Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1885-06-12
Delayed Land Patents.
SatIsfaa tory Explanation from Com
missioner sparks to all Honest Men.

DClOycu lIIuu L dlCutSs
SatlsfattOry Explanation from Conn.,
missioner sparks to all Honsss Men.
The criticisms made upon the
order of Commissioners Sparks sus-
pending final action upon lard en-
tries in certain districts has called
out the following explanation from
the Commissioner which must be
regarded as satisfactory to all honest
applicants for land:
That order was intended to cover
what l term infested districts. ]
have written number of letters to
people who are complaining about it,
and I want it throughly understood
that there is no disposition on my
part to do honest settlers an injury.
1t is only the knaves and thieves that
l am after. l have dozens of let
ters from persons living IN those dis.
tricts who approve of the order.
They say that in many regions not
one entry in fifty is bona tide; that
it is business practice to do false
swearing to get title to land. Tim
Der entries are almost uniformly
fraudulent. Now it Is to catch these
people that l have said that we
would suspend final action on claims.
This whole office, including the As
sistant Commissioner, the law clerk
and the various chiefs, are in har-
mony as to the necessity and wisdom
of that order. We talked it all
over and thought of various means
to be employed for the end desired.
One was to close the local land off .
ces; but in that event settlers arriv-
ing in tho distriot would End them
selves unable to locate. That plan
would not work. Then il was sug-
gested that We close the land Office
here, but that would be obviously
unadvisable. So there was nothing
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 l believe
that fully one-half of them were
fraudulent. In this way / believe I
have saved the public domain
FULLY A MILLION ACRES.
OF land since April Sd. The charge
has been made that the order was
political and geographical in charac-
ter, that the south was excepted.
There are but four States in the
south where the United States has
land ofiices-Florida, Alabama,
Louisiana and Arkansas. Texas owns
her own lands. I fancy there is
some fraud in Florida. In due time
l will reach that. 1t cannot be said
that the south is excepted because
Secretary Lamar is a Southern man.
The south was excepted because the
bulk of the fraud is not in the south.
Tnere is five times as much Terri
tory in the north that is not included
in the order. Michigan. Wisconsin,
Iowa, nearly all of Minnesota, Ne
braska and Kansas are not included =,
and in two Of these States-Michi-
gan and Wisconsin, know there IL
fraud that we ought to look after.
1t was not the intention to PROSTATE
the land business all over the coun
try. Nothing of the kind has been
done. What We are really after is to
prevent the public domain from 60
ing into the hands of ranchmen and
spectators. The bona fide settler
can borrow Just as much money on
his certificate of entry or his dupli-
cate papers US he can upon the pat
ent. ALI the first class loan and
trust companies of the east desire to
know is that the borrower should be
a bona fide settler and that he will
be entitled 10 patent. 1t is the
knave who wants his patent rushed
through in twenty-four houis. You
will find that to-day in Illinois forty
out of every one hundred entrymen
have never gotten their patents.
They lie here in this Office, and the
settlers we're satisfied to have simply
the duplicates. But you will find
that the Louisiana backbone patents
were taken out of this Office prompt
ly, just as you will find patents have
been taken in all cases where there
is fraud.
ENCOURAGING THE SETTLERS.
| When / am satisfied that there is
good faith on the part of the settler,
there will be no difficulty in his get
ting patent. 1 shall satisfy myself
by means of special agents and de-
tectives. whom I can thoroughly
trust, and upon them l shall put such
checks and counter detection as will
make it absolutely certain that nc
false swearing or fraud can secure a
patent. I see that the fight is begun
upon me from the land office lawyers