Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-04-30
GOVERNMENT FRAUDS.
There Are Scandals In Nearly
Every Department.
MUM THE WORD, BY PARTY ORDERS

If the Whole Truth Were known.
The Stables Need CIeaning-Turn
the RaScaIs 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 a thorough investigation
would injure the Republican party and
throw n cloud over the political for
tunes of President Roosevelt, was a
failure. Scandals, like murder, will
out Postmaster General Payne de-
clared there was nothing wrong in the
postoffice department and designated
the Tulloch charges as hot air." but
the evidence OF the extent OF the loot
ing became SO apparent that 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 postoffice scandals
there are others in other departments
that involve even 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 be 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 ma
ton.
For instance, the crimes of the Unit
ed States marshal for the Indian Terri
tory, Benjamin III. Colbert, became so
f1agitious that he was arrested,
charged with using his power for po-
litical purposes. Letting prisoners out
of Jail that they might vote was one Of
his pleasing pastimes; imprisoning In
dams for not voting according TO his
wishes was another. What the exact sit
uation in the interior department is 1t Is
difficult to say, for there is an evident
effort to suppress all the evidence of
the operations of the land ring In the
Indian Territory, and the names OF
those implicated, or who have been
asked to resign or have been dismissed,
are unobtainable. 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-
zeal 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
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 n
forest reserve. Half the land he had
acquired was included In the tract he
recommended for inclusion in the for
est reserve. Whenever a 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, but they are
not. and in that lies the opportunity for
fraud"
Those charges which involve con-
gressmen and others have not been in
vesugated, or If they have Secretary
Hitchcock has maintained a 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 scandal IN
the agricultural department and the
charge that the statistics of crop re-
ports have been used for the benefit of
at the expense of the farm
erS.
The smuggling scandals in Porto Ri
CO, which involved officers of the army,
navy and civil service, in which indict-