The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-10-23
LAND FRAUDS
ON SETTLERS
How Professional Contestants and
: Grafters Operate in the North
err Domain.
Contests Started for Hold-up Pur-
poses-statement of Cass Lake
Land Officers.
Special to The Journal.

oakley. Many contests were lllotA-
,tuted in the Duluth office, but were
transferred to Cass Lake when the
records covering the territory en-
braced in the new land district were
removed to this place. Recently, sew
eral of these contests have been deter
mined, and Messrs. Jones and Oakley
have found such a rotten state of at
fairs existing in connection with many
Of them that they have decided to
take radical measures to prevent the
graft" which several unprincipled To-
Gators, attorneys and even United
States commissioners have been work.
ing on the homesteaders in the north
ern part Of the district. "
T Throwing the Scare. -, =
1t has come to the knowledge of the
officials that professional ~locators in
northern Itasca and Beltrami counties
have been making practice of secur-
ing persons to institute contests
against valuable claims, even going so
far as. to have two and even three jun,
Tor contests pending in addition to the
senior contest: When the time has
come. to hear many Of these Junior
contests, the persons In whose names
they are entered have either failed to
appear personally, or have, thru their
unprincipled attorney-the latter real
ly being the principal Il the affair
asserted they were unable to secure
the witnesses desired, or made some
other equally flimsy excuse for trying
the contest. :. T'.-'r ~. a - -
| = 1t, develops that the instituting of
the contest is for the sole purpose Of
frightening the homesteader into pay
ing a good, round sum to have it
dropped before the day set for hear
ing. In several cases it is alleged that
the United States commissioner before
whom the contest was set for hearing
was party to the game, and would
agree to make a farce of the hearing
If paid his pound Of hesh.'' The
matter had become so brazen thet the
officials have of late made a practice
of having the contests heard and de-
termined at the main office in Cass
Lake. This has Of course, caused a
howl to go up from the wolves who
have been bleeding the settlers, but
the reputable attorneys in the district,
| without exception, have commended
the action of the register. and re-
ceiver in this respect.
Case of Miss Porter.
An instance of the unprincipled
methods pursued by these grafters,
came up the past week. Three years
ago, Miss Helen Porter Of Minneapo-
lis, filed on a homestead in northern
Beltrami county, thirty miles distant
| from railroad station. She "toted"
her supplies from Bemidji, a distance
OF over thirty miles, erected a house
on her. claim, and lived up III every
way to the requirements of the law.
ana IN so doing put up withahardships
that would have made many robust
man quit in disgust. >r>t
Recently she was served with a no.
tice of contest by a man whom the
evidence taken later proved had never
oeen in the state, and at the time of
the initiation of the contest was res
ldent of South Dakota and had never
seen the land. 1t is stated that a promi-
1 nent attorney Of Bemidji engineered
this outrageous deal, and to combat it
successfully cost the young. lady a
good round sum, in addition to a lot
OF inconvenience. > ~
Land Officers Statement.
| In recent decision, the register
and receiver say: "A reason for re-
jecting these junior contests, and in
the opinion of this office; a sufficient
justification in itself, is that they are
| almost entirely Of speculative ma
| ture; in fact, so far as this office is
able to determine, all of such contests
are of this character. It has almost
come to be a fact that professional
| Contestants exist, making contests by
the Dozen not for the purpose OF OBJ
tanning homes for themselves, but for
the purpose of specializing upon the
possible outcome of such Junior con-
| tests. This absolutely destroys and
subVerts the purpose and, enactment
of the laws for the settlement Of the
public domain, and, in our opinion,
should not be tolerated, if it is possible
to. avoid it, ..--,.---.- ---..... -.
And again: This office is not in
favor Of a lax observance of the home
| stead or any other land laws OF. the
| United States, or of any one obtaining
title to the land in public domain with
out reasonably strict compliance with
those laws under. which they may
claim or obtain title thereto. Neither
Is 1T in favor of what might be termed
semipr Professional contestants, who, fol-
the purpose of obtaining either two
claims for themselves, or a claim for
their: sisters, their cousins or their
aunts, as the case may be, institute
contests, as frankly admitted by the
contestant in this case.
| Time to Do Something.
.""The officers feel that it is about
time to make. a stand and protect the
! public domain from raids upon it
Many seem to believe that the United
States owes each citizen $50 acres OF
! land, without paying any compensa.
ton for it, either in actual bona fde
residence thereon, as provided by the
homestead laws, or sufficient com
pensation in money If the proof i:
COMMITTED. 1t seems, to the officer:
of this office that proof Of this char.
acter is insufficient, and the obtaining
of public land in this manner is far.
cical, contrary to law and against the
dictates of common sense"
OF course, there have been appeal!
from the decisions made by the loca
officials, but it is self-evident that i
the authorities of the general land Of
fee at Washington desire to rid thu
country Of the professional contestors
unprincipled attorneys and "grafters'
who are making life a burden to thu
humble homesteaders with honest in
Itentions, the sentiments expressed ant
rulings made by Messrs. Jones ant
Oakley will be sustained in every de
tail.
i Business Chances Abroad. ~
The Importation Of BICYCLES into