Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1885-05-29
but now be will probably be adjudged
insane and be taken care Of.
THE SCOPE OF THE ORDER

"a A"u" nlce' oateo april 5rd, declaring
that final action upon all entries Of
public lands, except private cash entries
ana such scrip locations 90 are not de-
pendent upon settlement and cultivation,
should hereafter be suspended in Co,ora.
do, Dakota, Idaho. Utah, Washington
territory, New Mexico, Montana,
| Wyoming, Nevada, and small part of
Kansas, Nebraska and Minnesota. ami
also declaring that final action should
De suspended upon all timber entries
throughout the country, has caused
great controversy in the territories
named and decided opposition from the
agents and attorneys at Washington
and elsewhere, who are engaged in the
business OF securing patents for claim.
ants. 1t is claimed that the order in
question is paralyzing land business in
all parts of the country and doing great
injury to settlers who wish to prove M
on their claims so that they can borrow
money to 20 on with the improvement
OF their lands. Commissioner Sparks
said to-day, when asked for his opinion
upon this point:
That order was intended to cover what
L term infested districts. I have written
number of letters to people who are
complaining about it, and 1 want it
thoroughly understood that there il no
disposition on my part to do honest set.
tiers an injury. 1t is only the knaves
and thieves that am after. I have
dozens OF letters from persons living IN
these districts who approve of the order.
Ihey say that in many regions not one
entry in fifty is bona fide; ;that it is a busi-
ness practice to do false swearing to get
title to land. Timber entries are al
most universally fraudulent. Now it is
to catch these people that I have said
that We would 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 1t all over and thought
OF various means to be employed for the
end desired. One was TO close the local
land offices; but in that event settlers
arriving in the district would find them
selves unable to locate. That
plan would not work. Then it
was suggested that we close the
land office here, but that would be OBJ.
viously unadvlsable. So there was
nothing for me to do except to say that
l would not ask the secretary of the in.
terror nor the president to approve and
sign patents when believed that fully
one-half Of them we're fraudulent. In
this way l believe have saved the pub
lie domain fully million acres of land
since April 3rd. 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-Florida, Ala
bama, Louisiana and Arkansas. Texas
owns her own lands. fancy there is
some fraud in Florida. In due time I
will reach that. 1t cannot be said that
the south is excepted because Secretary
Lamar is southern man. The south
was excepted because the bulk of fraud
is not in the south. There is FIVE times
as much territory in the north that is
not included in the order. Michigan,
Wisconsin, ,Iows,nearly all of Minnesota'
Nebraska and Kansas are not
included, and IN two of these states
Michigan and Wisconsin, know there
Is fraud that 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 are really after is to prevent
the public domain from going into the
hands OF ranchmen and speculators
The bona tide settler can borrow just as
much money on his certificate of entry
or MS duplicate papers as he can upon
the Patent.Ail that the first class loan and
trust companies of the east desire tc
know is that the borrower should be @
bona tide settler and that he will be en-.
titled to patent. 1t is the knave who
wants his patent rushed through il
twenty-four hours. You will find thai
to-day in Illinois forty out of every one
hundred entrymen have never gotter
their patents. They lie here in this of
flee, and the settlers were satisfied tc
have simply the duplicates. But
you will find that the Louisians
backbone patents were taken out Of this
office promptly, just as you will finc
patents have been taken in all cases
where there is fraud. When I am salts
fed that there is good faith on the par
OF the settler. there will be no difficult,
IN his getting patent. I shall satisfy
myself by means of special agents anc
detectives whom can thoroughly trust
and upon them I shall put such checkt
and counter detection as will make il
absolutely certain that no false swe, !.
ing or fraud can secure Q patent. Is=e
that the fight is begun upon me from
the land office lawyers here, and all ovel
the west, and that the newspapers large
" interested in the whole subject ol
land Office business, have
opened fire upon me; but
IL have determined to stand by the
order. Meanwhile, bona fide settlers all
over the west pick out their land, file
their entries upon it, and go on will
their improvements. The land is theirs
just as much during the five years which
the law requires them to stay upon it Of
it ever can be, and if they are worthy
people there will be no difficulty in theil
borrowing money, if they need to do so
| cannot see that. in order to relieve
these people of some anxiety, should
allow thieves and rascals to take millions
of the public domain by false swearing
John Browns Captor seeks an once