate of Indian corn for 1 "-!); 

 was .-)( .<>()< (.000 bushels. 



Oklahoma has furnished one third of the product 



that it takes to run the castor-oil mills of the 



United States. Fruit culture is a paying industry : 



l,5(Ml,OUO fruit trees have been planted and small 



fruits and melons are exported. One small station 



alone shipped 100 carloads of watermelons. I>i<- 



f gold, silver, and copper were reported in 



l s '.Hj. nil has been found and a large territory 



; to the Plut-nix Oil Company. 



No-Man's Land. This district, bordering Okla- 

 homa on the west, and once the refuge of criminals 

 in the Southwest because none of the surrounding 

 State or Territorial courts had jurisdiction over it. 

 has been changed into a rich agricultural and 

 stock country. The change "is due to 40 young 

 women who are now in charge of the 38 public 

 schools of Beaver County. Seven of them met in 

 Heaver City and organized the Pan Handle Cattle 

 Company, the intention being to invest their sur- 

 plus earnings in the cattle business. Over 30 of 

 the women have taken claims of 160 acres each on 

 Heaver river, and will till the soil in summer and 

 teach in winter. They receive $30 a month for a 

 six months' term. The teachers have pledged each 

 other not to marry within five years." 



(iroer County. On March 16 the United States 

 Supreme Court decided the case of the United 

 States >*. the State of Texas, involving the owner- 

 ship of Greer County, in favor of the plaintiff. 

 After the decision was announced the President 

 i a proclamation reserving Greet" County from 

 settlement until a decision shall be reached as to 

 the merits of the Choc-taws' claim. Greer County 

 became disputed territory because a geographer 

 named Melish. who made a map eighty years ago, 

 did not clearly indicate whether the boundary be- 

 tween the United States and Spanish possessions 

 ran up the North Fork or the South Fork of Red 

 river. Melish further confused the situation by lo- 

 cating the one hundredth meridian about 100 miles 

 too far east. So. when half a century had gone by. 

 Texas set up the claim that the North Fork was the 

 boundary and all south of it was in her domain. 

 The United States did not accept this conclusion. 

 Texas cattlemen moved across the South Fork of 

 Red river into the disputed territory and named it 

 Greer County. Texas settlers drifted in. formed a 

 county government under the Texas laws, sent a 

 representative to the Legislature, and were recog- 

 nized by the State as a part of it. 



It was rapidly establishing its Texas connection 

 by common consent when a member of Congress 

 from that State, being anxious to hasten the con- 

 clusion and settle title for all time to come, intro- 

 duced a bill under which the question was taken to 

 the Supreme Court and was settled as above stated, 

 March 16. 



In the decision. Justice Harlan said the case de- 

 pended upon the construction of the treaty between 

 this country and Spain made in 1819. which de- 

 fined the northern and eastern lines of the Spanish 

 <sions. The court held that the fact that 

 commissioners and surveyors were provided for in 

 the treaty was evidence that it was: not intended 

 that the lines as laid down in the map should be 

 considered binding. 



The people of Greer County will live under 

 United States laws, so far as conduct and protec- 

 tion are concerned, but they will have no land ti- 

 tles. At the time of the decision the Oklahoma 

 Homestead bill was before the House of Represent- 

 atives, and an amendment was offered and accepted 



in view of the decision of the court to prevent 

 sijuatters from rushing into (!reer County and en- 

 tering lands under regular land laws, to the injury 

 of bunn full residents who had purchased their 

 lands on the supposition that they belonged to the 

 State of Texas. 



An item in the report of the Conference Commit- 

 tee on the general Indian bill, which was accepted 

 by both houses, extended for one year all pavments 

 on claims in Oklahoma in order to give time for the 

 homestead bill to be acted upon. 



Political. The Republicans held a Territorial 

 convention in Oklahoma City. March 2s. t,, 

 delegates to the national convention, and one at 

 Kingfisher. March 3o. to choose a candidate for 

 Representative in Congress. Dennis T. Flynn was 

 nominated to succeed himself. The resolutions de- 

 clared Republican principles and condemned t he- 

 national administration ; favored bimetallism under 

 restrictions insuring the maintenance of parity in 

 value and "the prohibition of foreign silver modi- 

 fied by financial reciprocity"; declared that Un- 

 political patronage of the Territory should be con- 

 fined to Oklahomans : favored the passage of the 

 Flynn Statehood bill"; condemned the board of 

 equalization '"for placing a raised and fictitious 

 valuation on all property in 1895 except railroad 

 property"; denounced the action of the majority 

 of the Supreme Court in annulling the act of the 

 Legislature limiting the fees of district courts, 

 ii. it was declared, " takes from the people $40,- 

 000 a year of direct taxes for Territorial criminal 

 fees, and $40,000 more of civil fees paid by litigants 

 which, under the Territorial law. were to be con- 

 verted into the treasuries of the counties": con- 

 demned the district judges " for their arbitrary 

 ruling prohibiting any person unable to give a d M 

 bond to file a petition as provided for by law. and 

 demanding a cash deposit in all civil cases: and 

 condemned the judges for requiring defendants in 

 civil cases to make a cash deposit before filing any 

 answer or other plea." Other resolutions of the 

 platform were : " we commend the sound financial 

 laws passed by the late Legislature, which lifted the 

 counties of Oklahoma from degradation to solven- 

 cy. We demand the prompt opening of all Indian 

 reservation? where treaty stipulations have been 

 agreed upon. We denounce the Honorable Secre- 

 tary of the Interior, Hoke Smith, for his refusal to 

 open the Wichita reservation under the provisions 

 already provided by Congress, instead of keeping 

 this and other reservations for cattlemen under a 

 contract represented by Seth Cobb, a cousin from 

 .ria. the cattlemen paying a royalty to the firm 

 of Cobb & Smith to prevent thousands of homeless 

 families from securing homes on these reservations; 

 and we demand that all future openings be without 

 that farce called a " booth certificate.' " 



Hon. Dennis T. Flynn was highly commended 

 for his services to the Territory in Congress. 



The Territorial Democratic Convention for nom- 

 inating delegates to the national convention met in 

 Oklahoma City. May 26. A resolution instructing 

 the delegates for Richard P. Bland was carried by a 

 vote of 125 to 124. A free-coinage 16-to-l resolu- 

 tion was included in the platform, and also the fol- 

 lowing : " We favor the enactment of legislation by 

 Congress at the earliest moment possible which 

 gives to all the settlers upon public lands in this 

 Territory the same rights to free homes that were 

 accorded to the settlers of original Oklahoma. We 

 favor more liberality and privileges in reference to 

 Indians holding allotments in Oklahoma, and de- 

 mand such legislation as will permit the Indians to 

 conduct their business without interference on the 

 part of the Indian Department or its agents, and 

 that the Indians having one half or more white 



