The San Francisco call., 1897-02-11
COYOTE CL AIMS
BILL IS DOOMED
Little Prospect That the
Measure Will Pass at
This Session.
Committee on Finance Guarding
Against a Fraudulent
Treasury Raid.
Investigation Will Begin as Soon as
Important Work Now in Hand
Is Disposed Of

SACRAMENTO, CAL, Feb. 10.-As
the matter now stands, there is little
prospect that the coy ote bounty claim bill
will pass at this session of the Legislature.
1t is the general desire of the Committee
on Finance, in whose hands the bill now
is, to have all the honest claims paid at
the earl lest day, but at the same time the
mem bers feel it incumbent on them to
prevent gross fraud on the State and the
looting of the treasury.
Another conference took place to-day
between the Governor and some of the
members OF the Finance Com mittee, with
view to securing the cooperation of the
Chief Executive in the work of segregat-
ing the genuine from the fraudulent
claims, but it resulted as fruitlessly as the
first meeting.
Senator WoIfe's resolution, giving the
Finance Committee full power to go into
the investigation of this matter, was
passed by the Senate by vote of 33 to g.
The work of investigation will begin as
soon as the most important bills are out
of the way.
The Governor explained to the commit
tee that the reason for withholding the
information that would aid it in deter
mining the character of the claims is that
the submission of such data would inter-
fere with the criminal prosecution of those
who have sworn falsely in securing their
scalp certificates,
Added interest hss been created in this
matter by the receipt by every member of
the Legislature of the report made by the
Kern County Grand Jury relative to the
frauds alleged 10 have been perpetrated in
that county. In this document is incor-
narrated tho raSTIta of ba inv
made by Edgar Moore, who had been en-
gagged as an expert TO look into this and
other subjects. Under the heading, ''No-
torious Coyote-sCalp Frauds" Moore
says:
1t will be for you to determine whether or
not the Board OF Supervisors and the c.erk
have not entered into conspiracy with some
other parties to defraud the State out of enor.
nous amounts OF money in this matter. Ger
tainly their action, with their inevitable
fraudulent res ults, would indicate as much
The clerk referred to is H. L. Packard
who is now here working to secure the
passage of the bill. Further along Moore
submits statement showing that certifi-
cares for $685. scalps have been assigned to
Packard, and adds:
There can be no question as to a large
amount OF the foregoing being fraudulent As
there was no destruction by fire, as required
by law, the same scalp could be sold number
OF times before it would become unstable es-
pecially as the clerk who had to receive them
was buying all that we're offered at figures that
would leave him a good profit. 1t is possible
that his desire to make profit so blinded him
that he would accept even dogs scalp.
II. L Packard the ex-Deputy Clerk and clerk
of the board should be ca led before you and
questioned as TO the ownership OF the certif-
Gates still on hand and TO his buying of scalps
for himself or any one else; TO the raised
certificates, raised aff1davits, the issuance of
certificates when no affidavits were on file or
any entry upon the registers; the entering of
amounts OF scalps on the register with no
accompanying affidavit and the issuance of
certificates OF same, and to the signing of
sundry aftida7lts with cross without any
witness OF same, and to the identity of the
persons whose names are given in the list of
supposed fraudulent certificates.
Much of the information concerning
these scalp frauds was obtained from the
District Attorneys of the counties in
which the largest frauds are alleged to
have been perpetrated. These, according
to the records OF the Board of Examiners,
with the NUMBER OF scalp bounties claimed
in each, are as follows: