Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-05-22
Is What Austin Officials Think
They Have Unearthed.
T. AND P. LAND CERTIFICATES
Duplicated. Dating Back to 1874, Seventeen
Years-A Big Steal if True.
Preparing Supreme Court Briefs in the
Case of the state VS.. the c., H. and
S. A. Railway-Haste, Over
Anxiety and Negligence.
Special to the Gazette.

Special to the Gazette
AUSTIN, TEX. May 21-The officials in
the land Office think that they have I'M
earthed fraud of quite liberal proper
tons. The discovery was made to-day, and
the matter is now being investigated. q
clerk having been delegated for that pur-
pose. The fraud, or error, or whatever
/ name it may be known by, consists in the
issuing of duplicate certificates for land to
the Texas and Pacific railroad several years
ago. Patents were issued on the duplicates
as shown by the papers on file in the land
office. and a big grab effected, if the result
of the investigation is what appearances
indicate. Not much could be learned to-day
OF the discovery, the commissioner not be-
ing inclined to say much until more is
known than at present of the extent of what
seems 10 De
BIG STEAL.
AS well as could be learned. however, the
issuing of duplicate certificates to the
Texas and Pacific railroad took place in the
fall of 1874. seventeen years ago, under the
administration of Groos, land commissioner
at the time. The search to-day disclosed
the fact that as many as 100 land certificates
had been duplicated to the Texas and Pa
cltic, covering an excess of "a, 900 acres of
land, to which the road
WAS NOT ENTITLED.
The commissioner says that it will take
CATION and determine the extent to which
the duplicating of certificates to the Texas
and Pacific was carried. II is said also
that a thorough inquiry may show, in spite
of crooked appearances, that the road may
have got on the whole no more land than it
was entitled to. 1t will be necessary to ex-
anime between seven and eight thousand
files in order TO ascertain just how much
land was patented to the road, and how
much 1t was entitled to under the law grant
ing so many miles per section, as a mere
clerical error would not account for the
duplicating of 100 certificates. or even of a
much smaller number. 1t looks very much
like somebody has
WORKED HIS RABBIT FOOT
on the state for thousands of acres of the
public domain. At least that is the sort of
look it wears 10 the land Office officials.
1t will be noted that the discovery and
the investigation refers only to the Texas
and Pacific Whether the certificates may
have been duplicated in like manner to
other roads or to individuals is not known,
because not looked into. It's probable that
further inquiry will develope more richness
of like character.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT CULBERsON
is at present very busy preparing Il brief
for the supreme court in the case of the
State VS.. the Galveston, Harrisburg and
San Antonio Railroad, decided about a
kelso of the Val Verde district court The
question at issue is the granting of sixteen
sections per mile for eight miles of siding
and switches TO that road. The attorney
general will go to San Antonio Saturday TO
attend TO some land patent cases in the
Federal court.
THE GOVERNOR
has been absent from his Office this week on
account of indisposition.
Commissioner Hollingsworth is con-
valescent, sitting up while to-day.
The Travis county grand jury adjourned
to-day TO meet again June %
No report was made on the textbook
bill, all the witnesses summoned not hay
ing appeared. II will be further looked
into when the grand jurors meet in June,
but it is very doubtful if anything will
come of it. Feagle enrolled the bill, and,
of course is responsible to that extent for
the omission. The enrolling committee of
the senate is responsible for not detecting
the error, as it should have done If the
usages of the senate and the requirements
of law were
CAREFULLY AND DILIGENTLY
observed by the committee it would have
been impossible for the error to have oc-
Cured or to remain undetected. As it now
seems the omission was the result of haste,
overanxiety and negligence.
The deal between Mr.. Shipe and the
owners OF tne morse car line IN thlS city Dy
which a consolidation of street car lines
was sought to be effected, was to-day de-
clared off by Mr.. Shipe, who says that he
declined TO even consider the price offered
him for his electric line. He declares his
to resume the building of addi-
tional lines, and to do
THE TARANTULA ACT
in gridHoning the city.
Commissioner McGaughey made the fol- |
lowing appointments in the land Office to-
day: j. B. McGaughey of Brentwood was
appointed state classifier, and Ira Milling
ton of Granbury surveyor. The three
Brock Robertson. Wells Thomp-
son and Judge Fillmore got together to-day
and organized for the work of codification, |
which will begin at once
Summer normals for colored teachers will |
be located as follows: Beaumont. Pales- |
tine, Victoria, Marlin, Bastrop and Calvert |
A great many districts have not vet made |
application. This is also true of several |
senatorial and congressional districts that |
nave not applied for normals for white |
eacherS.