River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1905-04-13

| ing UP higher and higher, and desperate
as were the efforts to end the investiga-
ton, powerful as were the influences ex-
erted to discredit the work and place
| Secretary Hitchcock in false light, strong
as were the counter charges brought
against the secretary of the interior to
have him removed, not for an instant
did he hesitate or pause in his purpose
| to run to the ground every one in any
| way connected with the land frauds,
whether United States senator or poor
$1,000 clerk, the tool Of the real con-
spirators.
The first hint from Arizona had led to
unearthing big frauds in California, and
now the trail led into Oregon, where the
confession of Frank H. Walgamott
brought about the conviction of a pretty
bunch of prominent people, among them
s. A. D. Puter, who is alleged to have
had dealings with Senator Mitchell in
the land frauds. From this beginning
all the timber land prosecutions in the
state of Oregon started. 1t is charged
that a Portland man and millionaire
lumber dealer of Minnesota had &C
ouired more than 100000 acres in Ore
gon. With the conviction of Puter,
| Mckinley and others, Burns did not rest,
but proceeded to worm from them In
formation which resulted in the charges
of the bribing of United States Senator
Mitchell. of Portland.
The plot thickened and as it did SO
the barriers raised to investigation be-
came more determined and effectual.
But as Secretary Hitchcock and Attor-
ney General Knox came to appreciate
the extent of the land frauds, they de-
cided to have more legal aid, and Fran
els ]. Heney, one of the ablest criminal
lawyers of the Pacific coast, was secured
to look after the Oregon end of the
cases. And here is where Senator
Mitchell and others of the big fry come
in, and right here is one of the most
interesting and startling portions of the
| lands fraud story. When the grand
jury had been summoned and a vigor-
Gus investigation begun, Attorney
Heney tried to induce Senator Mitchell
to go to Oregon from Washington as a
witness. but this he at first refused to
matters were becoming serious for him
and Hermann, they both started for the
west.
Startling Developments.
But if the grand jury could not get
hold of Senator Mitchell as a witness,
it could and did secure his law partner,
Judge A. H. Tanner. and the develop
ments resulting from his testimony,
the keen work of the detective and the
subsequent confession of Judge Tanner
are almost tragic in their bearing.
While Tanner refused to produce the
partnership books kept by the firm of
Mitchell and Tanner on the ground that
it might incriminate him, he did pro-
duce partnership agreement, dated
1901, that on it's face appeared to be
genuine.
But Mr.. Burns thought differently.
To make a long story short, the clever
detective noted that the agreement was
written on paper which bore the water
mark of Edinample. The books of the
firm showed that the first EdinampIe
bond paper purchase had been made
on March 80, 1903, almost three years
subsequent to the writing of their origi-
nal partnership agreement. Burns also
noted that the document had been writ
ten on a typewriter using a black rib
bon, and investigation proved that dur
ing the period between 1901 and 1905
green and purple ribbons had been
used, and that black was used for the
first time in December, 1904. 1t was
discovered also that the profits of the
concern were divided equally between