Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1905-10-21

Z over 20 Chief Brooks, and it soon
! reached me.
The preliminary investigations were
J made by me in my capacity OF secret
! service operative end in making
I them IL became necessary to incur
/ what az that time was an unusually
/ heavy item % expense in having alb
/ strEcts OF title made At that time
\ the total government appropriation
/ for the secret division was only
| 500 600 a year. an amount but $4,000
4 greater than was recently allowed for
/ the search for the plate from which
/ 500 counterfeit bUi was beine made
/ Tor this reason arrangements were
made ostenslbly severing my connec-
/ ton with the secret and making mo
a special ascent 81 the interior depart
/ mont for the purpose Of the land fraud
1 Investigation.
I It viii De necessary for me- at the
/ hazard % lspSing into technicalitlos.
/ % set forth briefly the law governing
/ the acquisition ~ the class Of lands
I dealt iu By tho thieves This par
/ ocular law went into effect ia Aurust.
1854. and wRs generally known as the
graduation act In Missouri II came
/ % De known rs the bit acre" act
| this title EpringinE from the fact that
the prics - be paii per acre under the
act WA 1919 cents. or = bit" ia Mis-
/ sour parlance The act provided that
any citizen Of tbs United States over
21 could make application for 800
acres 90 land in the prescribed dis
/ t7ct and must actually settle on the
lans applied for within six months
/ or application Tn one year from
! the end OF this six months period the
|. settler was required 20 appear az the
I land ofice OF the district and make
sndSvit that be had settled on the
| land and had improved and cultivated
IL according Co description filed with
the registrar 90 the Same time. To
| tho fact OF settlement and improve
! ment there had 20 be- two witnesses.
/ noighbors. who were required TO swear
+ 20 the facts as set forth by the appli-
/ cant
| When the original application was
/ made SO was customary TO forward &c
| 90 Washington. where a patent was
made out and sent back 90 the land OF
/ fee OF the district. where Il was held
until the applicant appeared with
| proofs OF settlement and improve
meut
The graduation act was the out
| srowth OF peculiar physical condi-
/ tton. All early settlements OF new
/ territory are made along its pulnci-
pal waterways. Ia Missouri the first
| settlements were made along the Mis-
sissippi river in Cape Girardeau. New
| Madrid and Ste. Genevieve counties.
the land titles In this district going
back 20 the original Spanish grants.
I The United States surveys OF the ter
| rttory lying west OF this were made
! in 1S20-21. but the lands bacl, from
/ the river had not proved tempting to
the pioneer. For a quarter OF n cen
/ tury they lay In their virgin condi-
ton.
Congress At that time reflected the
! general desire for rapid settlement.
, and as an inducement the bit acre"
act was passed. AS far back as the
passage OF this act there were men
who saw the possibilities for land
/ grating under II. Greer w Davis.
I a prominent resident OF Missouri.
signed thousands OF applications CON
trary TO law before the war. and his
| operations. with those OF many others.
/ covered vast areas-so vast. In fact
| that large part OF several counties
| was covered. The patents correspond
Ing TO these applications were sent
on from Washington 10 the land Of
| fee then located at Jackson. In 1861
the land Office was moved 10 Ironton.
and with II thousands OF patents Is
sued on fraudulent applications.
Then came the civil war. In addi-
ton TO the fraudulent applications
| thousands OF others had been made by
bona-fide settlers. Large numbers Of
| these applicants went 10 the war and
either were killed OF settled elsewhere
when peace was declared Their pat
ents were still pigeonholed in the
| Ironton land Office 1t is undoubtedly
true that some OF these patents had
been stolen by Gen. Prices raiders
| about the time OF the battle OF Pilot
Knob, but thousands Of them remained
unclaimed in the Office. Such were the
| physical and legal conditions IN which
the greatest conspiracy OF the genera
! ton had its roots.
In the early part OF 1880 registered
/ az the primitive tavern at Ironton as
James Hall. Of Chicago. Inquiry be-
| fore my arrival had convinced me that
there was one man In the district
whom could trust implicitly. and he
was Bernard Zwart, United States
| commissioner for the district. and as
"squaretoed" government Official as
IL ever has been my good fortune to
meet To him revealed my true
identity; TO others was the repre-
sentative Of a Chicago land syndi-
| cate.
You have prodigious task before
you" was Zwart's Introductory re-
mark Not only that, but you are
dealing with clique of men who are
deep in the mire Of fraud and who
NH not submit tamelx to being hauled