The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-06-05

pcOplc THAI L nave SdlU tudt we WOulQ
suspend final action on claims. This
whole Office, including the assistant
commissioner, the law clerk and the
various chiefs, are in harmony as to
the necessity and wisdom of that
order. We talked it all oyer and
thought of various means to be en-
ployed for the end desired. One was
to close the local land offices; but in
that event settlers arriving in the
district would find themselves unable
to locate. That plan would not work.
Then it was suggested that we close
the lard Office here, but that would
be obviously unadvisable. So there
was nothinn for me to do except to
say that I would not ask the secretary
of the interior nor the president to
approve and sign patents when ] be-
lieved that fully one-half of them
were fraudulent. In this way l be-
lieve ! have saved the public domain
fully a million acres of land since
April 3. The charge has been made
that the order was political and
geographical in its character, that the
South was excepted. There are but
four States in the South where the
United States has land Offices Flo
ida, Alabama, Louisiana and Arkan-
sas. Texas owns her own lands. /
fancy there is some fraud in Florida.
In due time / will reach that. 1t san
not be said that the South is excepted
because Secretary Lamaris a southern
man. The South was excepted be-
cause the bulk of fraud is not in the
South. There is five times as much
territory in the North that is not in
Guided in the order. Michigan, Wis
%consin, Iowa, nearly all of Minnesota,
Nebraska and Kansas are not included
and in two of these States-Michigau
and Wisconsin, know there is a
fraud we ought to look after. 1t was
not the intention to PROSTATE the
land business all over the country.
Nothing of the kind has been done.
What we r really after is to prevent
the public domain from going into
the hands of ranchmen and specula.
tors. The bona fde settler can Dor
row just as much money on his
certificate of entry or his duplicate
papers as he a upon the patent. All
the tirstclassloan and trust companies
of the east desire to know is that the
borrower should be a bona fide set
tier and that he will be entitled to 8
patent. 1t is the knave who wants
the patent rushed through in twenty
| four hours. You will find that to
day in Illinois forty out Of every ont
hundred entrymen have never gottel
their patents. They lie here in thi
office, and the settlers were satisfied
: to have simply the duplicates. Blu
| you will find that the Louisiana back
; bone patents were taken out Of thi
office promptly, just as you find tina
patents have been taken in all case
where there is fraud. When ] an
satisfied that there is good faith o
the part of the settler, there will b
. no difficulty in his getting a patent
| shall satisfy myself by les Q
special age1,ts and detectives whom
can thoroughly trust, and upon then
0 | shall put SUCH checks and counte
n detection as will make it ahsolutel
i certain that no false swearing or frau
can secure q patent. / see that til
fight has begun supon me from tn
i land Office lawyers here and all owe
If the west, and that the newspaper
largely interested in the subject c
land office business have opened fir
:. upon me; but l have determined
/ stand by the order. Meanwhile, Dor
fde settlers all over the west pic
ut out their land, file their entries upo
it, and go oil with their improvement
The land is theirs just as much durin
% the five years which the law requir,
q them to stay upon it as tever "a b
IS. and if they are worthy people the:
te will be no difficulty in their borrowir
~ money, if they need to do so. l ca
not see that, in order to relieve the:
people of some anxiety, / shou
err allow thieves and rascals to take mi
Id ions of the public domain by fall
sweating.