The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1905-03-31


) o.. receipt OF This drop everything aSt
cone olIect here? Bring with you an
-T4nk. but con .et your fanny or Anyone
KNOW, al the company books day leoger.
al OF mem, also your bank book. as 4 am
extremely ANXIOUS TO see for myself pre-
elsely what the books show. besides Il is
important that we should talk over with
Futon. who is TO help TO defend me, in
rts I'D TO the cases. hope you can come;
- %, don't let a soul know you are COM
ING, not even Harry, and If you conclude
20 come wire me as follows: johnson
caves direct for Washington this even
ing-Tanner. ] do hope you can come and
Immediately, before you are called upon be-
fore the grand jury. Sincerely your n lend.
JOHN III. MITCHELL"
Don't show Harry this letter nor tell
him anything in 1t. Don't let him see our
Docks. Tell him nothing.
keep all important letters in safe. and
safe and office carefully locked, as those
scoundrels will get in IL possible.
Burn tais without fall"
The dramatic scene in the senate
chamber at Washington where, before
his colleagues, Senator Mitchell solemn
ly, and tearfully, and vehemently, de-
clared his innocence of the charges
brought against him, is still fresh in the
public mind, but the courts at Portland
will have to decide that point.
How the System" Worked.
And now a word about 1.-The system"
by which it was possible TO perpetrate
such gigantic frauds against the govern
ment and steal whole townships of val
liable timber land, much of which was
made up of giant trees ranging liz size
from 80 to over 80 feet in diameter, and
from 200 TO nearly 500 feet in height.
1t must be admitted at the start that
the laws of the United States made easy
the system and invited the INSCRIPTIONS
TO defraud the government. The act
OF June 4, 1897, allows the exchange Of
lands within the limits of United States
forest reserves, by the owner thereof,
for other public lands outside of the re-
serves. Under the pretense of acquiring
school lands as settlers innumerable
sections would be taken up by organ
lied raiders under applications signed
with fictitious and forged names. At
first five and ten dollars apiece were
paid for these signatures which were
obtained from all classes of people. But
after awhile this was considered a USE
less waste of money, and the conspira-
tors boldly forged the names as neces-
sity demanded. These applications for
land with the forged names signed to
them would be sent to notaries public
and Endorsed as though the persons
whose names were attached to the pa
pers had made the applications. At the
same time deeds would be sworn TO or
assignments made out and names forged
to them, the assignments always being
made out TO the firm that instigated the
proceedings or to some one who would
accept the titles in their behalf, the
state law providing that after an appli-
cation for purchase had been legally
filed the applicant might assign the
land. In this manner patents to some
thing like $50, 900 acres of school lands
in California and Oregon were fraudu-
lently obtained. These selections were
of the very best public lands, including
large tracts of the finest timber lands
that can be found in the public domain.
BY the creation of forest reserves
within the states of California and Ore
gon-generally in the mountainous
regions-large tracts of undisposed
school lands, frequently of worthless
character, were included in such re-
T.
referred to above, these states could re-
linquish the school lands to the United
States and select other lands outside of
the forest reserves inlieu of them, sell
ing these lands thus selected at prices
from five TO 20 times as much as the
prices that could be obtained for school
land inside the forest reserves before
the government withdrew them In
this way the land grabbers have &C
quired school lands for which they paid
$1.25 an acre, and sold for s. to $40 an
acre.
Government Employees Involved.
THE system" extended to Washing
ton. for to further their schemes EN-.
ployes in the general land Office therel
who had been drawn into the conspiracy
by liberal brides, kept certain men in
formed regarding the exact date when
the Withdrawals of land would be made
for the purpose of creating new forest
reserves. The advance information
thus obtained would enable them to file
in the state land office their fictitious APP
plications to purchase school lands
within such forest reserves ahead of
anyone not in the combination Arthur
B. Pugh, in his report to the secretary
of the interior, stated that one firm had
secured in this way the filing of appli-
cations TO purchase about 100000 acres
of school lands within proposed forest
reserves, the Withdrawals for which
were made only few months previous
10 the beginning of the investigation.
And now as to the railroads Under
similar provision they were able TO ac-
quire thousands of acres of valuable
land. The Northern Pacific obtained
100000 acres Of Oregon timber land by
relinquishing desert land and locating
script received for it. Although the
road has but 40 miles of track in Oregon,
it obtained large tracts of valuable tim
Der lands, and the exchange of this
400, 000acre grant for timber lands in
Oregon is at present the subject of in.
vestigation by the legislature of Ore
gon.