Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-14
PUBLIC LAND FRAUDS
Statement in Secretary Hitch
cocks Annual Report.
THE METHODS PURSUED
ILLEGAL PATENTS.
Number Of Acres to Which Title Has
Been Obtained 10 Compare
lively Small.
THE METHODS PURSUED

Il y
| The annual report Of the Secretary Of the
| Interior. released for publication today,
| contains the first public statement OF the
| parties to the alleged land, frauds In
| Oregon, which have been OF more than
ordinary interest to the public for the past
| month or more. Secretary hitchcock says
During the past year There have been
| indicted and arrested in the state OF
| OREGON, charged with forgery and conspi-
! racy to defraud the government, United
| States commissioner and three others, the
| frst being woman. The United States
| commissioner has been removed from. her
! office, and all are awaiting trial by the
court.
eft Is alleged that several hundred en-
| tries and final proofs were made before this
| commissioner under the act of March Ii.
| 1902 c32 Stat. L., 1900. all Of which have
been are being examined by officers OF
| this department The methods pursued by
! these parties are alleged to have been SUBJ
| stantially as follows:
Methods Pursued.
Forged entry papers of fictitious entry
| men, alleged to have been executed before
| the United States commiss. oner. alleging
| settlement on a tract of land within the
! limits Of forest reserve piior to the crea-
| ton of such reserve, would be transmitted
| to the local land office. Within a month
| thereafter probably, final proof notices on
| said entry would issue, and after the period
4! of publication required forged proofs. al
| legged to have been executed before THIS
| commissioner, would be transmitted to the
local land Office where, everything on the
| face of the papers being regular, they
| would be forwarded by the register ana
J receiver to the general land Office at Wash
| ington, where, no fntimaton OF fraud ap-
pearing, the proof was approved and patent
| on the entry issued. Thereafter, forged
| deeds alleged to have been executed by the
| fictitious entrymen before this commis-
| sioner or a notary public, conveying the
| land to one of the parties 20 the conspiracy,
would be duly filed for record, and there
| after the land would be transferred by one
of said parties to some other person, or
| else made a basis for lieu selection under
| the act Of June 4, 1897
Suits Brought,
"Suits have been brought in a number OF
| Instances In the federal courts to vacate
| patents and to restore to the public domain
| the lands acquired by these alleged fictitious
| entrymen.
"The labor involved in obtaining the evt-
dence of these forgeries and conspirac es
| and in presenting the same to the federal
grand Jury has covered a period OF many
| months and has occupied almost the entire
| time of one of the most competent inspec-
| tors Of this department, who has received
| invaluable cooperation from the United
States attorney for Oregon. 1t is believed
| that the outcome Of the matter will go far
| toward putting end in that section to
| the fraudulent practices that seem to have
heretofore been much In vogue In securing
| title to public lands.
Convictions in California.
Information has also been received from
the Department of Justice of the conviction
by the federal court in the northern district
of California of three persons for suborna-
ton of perjury In connection with the entry
of land under the timber and stone act.
These convictions. 1t is alleged. are the
first of their kind for fifteen years In that
section. and it Is believed they will have
wholesome moral effect toward stopping
the fraudulent transactions Of this charac-
ter. At any rate 1t is the purpose of the
department to pursue with unf1agging zeal,
until Justice Is melted out to them, all per-
sons shown to have committed frauds
against the government by unlawfully ac-
quiring any portion of the public domain.
The Investigation.
NEARLY year ago information reached
the department which strongly indicated
that frauds of serious nature had been
and were being perpetrated against the
government under what Is known as the
forest reserve lieu land act of June 4, 1897.
by a combination Of land Spectators on the
Pacific coast. The Information and indi-
Gated frauds were of SO grave a character
that at once directed thorough investi-
cation to be made. This investigation was
commenced last January. and has been con-
Quoted by those having charge OF the actual
work with great care and with all possible
expedition consistent with thoroughness.
The investigation has proceeded step by
step. without intermission. under my per-
sonal direction. and every clue to wrong
doing has been quietly followed to its
source with tho result that 1t IL the conf
dent belief of those In charge Of the In
quiry that the guilty parties will be appre-
hended and speedily brought to Justice
ut has been my determination from the
beginning that the matter should be probed
to the bottom regardless OF the apparent
influential character OF some OF the men In
volved. and the inquiry has been conducted
throughout along these lines The work is
now nearing completion. and the whole
matter will at an early date be In shape
for definite and appropriate action against
the Offenders.
Tho Lands Involved
'sWhile severel hundred thousand acres
of public land are involved In the Illegal
transactions brought to light. the number
Of acres to which patents have been OBJ
tanned by the perpetrators Of the frauds IL
comparatively small. It IL proper to say
also that some Of the statements in regard
to the matter which have recently ap-
peared in newspapers. both In the east and
In the west. are more or less exaggerated
and others are mere surmfses The state
ments widely circulated to the effect that
FIVE United States senators and large
number of representatives were implicated.
and that the lands involved would reach in
value $4,000. 600 or $20.Ooo,0OO. are without
foundation in fact. It can be positively
slated that they did not originate In this