Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-11-26
Register of Nebraska Land OF
flee Says Few Frauds Were
Perpetrated
ENTRIES NEARLY ALL GENUINE
Investigation of Charges Made by Sec
rotary of the Interior That Soldiers
Widows Claims Were Not Secured
in Lawful Manner Being Held at the
Land Office in Omaha.

Omaha, Nov. 26.-JameS Whitehead,
register of the land Office at Broken
Bow, and w. r. Akers, receiver of the
land office at Alliance, are in the city,
having been summoned to appear be-
fore the federal grand jury in connect
tain persons accused of fencing govern
ment land and OF being connected with
fraudulent entries. Mr.. Whitehead
said that at the Broken Bow office there
had been comparatively few entries
which are in any way questionable and
that he could throw little light upon the
subject under investigation. Mr.. Akers
said that at the Alliance land office
there had been 200 entries made by
widows of soldiers.
Many of these widows" he said,
come to the office and make affidavit
without having in their possession any
thing to show that they are widows of
soldiers. In these cases we Write to
Washington for record of the soldiers
whose widows they claim to be and out
but one case where the records did not
bear out the statement of the women.
In that case the name of the alleged
soldier did not appear upon the record
1T was at the Alliance land office that
q number of entries by negroes We're
made. The greater number of these
negroes are in the county and ON the
day of the last election went out TO the
precincts in which their claims are To-
Gated to vote. A few of the men We're
not in the county at the time, but so
far as they are concerned we have no
reason to believe that the entries are
not in good faith
/ w. r. Lesser, the suspended special
agent. is still in the city. and speaking
of the matter of fences and Illegal en-
tries said: "Col. Mosby is certainly
mistaken when he says that ! made no
report on the illegal fencing. l did not
make many nor extended reports, as
was too busy with other matters, but
did say in an early report that there
was practically not one acre of govern
ment land in the state unfenced. Ac-
cording to the regulations now In force
it is doubtful if one legal notice has
ever been served upon a person requir-
ing him to remove the Illegal obstruc-
tons Under the rules the notice must
not only describe the fence, but it must
specify the exact description of the
land which is fenced. This requires a.
searching into the records which can
not be made by an agent who is sup
posed to be on the road, and l recon-
mended to the department a change in
the laws which would permit brief
notice, as l believe that a description of
the land fenced is unnecessary. The
rule has not been changed and it would
require half dozen special agents in
each of the western districts to serve
legal notices in all cases in six months"
One of the persons who has been
charged with operating part of "bu-.
reau" for securing the filing of claims
by soldiers widows said: Il became in
terested in the matter thru neighbor.
She had a minor son, the son of SOL
der, and told her that he was entitled
to take up a claim. interested myself
with another gentleman in the matter.
and we located a claim for him in From
tier county. I afterward leased the
land from him. but that had nothing to
do with the entry. A little while after
that another neighbor came to me and
told me that she had a minor child of a
deceased soldier and located him.rpon
a piece of land. The women meet in the
Womens Relief Corps, and it was not
long before they had told of my action,
and several came to me to assist 4hem
in locating claims, either for themselves
or for their children. I did the best /
could for them, and while I have not
solicited the business I have made the
best terms for the widows and the chill
dren that I could. I have nothing to
conceal in the matter and / know of
none of my friends who have"