The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-11-02
JUSTICE WILL
0VERTAKE THEM
Secret Service Men on the Trail
of Land Pirates.
STATEMENT is GIVEN OUT
COMPLETE REPORT WILL BE
MADE LATER.
is GIVEN OUT

Washington. Nov 1.-The following
statement Of the conduct OF the inves-
tigation into public land frauds in the
Pacific coast states was prepared at me
I interior department and given out at
Secretary HitchcOck's approval:
Nearly year ago report reached
the secretary which indicated that
frauds Of a serious nature had been
and were being peTpetrated against the
government under what is known as the
forest reserve land act of June 4, 1897
by a combination of land Spectators
on the Pacific coast. The information
and indicated frauds were of so grave
a character that the secretary at once
directed a thorough investigation to be
made. This investigation was COM
menced last June and has been con-
Quoted by those in charge of the actual
work with great care and with all pos
sible speed consistent with thorough
ness The investigation has proceeded
step by step without intermissiOn, under
the secretary's personal direction, and
every Clew to wrOngdoiug has been
quietly followed to its source, with the
result that il Is the confident belief Of
those in charge that the guilty parties
viii be apprehended and speedily
brought to justice.
Probed to the Bottom.
TT has been the determination OF the
secretary from the beginning that the
matter should be probed to the bottom.
regardless Of the apparent influential
character of some of the men involved,
and the inquiry has been conducted
throughout along these lines. The
work is now nearing completion, and
the whole matter at an early date viii
be in shape for definite and appropriate
action against the offenders.
. while several hundred THOUSAND
acres Of public lands are involved in
the illegal transactions brought to light,
the number of acres to which patents
have been obtained by the perpetrators
Of the fraud is comparatively small.
II is proper TO say also that some Of
the statements in regard to the matter
which have appeared in the newspa-
pers recently, both in the east and in
the west, are more or less exaggerated,
and others are mere surmises. The
statements widely circulated to the eff
fct that five United States senator's and
a large number Of representative were
implicated and that the land involved
viii reach in value $4,000, coo, are with
out foundation 1t can be positively
stated that they did not originate in
the interior department The details
Of the investigation are known to few.
Report withheld.
at the proper time n full statement
VIII be made covering the results Of the
entire investigation and the whole mat
ter viii be given TO the public; but for
obvious reasons it is not deemed eX-
pedient that a detailed statement Of the
facts should be given at the present
time
THE work Of the investigation has
been conducted by Arthur =. Hugh, as
int do
ment, and William J. Burns of the Sc
Mr., Burns was called into the case last
Nay, and since that time has had en-
tire charge Of the secret service fea-
lures Of the work, while Mr.. Hugh had
attended 20 its legal phase. The sec
'retary of the interior is highly gratifed
with she service rendered by the officers
In The matter"