Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-01-13
MINNESOTA PINE LAND FRAUDS.
The Complaints of Swindling Pre- -emptiOns
WaShburn's Bill.


Washburn's Bill.
The St. Paul, Minn., Ptoneer-Press com
menting editorially on the recent exposure
of frauds in the Duluth land district,
throws some new light on the motive and
methods, as follows "Since the Home
stead law gave every bona tide set
tier the opportunity of acquiring 100
acres of land as free gift of
the government, the pre- emption law
scarcely served any other purpose than a
cover for fraud. Pre- emptions have rarely
been made Of late years except in the in-
terest of specuIators. The most profitable
theatre oftheir operations has been in the
pine regions. The pre-emption of pine
land in Minnesota or Wisconsin is a fraud
on its face, for these lands are generally
worthless for agricultural purposes, and
no one enters them with any view to
settle on or improve. Washburn's pur-
pose to introduce a bill for the repeal of
the pre-cmption laws has close relation
to the rumOred abuse of those which have
recently been discovered in the Duluth land
district. 1t appears that the complaints in
reference to fraudulent pre-emption
in that district originated with the Min.
neapolis lumbermen and other extensive
owners Of pine lands in that and the ada
cent region of the Upper Mississippi. The
substance Of these complaints is that large
and choice tracts of piGe forest districts,
permeaied by the St. Louis river and other
streams emptying into Lake Superior, have
been fraudently entered under the pre-
cmptiOn law by persons in tho employ OF
large lumber manufacturing firms, whose
seat Of operations is not at Minneapolis,
and that i'll order to give 4 Semblance of
compliance with the requirements is to
settlement, bogus pre-emptOrs were pro
viGed with patent portable houses which
were easily moved about from one desir-
able quarter section to another. The in
veStigati0n might be prOftably extend
ed into other Land Office dis
tricts and back over the records
For long period more than one United
States eX land officer and a good many as
sociate spectators are reported to have
acquired large wealth in extensive and
valuable tracts of pine 10y means of bogus
and fraudulent scrip. Incl
too. it might be worth while to
fine out just how much, if any, truth there
is in the rumOrs that certain parties have
made their preparations to gObble up the
valuable pine lands Oh the Millelaes Reser-
vation rs soon as they can bring about the
removal of the Indians, which they have
teen long intriguing to accomplish. Unless
facts have been grossly exaggerated by COM
mon rrmOr, 4 considerable proportion of
the pine lands of the Upper Mississippi
must have been acquired by means that |
would not stand the test of rigid scrutiny
Observant old settlers in Minnesota |
,hink this a mild and incomplete state
nent of the case, and say the Minneapolis !
of whom Washbuln is one,
lave secured thousands of acres of pine
ands by fraud within tho last twenty
ears, and now suddenly become virtuous
md propose to break up the practice to
protect themselves from competition from
} rival Saltwater firm, Nelson (. Co.,
which has designs upon the northern pine
ands. Waslburn'; bill is said to be aimed
It this firm.