Rock Island Argus., 1895-08-12
IT WAS UPTO DATE.
That Alleged Forged Patent to
Chicago Lands.
STORY AT THE WASHINGTON END.

How the Accused Parties Arc Said to
Have Got Up . Document That Was
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made-Ths
Constructors, Evidently Not Experts,
Have q Bad Spell Over Hoke Smiths
Signature and Call Him SOaks."
WASHINGTON, Aug. 12.-FollOwing Is
the story told here in relation to the al.
legged attemps of Captain Streeter and
others, OF Chicago, to forge patent to
SIS. OOO, 100 worth Of land on the lake front
Of that city: From evidence in the pos
session of the United States district at
torney here it appears that last March
Captain Streeter, accompanied by Will.
lam H. Cox and Jacob Nine, came to
Washington for the purpose of getting
patent for certain land on the Chicago
lake front. Frequent visits were made to
the United States land Office, and an
effort was mado to 1le certain papers in
connection with their claim. But the of
fcials at the land ofIics refused to accept
these papers under any circumstances,
and new scheme was then resorted to.
Got Copy of the Kinz;e Patent.
A communication was addressed to the
commissioner of the general land Office
asking for a certified copy of a grant Of
land made to Robert Kinzie in 1897 dur
ing the administration Of Van Buren,. In.
asmuch as all the necessary fees were paid
and the communication seemed II proper
one the commissioner of the Land Office
replied rs customary upon the usual
form, attached to which was copy of
the original patent granted Robert
Kinzie for l02 80 acres ''in Palestine Land
Dist rict, now Chicago" This instrument
was duly attestcd by Martin Van Buren,
as president of the United States and
other officials Of the government in 1887.
a Ecmsrkabie Job of BunEiinG.
Having obtained copies of the two pa
pers necessary for the furtherance OF their
plans the conspirator5 proceeded to work.
In the copies sent them wherever the
name Robert kinzie appeared oxalic acid
or some other substance was Used to OBJ
lieerate that name and the names OF
George w. Streeter and Peter L. john
son were inserted. 1t was a bungling-
looking piec, of work, and would not de-
ccive anybody who knew anything at all
about land office methods. In their haste
to fix matters in making the forged cop
namc Of Grover Cleveland for that OF
Martin Van Buren. thus bringing the al
legcd patent up to this administration.
Also Put in .sOaks" Smiths Name.
Another error was committed in the at.
tempt to make the document look authen-
tic by putting the name of the secretary
of the interior to the forged instrument.
Evidently the conspirators were not
familiar with the namc of the cabinet
minister, for instead of ''Hoke" Smith it
appeared in the forged patent rs 'Oaks
Smith" Then, too, instead OF 1o2. 20
acres written in the copy of the genuine
patent to Robert Ninzic, the Streeter trio
conclu led TO swell these figures, and they
put them up to 1S6 acres of land along
the lake front. There was q descrip tion
Of the land, too, which, upon being COM
pared with the files ct the land office
showed that no patent whatever had been
granted for the tract in question.
The Department Was "Onto" Them.
From the fact that the forged instru.
ment was made here and uttered at Chi
cago all the papers in the case were sent
to General Black, and in accordanc, with
instructions from his Office the arrest of
Streetcr and his accompliccs followed. In
the event that the evidence will not jus.
tify the authorities at Chicago in holding
the forgers the distr.c5 attorney at Wash
inston will SO before the grand jury
when that body meets again and endeavor
to secure the Indictment Of the accused.
Everything important done by the trio
while at Washington is known to Of
ficials Of the departm ent of justice, to
whom the case has been transferred by
tho lanartn,opt