Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-02-16
SCHEME OF LAND SHARKS
They ConBiye to Get Soldiers Boun-
ty Land Bill Through Congress as
A Soldiers Measure, and They Would
Then GObble the Land Warrants.
Petitions Sent Out by the Syndicate
for Soldiers to Sign-YeteranS Beware
WOULD WORK TIE VETERANS.

Gang of Thieves at Washington Invent
New Plan to Steal Public Lands at the Ex-
pense of Others.
EAU CLAIRE, Feb. 13.-The postmasters
throughout this section are receiving cir
culars from a Washington pension attor-
ney declaring that "a great injusti &c has
been done the soldiers of the late war by
the different states and the national gov
eminent, in not securing TO every soldier
or his legal representative 16O acres of
land from the public lands of the United
States or land warrant therefor, or its
equivalent in money" that "the infrmi-
ties of age now prevent the soldier from
making or securing home on the public
lands, which are fast passing into the
hands of foreigners, the capitalists and
powerful corporations" that "to remedy
this wrong powerful effort will be made
this winter to secure from congress a
law granting to the soldier bounty land
war; ant of $50 acres" etc. Enclosed
with the circular is blank petition
which the postmasters are requested to
circulate among the soldiers.
CONTENTS OF THE PETITION.
The petition reads: ''We, the under
signed soldiers, who served in the United
States army in the late war of 1861, re-
spectfuIly petition that your honorable
body will enact a law granting to every
soldier of the late war-or his legal rep
resentative-a bounty land warrant for
100 acres, or certificate of right to
locate, in person or by agent, $50 acres
of the public lands of the United States,
subject to homestead entry" and further
sets forth that ''the agents of the gov
eminent, in order to secure enlistments,
did in thousands of cases actually make
the promise that each man should and
would receive $50 acres of lind, and this
belief became SO general from oft repeti-
ton that in nearly every case of enlist
ment the implied understanding with the
soldier was that he was sure of his 100
acre gram from the government for his
home, etc. The distribution Of the cir
cuIar and the petition is regarded by
land men here and by soldiers, as part
of
BIG SCHEME OF A SYNDICATE OF LAND
SHARKS
to get up a bill of the kind named and
endeavor to rush it through as soldiers
measure, and then gobble the land war
rants. The circulation of the petition
all over She country would give the sup
posed sharks a list of the names of thou
sands of soldiers who could probably be
easily induced to make members of the
syndicate their agents, the latter thus
making a fat thing out of it by buying up
the warrants for song and locating the
lands which they could not get hold of in
any other way. All the petitions
are directed to be returned to one
party in Washington-the pension
attorney who sends them out
and he and his coadjutors as
the originators of the measure, would
naturally have special advantages in
reaping the harvest which would await
speculation in land warrants should such
a measure pass. Like the soldiers ad
ditional racket, said land man, sit
would be what we calf pie, only e good
deal more so, for the fellows who could
get the inside track"
COMMANDER GRIFFIN's ADVICE.
G. A. R. Department Commander
Griffin said: 'I would advise every sol
der to sign no such petition. It does
not ask for what the soldier wants, and
besides, the principal parties to profit by
it would be the inventors of the sche me-
T-TCTJ5T.y ON UTIT1 DIT TyZ