St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-06-30
The Government Robbed of Three Mil
hon Dollars by Ring of SurVe-
ing Contractors.
How the Frauds Have Been Perpetrated
and the Saving that Will
be Made.
Timber Rings and Cattle Kings En-
notwithstanding on Reform III
Custom Houses.
Steamship Companies After suosioy
.-M1nnesota aAttorneysh1p--De
tective Service.
Land office Frauds.

Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON, June 29.-An annual
$500. 900 steal has been suppressed by Com
missioner Sparks, who has refused to ap-
prove the surveying contracts that have
been sent I'D from the surveyor general
since his term of Office began. Finding
these contracts coming in greatly
in excess of the annual apprOpria-
tions by congress he instituted an
INQUIRY which developed surprising
looseness of administration in facilitating
frauds 1t appears that some years ago
congress established what is known as the
individual deposit system, by which settlers
in unsuryeved townships could secure sur
veys by depositing the estimated cost. The
deposits were covered into the treasury and
credited 20 the surveying fund. out OF which
survevt are paid for. The depositorS re-
ceived Certificates which could be
USED AS MONEY!
in navment for their land in the townships,
for the survey of which the deposits were
made. Such deposits amounted to loan
to the United States by the settlers and this
system prevented actual expenditures for
SURVEYS from showing in the annual approp-
ration bills. The alleged settlers got their
deposits back and the government payed for
the alleged surveys. The surveys have
cost about S6,OO0,000 since 1879 and
probably half of this has been
wasted by cellusionS with surveyors gen.
eral. The surveying contracts were always
let to the rings and at the highest rates.
Fictitious applications for surveyors would
be presented; the money to make the re-
quired deposit was furnished by
THE RING BROKERS
and the profits Oh the contract, usually
about so per cent. of the contract price,
shared among the operators. The survey
ors who actually performed the work or
who at least made returns of work, sup
posed to have been performed,
had to look for their profits to
what they could make by sighting the
survey OF by not making it at all except
on paper. AS a rule there were no settlers
behind the surveys. The surveys in many
instances were not needed for settlement
purposes Mountains, lava beds, alkali
deserts and land that would not be occupied
by settlers until land famine arose. were
returned as surveyed. The accounts were
railroaded through the land Office and the
treasury department, and the United States
charged with the redemption OF the
CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT.
A favorlte feature also appears 10 nave
been the survey of choice timber lands,
which were reported to the timber rings and
as soon as the surveys were returned into
the land office the agents of these rings
would cover these lands with bogus pre-
emption and other entries. Stock ranges were
surveyed in the same manner, the necessary
settlers being personated by cowboys in
signing applications for surveyors and after
ward in engineering the lands for the bene-
fit of the cattle kings. 1t is through these
and similar operations that the great stock
companies are alleged to have acquired title
to the water and controlling portions of the
lands embraced in their broad domains.