The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1857-11-12
AnntI,cr SwindIc.

The great Democratic managers who stuff bal
lot boxes, import fictitious voters, deal out whis
key touefa Indian tools, and manufacture falsC
returns to keep themselves in power, must in sont
way be paid. Minnesota has become the common
pdnder ground of government officials AM
s their operations are traced, not only in the Penn
bnas aud 0xforis which arc so useful in deter
mining the result of an election, but in the man
Agcmcnt of the government trusts. A letter in
d tie Chicago Tribune reveals another piece OIL
scoundrcism which exceeds that of Fort Smelling
The writer says:
a few days since the Fort Smelling Reservation
was transferred from the people 10 the politicians
Ninety thousand dollars worth Of it went into the
treasury ol the United States at least we guess
80. The other million or more helped TO elect
denlagogues to office, To-day (Oct 49, the Fort
Ripley Reserve, consisting of ifly.seven thousand
acres of Innd goes to the snne Democrat bourne
at FOUR CENTS AN ACRE !--iiity-sevcn thou
sand acres OF NJ good land Us Minnesota holds
worth at the lowest estimate of cutivators of the
soil, fUc dollars an acre and for which the gov
crnncnt could haue received one dollar and ttcc,i
ty-tUe cents an acre Oh the day of sale In short,
Uty-seuen thousand acres Of land hare been do.
mated 10 kndues for ~ $50, Instead of being sold
80 JuI HttI 10 HCtUut OCCNVuHto soUl ,SOU-OT
instead of being made to bring into the Treasury
its full worth, S2s50O0 Do you think that
wonders will ever cease
The circumstances of :his foul transaction are
these. The Fort Ripley Reservation is situated in
Todd county, on the Upper Mississippi. 1t was
occupied, legally or not by fifty or sixty Demo.
Gratis. They resided on the and intended 10 secure
their claims like regular pre-emptonists or per-
haps much in the way Indian reservation sales nre
managed. These persons formed claim associa-
ton, which met the day before the sale, to adopt
measures for securing their titles. The govern.
ment agents, or lew confederate sconndres who
were employed for that purpose, sent in a propo-
silion to the claimants that if they (clamants)
would not bid on The lands they (Bucbanan's
agents. would bid OF the whole tract and guar
ant the occupants their titles at one dollar per
mere less than they were expecting to pay. The
sulc came off duly and regularly and the agents
bid on the who.c domain at ali average of four
cents per acre Some of it, for the fun of the
thing, was run up TO twenty-five cents and q
sill greater portion at one cent per acre. The
average four cents. These facts aud will be
verified by eye witnesses Of the whole transaction
When the sale was over, the scales dropped from
the eyes Of the settlers. They saw that these
faithful servants of the people had lied their homes
away from them for nothing and were proposing
now to steal dollar, or more accurately nine
ty-six cents for every acre of the purchase. But
thew alcgc in excuse of the blunder, that if thev
had not accepted those terms, the sharks would
have run the land out of their reach-so that they
were not like asses between bundles of hay but
like sheep with wolves OH one side and butchers
OH the other.
These agents were the same that sold Fort Shell |
ing Reserve and the Lake Pepin Indian Hnlf-hreed
Tract. They said this sale would verify the state
ncnts OF the Democratic journals throughout the
country, in extenuaton of the Fort Smelling sale
hat settlers would combine together, and prevent
bidding OH lands in consequence OF which the Fort
Smelling lands brought more At private sale than
hey would at public sale.