Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1905-10-30
ON TRAIL OF LAND.CRABBERS
Secretary Hitchcock Vigorously Pushes
Prosecution Of Land Barons.
PRESIDENT Is BACK OF HIS EFFORTS
No Mercy g. shown In bringing 60
Justice Men who Despoil
Uncle sam of His
Domain.

| O'Laughlin says: Secretary of Interior
! Hitchcock is lighting the stiffest battle
against influential thieves and grafters that
| has ever been seen In Washington.
Four men. indicted in connection with the
California land frauds, will undergo trial
here next month. Representative Hermann
of oregon is to be tried for conspiracy and
Representative Williamson is now before
/ the court The charges against these men
| are in connection with land frauds.
| Twenty-seven men have been indicted in
| Idaho for land frauds, and more are to be
| at the next meeting of the grand jury In
! Nebraska the secretary is engaged in prose-
cutting politicians for violations OF the fem
cling laws. Similar prosecutions are in prog
ress in Kansas and South Dakota.
Besides this work the secretary has
| brought down upon his head the anathenlas
| OF liquor sellers and railroads because of his
refusal to grant any deeds TO government
, owned land in proximity to Indian reserva-
| tons unless the purchaser agrees to bind
himself and his successors perpetually not
to sell alcoholic b. verages Of any kind what
soever upon the holding.
Backed Up by President.
1t is strenuous time for the secretary,
and If It were not that he had behind him
President Roosevelt, with his staunch ideas
OF what is right and wrong undoubtedly
| Mr.. Hitchcocks fearless policy Of sending
thieves and grafters to prison would lead to
his own undoing.
The president Is strongly behind Mr..
Hitchcock, however, and Is backing him up
! in every step he is taking to end the gigan-
J tic land frauds which have mulcted the
government and the people out of thousands
! OF acres of agricultural, timber and grazing
lands, valued at millions of dollars.
president is backing up Mr.. Hitchcock at
tention was called today to the reply re-
Gently made by Mr. Roosevelt to a delega-
ton from Oklahoma, who had come to
Washington to protest against the action of
the secretary in ordering the collection of
tribal taxes among the five nations located
! In that territory.
IT know what you gentlemen have come
| for" said the president II have discussed
the matter with the secretary of the interior
and u endorse everything he has done"
sAdheres to Rigid Prosecution.
There Is reason to believe that Mr.. Hitch
| lock has not ceased to give attention 10
the grating which came to his attention in
connection with the tribal tax question, and
three lawyers who succeeded in obtaining a
fee of $75O.OOO are now under indictment and
! will be prosecuted.
I
| rotary to forego prosecution, but he has
refused and proposes to insist that they be
tried. II necessary the cases will be car
ried to the supreme court
The California, Oregon and Idaho land
| frauds are something of an old story,
| though the fresh prosecutions which are
| contemplated by the department have re-
vived interest in them. Now that the policy
of the department has been settled with
| respect to them, the secretary has been
| giving his attention especially to the viola
tons of the fencing laws, which were en-
acted eighteen years ago and have been re-
| garded as dead letters.
He has succeeded in putting one company
out of business in Nebraska, which had
fenced in 10000 acres of land Bartlett
Richards and N G. Comstock fenced in
more than $4,000 acres. The secretary made
an investigation and found that the west
ern part OF Nebraska had been gridironed
with fences in fragrant violation of law.
Political Pull AvaIIs Not.
Richards, who was indicted has asked the
| department for mercy, but the secretarys
answer is that they must be prosecuted and
found innocent or guilty Of what he be-
lieves to be a willful and INSCRIPTIONS
violation of the law. Richards is an astute
Nebraska politician and he is said TO have
used considerable influence, but without
avail.
In South Dakota the secretary is prose-
| cutting the Little Missouri Horse company
which, It is charged, has fenced In 1900
acres OF land. In Stevens county. Kan,
there also has been illegal fencing.
| The secretary is not trying to ruin any
industry which the men who are under
going prosecution, or are TO be indicted,
have established. His position, he has
stated is that II the country is a grazing
country. he is willing to make a compro-
mise, so that the grazing will not interfere
with the agriculture.
The secretary's compromise is not salts
factory however, to the men who have
found it profitable to fence land in violation
OF the laws. The secretary is engaged at
this moment in hot controversy with
Senator Clapp of Minnesota, over the cut
ting of timber on the coded portion of the
White Earth Indian reservation in Mime
sofa.
Cannot BE Intimidated.
During the last session OF congress a law
was passed directing that the timber on the
reservation should be sold under terms and
regulations to be determined by the secre-
tary of the interior. The Indian office, to
which the matter was turned over, prepared
regulations with the approval OF the secre-
tary, which provided that the timber should
be sold at public auction to the highest
bidder for the period of five years.
Senator Clapp has raised a cry Of mon
opoly, and wants the business thrown open
TO as many lumbermen as care 20 20 into
the land, asserting that the Indian Uroprie-
tors will get higher price for their timber
The secretary has found, however, that the
action he had decided upon is In accordance
with policy pursued in Wisconsin. which
has had advantageous results for the In
dams and the government
Senator Clapp has made tremendous
row about the matter and asserts that the
whole Minnesota delegation will be after
the secretary during the coming winter
The secretary is blithely going his own
road, however, undaunted as little by Sena-
tor Clapp's attitude he was by the
threats made against him by the friends
OF Senator Mitchell, Representatives Her
mann and Williamson, the California and
Nebraska men, and the grafters OF Okla
homa territory.
No Intention of ReHigninE.