Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-04-03
THE keaARaaHAN FRAUD.

The AltG exposes the "truc inward
ness" of the McGarrahan claim, which
has just been favorably reported by the
House Committee on Claims. It appears
that the impudent protector of this most
outrageous imposture, having been kicked
out of all the Courts in the land, and hav-
ing been treated in the same way by sue
cession of Congresses, has adopted the plan
of enlarging his claim so as to furnish
sufficient fund for corruption. To this end
he has modestlY proposed that as Congress
cannot give him the original Gomez Grant
upon which his bogus claim is based, it
shall give him an amount of land proper
toned to the present value of the entire
grant, including the past, present and pros
pective value of the New Idria quicksilver
mines. On this liberal estimate he calcu.
lates that he would be entitled ts some
S. 500, COO acres of public land, which he is
willing to take wherever he can get it. The
Alta thinks that scrip for such land could
be sold for $40 an acre, but we think that
too high. At that rate his claim would
be worth $4,000 600. If, however.
we estimate the market value of the scrip
at only s. an acre, which is certainly low
enough, the claim would be worth nearly
S45, coo, 600. and it is evident that this
would provide an abundance of scrip
wherewith to facilitate the preparation of
the colossal fraud. The issue of scrip by
McGarrahan has indeed been tried before,
but never on SO extensive scale. 1t is
evident that as his case becomes more diff
cult he has resolved upon enlarging the
claim, upon the military principle that an
invading army should compel the country
to subsist it. The case, however, is SO
VIGOROUSLY fraudulent; it has been so de-
clared by go many Courts it possesses so
Infamous a record that if Congressman
are found base and venal enough to con-
tinue it, they cannot hope to conceal their
scoundrelism for moment. It is SO infa-
nous case, and so thoroughly exploded
and determined, as regard all the positions
of the claimant, that no man can now IN
dertake to indorse it without thereby con.
Tossing and announcing himself villain.
There is no possibility of any new light
arising in the premises, and the plan now
adopted by the audacious protector clearly
shows that he has no hope whatever from
the Courts, but that he calculates upon
deliberately bribing and buying his way
through Congress. We have here case
in which an original grant of l6, 600 acres
of land has been swelled to $500. 900 acres
by the most intrepid and superlative
effrontery. But notwithstanding the phe-
nomenal perseverance and assurance of
McGarrahan, no Congress can afford to
take up his gigantic fraud, and pass it.
Such crime against the country would
necessarily and deservedly damn the party
that was responsible for it, and secure the
political death and lasting infamy of every
individual engaged in the outrage. Even
as it is, the record of the men who have re-
ported favorably on the monstrous claim
will have to be examined sharply, for it is
certain that no justification of their course
can by any possibility be alleged. That
they have been tempted by McGarrahan,
and that they have yielded, is the only
conclusion which can be reached by those
who are acquainted with the history of the
case, and who know what barefaced i'm.
posture it is.