Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1903-10-29
LAND GRANT RING.
Said to Include Some State OF.
iicials in the West.
An Extensive Conspiracy Unearthed-
Thousands Of Acres of the Public
Domain Have Been Secured
by the Schemcrs at "a
Nominal Price.

Portland, Ore, Oct. 22.--The Ore.
gonian says the government has un-
earthed II stupendous land grant
graft" ring that has been carrying
on a business on every well timbered
area on the Pacific coast. The ring
has not only acquired land by dun
mics" and other fraudulent means; it
has debauched state land officials,
making them hirelings or partners; it
has maintained in the general land
office at Washington agents, whose
duties were to leak information
about proposed reserves and other
profitable matter; and by use of
money has Influenced the placing of
reserve boundaries to its own inter
ests." The central figures of this con-
spiracy are said to be in San Fran
cisco.
Washington, Oct. 22.-Only general
confirmation can be secured here of
the report of extensive fraudulent
practices in the securing of public
lands on the Pacific coast. The in
terror department officials have been
convinced for over year that there
were various combinations of specula-
tors seeking control of public lands
Tor their own purposes, and recently
number of special agentc have been
working in the field to secure evil
dence of the frauds. Assistant At
torney Pugh, of the Office of the as
slstant attorney geenral for the in
terror department. was sent to the
coast to assist with his legal knowl-
edge.
great number of land entries in
all three of the coast states have
been held up for investiga ton. but so
far no test case has been brought.
The methods of the spectators are
varied, but the most common pro-
ceedlng is to secure patented lands
within forest reservations and then
exchange them for more valuable
lands on the outside. Persons living
on the western slope have charged
that some forest reservations have
been created with this end in view,
the landholders within them being
responsible for creating the senti-
ment which led to their establish
mcnt. This charge is among those
now being investigated.
Many entries of land under the
timber and stone act are regarded
with suspicion, the officials believing
that the entrymen have taken the
lands for speculative purposes rather
than for their own use and benefit"
as the law requTes. 1t is generally
believed that many thousands of
acres of the public domain have thus
fallen into the hands of spectators.
and charges of conspiracy are freely
made, yet so far no definite effort at
prosecution has been undertaken.
a common plan of operation on the
part of the spectators is to buy state
lands inclosed in areas which are
liable to become parts of forest reser-
vations. These, it is said, they often
secure for one or two dollars an acre,
whereas when the reservations are
created the value is increased to $5 or
Sc per acre. Gov. Chamberlain, of
Oregon, is now in Washington confer
ring with the secretary of the inter-
ior concerning these land transfers.
He claims that the state has lost a
considerable sum in this way and is
endeavoring to secure settlement
which will reimburse the state