Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1885-03-13
Timber Land Steals.

- four lnul -lc Ter, b. FIRE the court.
IF Wn.hus'on Trrrltoi, n few day.
ago three ~ - vmpia and another
IA \hncpN,t innnd Suil Y each OF
the nit'mi' 'r acquire title by per
jay btns tpic.bl, To mind the aph
,nl-n ia'"t Terminated upon the
course of Am,rlcan estimate of JUS
tce. but aInptcd from experience
cuoNal with CIVILIZATION, that &" he
Who steal dollar Is thief and
deserves certain punishment: If lie
steals ten thousand only defaulter
aud II million he rises to iinan-
clor" Lhnl grabbing through per-
lnrv IN the Pacific Northwest bears
the same relation TO the adminisira.
ton II tho law. Those three or four
poor devils WHO undertook to thus
obtain title hti re the land office for
only n qulr'ci section have been
-coopol IN ~ the net of Justice,
whi.o those who have acquired mil
lions of acres 10y the same course
as accessories. both here and on Pu-
got Sound. are accounted as real
estate capitalists, and as they are
proper SUBJECTS t. point moral
adorn tale, or show IN unenviable
example the following detail of
what il curren, expression in this
vicinity beCulh'S pertinent to what is
going on IN Washington Territory,
+ which We hcIt!n notice rs connected
with land stealing To an extent that
dignliie- the pursuit as financiering.
The alleged fraudulent acquisition
If timber lands in Oregon and
Washington Territory under the act
# Congress for the sale of these
lands IN the State and Territory,
which seems to have been enacted in
special intere-t of two OF Portland's
. capitalists Ono banker, and the
other n noted railroad contractor,
who. " by ways that are dark" have
gobblcd all the Government timber
tracts on both sides Of the Colum.
b.a from the mouth Of the William
etlo to the sea, embraced in four
counties of Washington and two in
Oregon north OF Multnomah, con-
tanning an area of about twenty
miles wide east and west, and about
one hundred miles north toward
Astoria. -nas been topic of gen.
cral comment for a year or two past.
btt year IL was reported in the press
that MIR. J. i Montgomery and his
banker associate had ingaged three
land examiners who travelled through
the district referred to, and carefully
noted from tho sec,ionized surveys
all tho best timber tiacts on the east
and west sides Of the Columbia, in
the counties Of Columbia and Clat-
sop in Oregon and in tho counties of
Clarke. Cowlitz, Wahkiakum and
Pacific in
WASHINGTON TERRiTORY.
This land examination was confined
10 the eren sections in the railroad
subsidy jistances-twenty miles west
from tho river in this State and forty
miles oasterly in tho Territory, the
odd sections being railroad land and
already secured from that source.
Thus IN the mode that will be sub
sequently detailed on the authority
OF their purported agent, the cap
ilalists obtained the title to all the
Government timber lands in solid
block throughout the whole of six
counties along the lower Columbia.
After these land examiners had con.
iileutially made their report of Sec
tons and subdivisions according to
timber basis, late livery stable
keeper named George Misner next
appears upon the scene, who quietly
conferred, with the proletarian class
ABOUT the streets of Portland-com-
posed in his selection of opium
tends. tlnhorn gamblers, ex.con.
yiuty, with noted colored bootblack
for ono Of la, lieutenants. Ia adj
dition TO these, he struck for moro
respectable game, and in the list
furnished us wo find the names of q
blacksmith now employed in the
northern part OF the city. a shoe
maker on Second street, aud n print.
or in a religious newspaper Office " of
pious turn Of mind" but who
nevertheless fell from grace" in
the present instance by the tempta-
Ton Of filthy lucre." Misner re-
presented 10 all Of them, number
ing bundled or more from this city,
that ho was employed by Montgom-
cry and the banker to enter timber
land in the counties mentioned-the
entries in Washington Territory of
course at the Vancouver land office,
aud those in Columbia and Clatsop
ut lib, Oregon City Office. He did
not appear to be uniform in his
arrangements for compensation, as
he got several to accept terms as low
~ ten dollars and from that up to
fifty, and in one case-that of the
blacksmith referred to, ninety dol.
lars was paid in two sums, first re.
ceiving fifty dollars and afterwards
u futber sum OF forty to keep him
" mum. as he got out of humor and
threatened to expose the whole bust
ness. Misner had cons .dsrab.o trou-
bio in keeping his employees well
IN hand. as :hey were all greedy,
especially rs it leaked out among
some Of them as to what the black
smith received, which caused the
religious printer and the shoemaker,
who had been hired for the job at
twenty-five each, to threateningly
lmportune for as much more, which
had TO DO paid to them to ensure
secrecy and quiet. The expenses to
aud from Vancouver were borne by
Mlsner. but the cash for service was
not paid until they each took the
statute oath before the land office
register, aud on return here signed
the following receipt: