Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1891-01-05
SOMETHING FOR NOTHING.
ALLEGED SCHEME TO DEFRAUD THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
Men Asked to Put Up Money TO Do an
Unlawful q ct-An Agent in
This City.

sharpers going about the State perpe.ratinl
double swiudle of gigantic proportions
In the frat place, the Government is bein,
swindied, and in the second place dupe
are being made of large number of mel
on the pretense of putting them in th
way of making snug little piles Of money
On Saturday James S. Hodges called a
the RECORD UNION Office and stated that b,
had been approached by man Of yery
smooth address, who was stopping at til,
Western Hotel, and urged to join in ,
wholesale scheme of timber land pre-emp
ton in Washington. II was represented
to him that, by advancing s25 he couic
join a party of men who were to leave OF
Sunday night (lsst night from Tacoma
for the purpose of taking up timber lands
The indueemeut held out to him wa,
that after he had proven up on his claim
the sum Of 81 coo would be paid him for ;
deed thereto, beside the Government price
of the land, and also his expenses back tc
California
To Mr.. Hodges mind the proposition
looked very fstteriDg, and he intimateC
that he would ike to engage 10 the enter
prise. a typewriter document was Dre
sented to him for his signature. Ii was
intended TO bind him to perform his par,
OF the above mentioned agreement. IL
this connection the alleged agent told Mr.
Hodges that he 1.-THE ager,) had 10 be very
careful into whose hands these agreement:
were permitted to 60, as it was DESTROYS
That They be kept as secret as possible.
hodges, however, was allowed to have
one in his possession for short time and
he submitted it to friend named George
a. Burns. This gentleman is g printer
and, like most members Of that fraternity
an intelligent, wide-swake man. More
over, he was only a week ago a resident Of
Santa Cruz, and it occurred TO him that a
scheme Of the same charater was being
worked IN that place, where the promoter
thereof had advertised in the local papers
for men 10 20 10 Washington aud take uu
land. Burns had met this Santa Cruz
agent, and he al once went With Mr. Hodges
to the hotel to see if the Sacramento man
was not one and the same person who had
been shown up in the Santa Ciuz papers.
Ga meeting him he found that, while an.
sTelhg the same decription, the Sscra.
mento man went under different name
from that of the Santa Cruz man. The
latter gave the name of Weaver, while the
Sacramento agent called himself Futber.
The result was that he advised Hodges
TO have nothing to do with the matter. and
Hodges ihereupon returned to Furber the
agreement that had been given him to
sign. In one of his conversations with the
agent the latter had told him that sixty
men would arrive in Sacramento on Sun.
dag night On their way to the promised
land, and that those going from Sacra.
mento would join them here.
Hodges and Burns then called at the
RECORD UNION Office, and the latter sug.
gested that If Santa Cruz paper of lest
week could be had, probably full expose
OF the operations of these parties would be
found therein. a search through the pile
OF exchanges resulted IN the finding of the
Santa Cruz Sentinel of "Wednesday last, in
which, sure enough, was published a long
statement about the manner in which the
scheme was being worked. 1t was as fol-
lows:
sUcKERs-THE WOODS FULL OF THEM-A SCHEME
TO ENRICH SETTLERS IN WASHINGTON.
On Sunday the following advertisement ap-
peared in the Sentinel:
WANTED = TWENTY-FIVE MEN, WHO
w have not used their Timber or Pre.emp-
ton rich hts, to ell at once on
WEAVER & CO.
CRAIG & EDWARDS,
Agents. room No. ., Arlington House No. AZ
Pacific avenue.
Va iGSoOds niOlHlllS Il s,ttttNd representative
called at the place mentioned for the purpose of
ascertsining the reason so many men were
wanted. As he made his way up stsirs he saw
that the hallway On which room No . faces was
crowded with men, all seemingly interested in
some SUBJECT which they were earnestly discuss
ing. The men were evidently not millionaires
nor capitalists but, on the contrary. were of the
hard-working class, who earn their livelihood
by the toll of their hands and the sweat of their
brow. II was with some difficulty that the
seeker aiter information managed TO reach the
a A1rIa For n1-,
the door was opened, and room full of men
was revealed to view.
In the center of the room sat Young man of
medium size, smoothly shayen with lfgbt.col.
ored hair. which hung in curly bands over a
high forehead. He was looking over a map of
the PACING coast, such as go with railroad
guides. Atter the man had given the reporter
searching glance he commenced to fill out the
blank space in some sort of printed agreement,
In which the sum SIS appeared more than once
The reporter asked him how business was, to
which the man, whose name is Frank Craig re-
piled in an irritated tone which did not convey
much information, and asked why do you
want to know?' The newspaper man replied
that he wished TO gain some light on the adyer-
tisement.
II beg your pardon; I've been so much both.
cred by people asking questions that I've be-
manner in which spoke" saiI Craig who was
profuse in his apologies. He then explained
the modus operandi, which was as follows:
There are a thousand acres of unoccupied land
II was to have the land pre- empted the firm
came to Santa Cruz. By paying SIS to Craig &
EDWARDS the claim OF the intending settler
would be DATED and his expenses in going to
the land paid. To secure the land the Sc tier
would have to pay at the rate of 81 so an acre.
This money the company would advance, and
then pay the settler $1,000 clear for the claim
II the sett er himself advanced the money the
company would give him 81 $50.
The Michigan Land and Lumber Company
was represented TO be a corporation that deals
extensively in lumber, with headquarters at
Tacoma. They desire TO procure all of the tim
Der land available, and to do so had to, accord
ing to the presumption laws, purchase from
actual settlers. By February 18th, the law by
which timber lands in Washington could be pre-
empted would expire, hence it was necessary
that settlers take advantage while yet it was
time. How many have already paid IN their
money this morning y queried the reporter, as
he arose to CO.
About twenty fve," said Craig, who then
proceeded to picture to his hearers the glowing
prospects of the land which would soon be
tapped by railroads, and cities would spring up
in night, as it were. He instanced Tacoma,
Seattle and Fairhaven as examples of the won
derful growth of towns in Washington.
As the reporter opened the door to make his
exit he saw that the crowd had increased, in
fact they almost stumbled over each other in
their haste to get into the room so that they
could pour their money in the Golfers of the
firm in order to clear 81 900 for paltry S25
In the afternoon. after the excitement attend
ant upon the discovery OF the new Golconda,
SO 70 speak, had worn of, some of the invest
ors began to do some thinking. The result was
that dispatch was sent TO Tacoma asking IL
such corporation as the Michigan Land and
Lumber Company existed in Tacoma neg
alive reply was received. This was told to a
member of the firm and he said that the articles
OF incorporation were on file in the State cap,-
tai, Olympia. This did not satisfy three of the
Investors who demanded the return of their
money. They were told that Craig had gone 10
San Francisco with the mornings receipts, and
would be back on the noon train to-day
The investors were not to be bluffed, even II
the firm did hold q full hand" so they again
demanded their money, which was this time re.
turned 10 them.
In the evening the reporter again called a,
the room. Edwards, who is a tall man with a
black mustache, said that Craig had been
called away on urgent business, and would
surely return to-day. Edwards further said
that ne had never seen the land but Craig
who had been Ia book-keeper in Seattle for the
Northern Pacific Railroad Company, had been
over the ground four times and knew al
about Ii.
1t seems rather SINGULAR that SO much land a.
the firm, claims awaiting presumption on the
liberal terms offered has not been taken up b,
people in Washington, o. by those who resid,
nearer there than do Santa Cruzans
Another inexplicable fact is the reason VIII,
the firm who are entire strangers, should wan
TO be the means of so much money being pre-
sented 70 OH peop-e. lust Tor the =aaeesameda
ton OF the Michigan Land and Lumber Com
pany, a eorporstiou. 1t may be safely stated
which was never heard of before by the mel
who paid in their money. without any aetna
guarantee beyond that which is given by tn