The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-01-07
OREGON RING IN
LAND FRAUD CASE
Indictment Of Mitchell and Her.
mann the Climax of Long
-. Investigation.

was created In washington Dy Inc an
nouncement that Senator John H.
Hermann of Oregon had been indicted
in connection with alleged Oregon land
frauds. It was we'll known in official
circles and among the colleagues Of
both the senator and the representative
at the time they were summoned to ap-
pear before the Portland grand jury
that an effort would be made to indict
them.
TIL theory of the government $
prosecution has been that Binger Her
mann, while land commissioner, had a
guilty knowledge of the transactions
which were passed on in his depart
ment and facilitated the disposition Of
the cases.
The Oregon ring, which is accused of
srpstrating the Frauds nf i; part of tine
Mitchell is the head and Hermann an
important cog. Perhaps the most re-
markable feature Of the case is the fact
that after Mr.. Hermann had been
forced from the office Of land commits
sioner, he was nominated for congress
in the first Oregon district and over,
whelmingly elected. The opponents OF
the nomination that he had been guilty
of irregularities and the essential facts
as now known were discussed in the
campaign. The machine commended that
Hermann election was necessary as
vindication for the machine.
The story Of the Oregon land frauds
has been told from time to time in the
dispatches from Oregon. The expos
ures have attracted unusual attention
here because it was known that the ad-
| ministration was behind the exposure
and that the president had insisted that
the department Of Justice cooperate
with Secretary Hitchcock and the
agents Of his department in probing
! the frauds to the bottom. It was
known that men whom it was expected
machine, and that the senior senator
from that state was standing loyalty
by them. Those who shared the conf
dence Of the secretary of the interior
knew that he expected the exposure to
include "men high up" and these men
in the common opinion were the former
land commissioner and the senior SEN
ator. g..
Details of Frauds.
The story of the Oregon frauds has
not been told in detail except in the
newspapers Of the Pacific coast. For
more than year A. R. Greene Of Law
ment, has been at work. The alleged
Irregularities cover a long period ante
dating the Roosevelt administra ton. It
is said that President Mckinley would
have compelled the resignation of Her
mann in November, 1901. The assas-
sination of the president in September
of that year gave Hermann longer Off
the conditions existing in the land COM
missioner's office were finally presented
to President Roosevelt. Hermann re-
signed by request from the land office
in February, 1903. He had been four
times elected to congress before Presi-
dent Mckinley appointed him commits
sioner of tho general land office, and he
was out of the land office only six
months when the death Of Representa-
tive Tongue of the first district caused
a vacancy which he was elected to fill.
! During his official life in the land
office Mr.. Hermann and the commits
sioner of the general landoffce, Mr..
Richards. were on unfriendly terms and
the relations between him and Secreta-
ry Hitchcock reached point where
the two men cordially hated each other.
To show Hermann s. alleged connection
with the frauds, it is necessary to ex-
plain that the Oregon land frauds con-
sisted in exchanging invalid timber
claims in forest reserves for valuable
timber claims owned in government
reservations.
! The land department was flooded
with these exchanges. They were SO
numerous and were rushed thru with
such speed that various persons in the
department became suspicious. Many
of these exchanges came from Rose
burg, the home Of Mr.. Hermann, where
there was landoffice. These local
! land officials and the United States
commissioner were the political crea-
lures of Senator Mitchell and Hermann.
! Plans Of the Ring.
The plan pursued was this: Persons
claiming to have timber claims in the
government 8 forest reservations went
| before the United States commissioner
and established the alleged fact. The
United States commissioner certified
/ the findings to the local land officials
at Roseburg or some other land off
Gals. These land officials permitted
valuable timber claims to be taken in
| lieu of the timber claims in the forest
reservations. All the papers were then
| forwarded to the land commissioner in
Washington. Hermann, presiding over
| the general landoffice, is accused of
rushing these cases thru and issuing
| patents for the claims. It is alleged
| that investigations made by Agent
Greene shows that hundreds of these
cases were altogether fraudulent. In
| many cases no improvements of any
i kind had ever been made. In others
persons were found to have been paid
| trivial Sums for the Use of their names