Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1904-09-22
GOVERNMENT FRAUDS,
There Are Scandals In Nearly
Every Department.
MUM THE WORD, BY PARTY ORDERS
The President and the "Dear Old
fart!' Would lie Badly Damaged
II the Whole Truth Were KNOWN.
The Stables Need CleaninE-TurA
the Rascals Out.

The present administration has been
very unfortunate with the large num-
Der of scandals that have been ex-
posed in the executive departments
and the extent to which the grafters
had succeeded in looting the govern
ment Golfers before any effort was
made to stop or punish them. The at.
tempt made by the administration to
prevent the exposure of these scandals,
fearing that Il thorough investigation
would injure the Republican party and
throw cloud over the political for.
tunes of President Roosevelt, was
failure. Scandals like murder, will
out. Postmaster General Payne de-
clared there was nothing wrong in the
postofiice department and designated
tie Tuloch charges as hot air. but
ing became so apparent that a partial
investigation followed The number Of
officials involved has not yet been Civ
en- to the public. and the Bristow re-
port on the charges against congress-
men, has been used to minimize the
department wrongdoings.
In addition to the postofflce scandals
there are others in other departments
that involve even u much greater
amount Of looting. The interior de-
partment Is honeycombed with land
frauds. The Indian bureau and the
Dawes commission are both under sus-
picion Of grave misdoings that are at
tempted to he hushed up, and only an
impartial investigation will discover
how great the grating has been. The
officials appointed by President Roose-
welt for Indian Territory appear to
have been the worst political grafters
he could have discovered to advance
the civilization Of the wards OF the na-
ton
For instance. the crimes OF the Unit
ed States marshal for the Indian Terri
tory, benjamin II. Colbert, became so
flagitious that he was arrested,
charged with using his power for po-
iitical purposes. Letting prisoners out
of Jail that they might vote was one OF
his pleasing pastimes: imprisoning In
diallS for not voting according to his
wishes was another. What the exact sit
uation III the interior department is II is
difficult to say. for there is an evident
effort to suppress all the evidence OF
the operations Of the land ring ir the
Indian Territory. and the names OF
those implicated, or who have been
asked to resign or have been dismissed,
are unobtalnable Mum is the word at
the interior department.
The western land frauds have been
of enormous extent yet but four per
SONS have been indicted. There is,
however. evidence that numerous 9th
ers, including Republican members OF
congress, are being shielded for polit-
ical purposes. 1t will be remembered
that Binger Hermann, the commission
er Of the general land Office, was forced
to resign. but has since been elected to
congress. Oregon has been the storm
center of the land frauds. The New
York World, Oct &c said
Letters written by Representative
John Newton Williamson Of the Sec.
ond Oregon district have been publish
ed on the Pacific coast showing that he
bought lands from the state - each
state being entitled to two sections of
each township in the public domain
within its borders Three days after
title for these lands had passed to him
and his partner he wrote letters to the
land department here advocating the
Inclusion Of large tracts of land in a
forest reserve. Half the land he had
ACQUIRED was included i'll the tract he
recommended for inclusion in the for
est reserve. Whenever forest re-
serve includes lands that have been
bought from the government, either
state or national, the owner is permit.
ted to select an equal number of acres
from any part Of the public domain
that has not been entered under any OF
the laws. The theory is that the lands
are of about equal value, sbut they are
not, and in that lies the opportunity for
fraud"
Those charges which involve con-
gressmen and others have not been in
vestigated, or if they have Secretary
Hitchcock has maintained censorship
that the newspapers have been unable
to overcome.
The fencing of the public domain In
Nebraska and other states by the great
cattle barons, which Colonel Mosby
| was sent to investigate, has been
dropped at the urgent request. 1t Is
stated, of the Republican delegation IN
congress from that state, who fear Its
effect on the coming elections. Many
settlers are anxious to go on these
public lands and acquire homesteads,
but are unable to do so from fear OF
the armed partisans of the cattle bar
! OnS.
Then there is the "seed scandaf' in
the agricultural department and the
charge that the statistics Of crop re-
ports have been used for the benefit of
speculators at the expense of the farm
| erS.
The smuggling scandals in Porto Ri