OKLAHOMA
232
OKLAHOMA
territory. On 16 September, 1893, the Cherokee
Strip Wiis opened for settlement. This was a strip of
land extending from the Cherokee Nation west to "No
Man's Land" and Texas, being about 5S miles wide
and eontainiiig an area of 6,014,293 acres. This had
once been guaranteed to the Cherokee Indians as a
perpetual hunting outlet to the western border of the
United States. The last great opening in Oklahoma
occurred in December, 1906, when .5().'),()()0 acres of
land, which had been reserved from the Comanche and
Apache lands for pasturage, were sold in tracts of IGO
acres to the higlicst l)id<lers by tlie Government. In
this wise 2500 farms were opened to white settlement.
Oklahoma and Indian Territories became a .state on 16 November, 1907. On 20 November, 1906, pursu- ant to the enabling act passed by Congress, the consti- tutional convention assembled at Guthrie and closed its labours on 6 July, 1907. The constitution was adopted by a vote of the people on 17 September, 1907, and at the same election the officers of the new state were elected. The inauguration was held in Guthrie on 16 November, 1907.
VI. CoxsTiTDTioN, L.\ws ETC. — When the Congress of the United States passed what is known as the en- abling act, enaiiling the people of Oklahoma and of In- dian Territory to form a constitution and be admitted to the Union, it was provided in said act: "That per- fect toleration of religious sentiment shall be secured and that no inhabitant of the Slate shall ever be mo- lested in person or property on account of his or her mode of religious worship and that polygamous or plural marriages are forever prohibited". The Con- stitution of the State provides for the freedom of wor- ship in the same language as quoted above but pro- vides further: "No rehgious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights". Under the statute law of Oklahoma it is a misdemeanour for any one to attempt, by means of threats or violence, to compel any person to adopt, practise, or profess any particular form of religious belief. It is also a crime under the law for any person to wilfully prevent, by threats or violence, another person from performing any lawful act enjoined upon or recommended to such person by the religion which he professes. Every per- son who wilfully disturbs, interrupts, or disquiets any assemblage of people met for religious worship, by uttering profane discourse, or making unnece-ssary noise within or near the place of meeting, or obstruct- ing the free passage to such place of religious meeting, is guilty of a misdemeanour. The laws of Oklahoma provide that: "The first day of the week being by very general consent set apart for rest and religious uses, the law makes a crime to be done on that day certain acts deemed useless and serious interruptions of the repose and religious liberty of the community"; and the following arc the acts forbidden on Sunday: ser- vile labour; public sports; trades, manufacturing and mechanical employments; public traffic; serving pro- cess, unless authorized by law so to do.
Oaths can be administered only by certain judicial officers and their clerks authorized by law, and persons conscientiously opposed to swearing are allowed merely to affirm but are amen.able to the penalties of
Cerjury. Oaths can be taken only when authorized y law. Under the state law blasphemy consists in wantonly uttering or publishing words, casting con- tumelious reproach or profane ridicule upon God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Gliost, the Holy Scriptures, or the Christian or any other religion. Blasphemy is a misdemeanour. Profane swearing as defined by the state law is: "Any use of the name of God, or Jesus Christ, or the Holy Ghost either in imprecating divine vengeance upon the utterer or any other person, or in light, trifling or irreverent speech." It is punishable by fine, for each offence. It is customary to convene the Legislature of the State with prayer, but the law makes no provision for it. Every Sunday and Christ-
mas are legal holidays. There is no statute law re-
garding the seal of confession, nor has there ever been
adi'ci.sionof the Supreme Court regarding it. Churches
may lie incorporated under the laws of Oklaliouia and
I lie greatest latitude is given sueli corporations. They
may own or huld as much real properly as is necessary
for I lie (ibje<'ls of the association, may sell or mortgage
liroperty, and the title to any property held by any
bisliop in trust for the use and benefit of such con-
gregation shall be vested in his successor or successors
in ollice. The law provides for a fee of $2.00 to the
Secretary of State for incorporating any religious cor-
poration. All the property and mortgages on prop-
erty used exclusively for religious or charitable
purposes are exempt from ta.xation. The clergy are
exempt from jury and military service under the laws
of the state.
Any unmarried male of the age of twenty-one or upwards and any unmarried female of the age of eigh- teen or upwards, if not related by blood nearer than second cousins, are capable of contracting and con- senting to marriage. The contracting parties are re- quired to secure a licence after filing an application sworn to before the county judge by a person legally competent to make and take oath. The marriage ceremony may be solemnized by any judge, justice of the peace, or any priest or clergyman. The minis- ter is required to make the proper indorsement on the licence and transmit same to the county judge. All Indian marriages, under Indian customs, prior to 1897 have been declared legal and all Indian divorces among Indians, according to their customs, prior to that year have been declared legal. Since 1897 In- dians have had to comply with the laws of the state regarding marriage and divorce. Prior to 1893 the law required a residence of only ninety days in order to file petition for a divorce. The state laws now re- quire a residence of one year prior to filing petition and there are ten grounds or causes upon which a divorce may be granted, such as abandonment, ex- treme cruelty, drunkenness, adultery, impotency, gross neglect of duty etc. A judgment of divorce is final and conclusive and operates as a dissolution of the marriage contract as to both husband and wife. Neither party to the divorce can marry within six months from the date of the decree.
Prior to statehood the sale of liquor in the Indian Territory was prohibited by United States law. Oklahoma Territory was not governed by that law and liquor was sold in all parts of Oklahoma. The enabling act that Congress passed provided for state- wide prohibition and the constitutional convention made provision for a prohibitory clause which was voted upon by the people of the state, but voted upon separately from the constitution. The prohibi- tion clause carried, and since statehood Oklahoma has been a prohibition state. The new state has begun to construct modern buildings for its prisons and re- formatories, and has passed many laws for regulation of same. A law that was enacted and included in the constitution provided for the office of commissioner of charities and corrections, and since statehood the of- fice has been filled by a Catholic woman.
The laws regarding wills and testaments in this state differ very little from the general statutory provisions of other states. Property can be devised practically any way that the testator desires; there IS no bar to charitable bequests and the law requires that the property be distributed according to the intention of the party making the bequest. Ceme- tery corporations may hold real property, not exceed- ing eight acres, for the sole purpose of a burial ground and are given all the powers necessary to carry out the purposes of the corporation, and any cemetery or- ganized or controlled by any fraternal organization or congregation shall be controlled and managed as pro- vided by their rules and by-laws. All the property so
