Omaha daily bee., 1902-11-16
Civil Suits to Be Brought to Compel
Removal Of the Fences.
GRAND JURY ALSO HAS eRIsT TO GRIND
District Attorney Summers Instructed to
Act on the Complaints,
TO co INTO MATTER OF WIDOWS CLAIMS
Peculiar Methods Adopted by Special
Agent Lesser Are Also 10 Re
Brought 10 Attention of
Grand Jury.
lFrom q stan Correspondent.l }

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15.-(Speciai Tele-
gram. )-Colonel John S. Mosby, special
agent OF the general land office, who has
been in Washington over a month confer
ring with the president, Secretary Hitch
cock and Commissioner Binger Hermann re-
gardng Illegal fencing of the public domain
in Nebraska, will return to Alliance. Neb.
next week. When Colonel Mosby was sum-
moned TO Washington month ago IL ~as
generally supposed in Nebraska that he
was at least to be severely censured by the
secretary of the interior because Of his per-
sistent efforts TO secure the removal Of
fences which he deemed illegally enclosing
the public domain. At least this was the
impression current in Alliance and around
about Colonel Mosby has not been re-
moved, however. nor even censured, but,
on the contrary, his course has met the
hearty approval of President Roosevelt
and Secretary Hitchcock and he is to re-
turn to Nebraska with his arms strength
ened for further campaign against those
who occupy the public land illegally.
Soon after his arrival here President
Roosevelt sent for him to explain certain
things in relation TO the removal of fences.
During his visit to the White House Colonel
Mosby laid before the executive all the
facts in his possession. At the conclusion
of the interview the president assured
Colonel Mosby that his course in the mat
ter met with his hearty approval and that
he was convinced that the fences COM
planned of must come down and stay down.
The law which prohibits the fencing CT
public land was passed by congress Just
prior to the Inauguration of President
Cleveland in 1885 and has been practically
a dead letter on the statute books for
years with the result that millions of acres
of public land is now enclosed by fences
erected by cattlemen to the detriment Of
agriculturalsts or homesteaders.
Meets with Obstruction.
When Colonel Mosby was appointed by
President Mckinley this great problem
confronted him and his every move look
ing to the removal Of these fences met
with obstructions at every hand. The
law was upon the statute books and he was
instructed TO see that 1t was administered
to the letter. He started in Colorado, and
something over year ago completed his
work in that state, obtaining strict con-
formity to law, all illegal fences being
removed. He was next sent INFO Ne
braska, and after nearly a year of work
has matters so in hand, according to his
statement, that 1t .s only matter of a few
will be a thing of the past. Colonel Mosby
has had opposition from congressional rep
resentatives Of Nebraska in his efforts to
execute the laws. He has also been con-
fronted with the apathy of the United
States district attorney for Nebraska,
without whose cooperation his hands were
practically tied, and in addition to that
Special Agent Lesser. whose headquarters
were at North Platte, Neb., seemed very
10th to countenance any move which might
embarrass the cattlemen.
suits TO BE Brought.
The appeal of Senators Millard and Diet
rich to the president and Secretary Hitch
| cock to hold up action has been unavail-
! ing Attorney General Knox has issued
/ positive instructions TO District Attorney
/ w. s. Summers at Omaha TO bring civil
| suits against cattlemen charged with ille-
! gal maintenance of fences, and Special
| Agent w. Il. Lesser has been suspended
| by the general land ofice and in all prob
| ability will be dismissed from that service.
I on November T. Colonel Mosby addressed
| a letter to Commissioner Hermann, in
/ which he suggested that the Department
of Justice be requested to instruct the
| United States attorney for Nebraska TO in
| stitute civil suits for the removal OF fences
| in all cases where 8ffdavIts had been filed
with him by citizens complaining OF fences.
"I have sent many such complaints TO
the district attorney at Omaha" said
| Colonel Mosby but he has taken no ac-
| tion. Unless he does, the fences will stand
| and the statute is a dead letter. II he
would only make a move in one case all
who have received notice to remove their
| fences would remove them Immediately
| without waiting for a decree Of the court
TO compel them"
This letter was formally sent to the at
| torney general with Colonel Mosby's report,
with the result that instructions were at
once issued to District Attorney Summers
TO proceed at once.
Call widows Into Court.
Specific instructions have been issued to
the district attorney to summon a number
OF alleged soldiers widows who IT il
charged have made false afidavits coverinl
land entries in the Alliance land district
One OF these widows, Mrs. Carrie l.. Carri-
gan, at present residing in Clarinda, la.
but whose home is in Blair, Neb.. has writ.
ten a letter to the commissioner OF the
general land once giving an account of th'
proceedings when nifty widows wen
before Fred Hoyt. United States commits
sioner, to swear for homestead entry. Sh,
says in her letter that the women did no
read the paper they were to swear to
which was an application for a homestead
Although these widows made oath tina
these entries we're not for the benefit o
anyone but themselves, yet she says the!
were subsequently required to sign leases
for somebody else's benefit, but for who's
particular benefit she does not know. By
strange coincidence. however, all entrie
made on the particular occasion referre,
to are in a straight line running from tn
Burlington road to the Elkhorn in Sheri
dan county and the fence Of Bartlett Rich
ards, the cattle king. happens to be loeate
on these entries The district attorney ha
been requested to summon Bartlett Rich
ards to tell under oath what he may know
Of these alleged violations Of Law. Dis
triet Attorney Summers has written L
| Colonel Mosby notifying him that Ere