The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-09-14
THE DESERT LAND FRAUDS.
A Raid on the Finest Tract OF I.apd In the
Great California vniley-Ninety Thousand

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13.-Some time ago
the attention Of the Secretary Of the Interior
was called to the desert land frauds in Califor
mia. which had been exposed in THE SuN and
the San Francisco Chronicle. 1t was made
plain to him that the desert land law. approved
March 3. 1877. wns procured TO be passed by
Congress to enable Ring Of land grabbcrs on
tho Pacific coast to seize vast quantity of
the finest agricultural lands in the great valley
Of California. At the head of this Ring stood
W. b. Carr. tho intimate friend Of Enlgy Sar-
gent. and his political hacker. With Carr were
associated ]. B. IIoggin and Lloyd Tcyis. men
Of great wealth and political influence In Cali
fornia. Carr. through Sargent. was the abso-
Lutte controller and dispenser Of Federal pat
ronagc on the Pacific coast, and shannon. the
Collector of the Port ~ San Francisco and La
Grange. Superintendent Of the Mint. were at
his beck when their services wore required
Tho land on which this Ring had set their
covetous eyes is situated in the extreme south-
eastern portion Of the great California valley
In the sub-vallcy wa,cred by Kern river. Tho
Southern Pacific Railroad Of California runs
through the region in which Carr and his fell
low grahbcrs desired tO acquire n principally.
The soil her" Is composed Vf the wash oi the
sierra Nevada and roHst range Of mountains.
which bound the valley on tho. east and west
II II remarkably productive. and with favorable
seasons yields enormous crops. Owing how
ever. to climatic influences and the geographic
cal features of the country there Is but little
rainfall. and the wet season IL confined To- a few
months. usually from the middle of October to
the last pf February; but during this period the
total rainfall DOES not average much over ten
inches. From the last of February until the
middle Of October no rain falls. and during this
dry season the ground becomes parched and
vegetation withers and shrivels w; but still 1t
is attested by the farmers that they can make
on an average two good crops out of five.
This Is the character Of the land which the
san Francisco Ring wanted to acquire as desert
land. and they got their bill put through last
winter. which enabled them. on the application
of any person who swOre that hc intended to re-
claim desert land by conveying water upon il.
and paid Twenty-Five cents per acre. to enter Gao
acr"s. Two witnesses must swear that the land
would not produce any AGRICULTURAL cr with
ont irrigation, but this proved no ~ -in"r 70 the
Ring They mustered II gang a tustD" House
and Mint employees under the lead Do Hector
shannon ana superintendent La Grange. and
entered, in n remarkably short period after
March 3, 1877. nbOut $4,000 acres of land in the
Kern valley rs desert land. They had two wit
nesscs who made the necessary ailldavits that IL
would produce no agricultural crops without
irrigni on. and tho Register aad Receiver of the
Land onice at Nl-aliu permitted them TO make
the MAJOR portions Of their entries before the
public was informed of the passage of the law
When Secretary Schurz- attention was called
to these facts, he had \. II. NcwcOmh. Special
Agent Of the Department Oi Justice, sent 10 Cal
ifornia 10 investigate the whole subject. New
comb made his report about ten days ago. and
to-day SrhurZ sent a letter to the CommiS S-ionor
tn" so-called desert land has been cultivated for
several years by persons who dwell thereon.
and that some OF the land has 10 be- protected by
levrrs against the Kern rivers overflow. Un-
entries that have been made in the Nisalia land
district