Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1905-04-12

that can he 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 a worthless
character, were included in such re-
serves. Under the act of June 4, 1897,
referred to above, these states could re-
linquish the school lands to the United
States and select other lands outside of
the forest reserves in lieu 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 ac-
quired school lands for which they paid
$l.25 an acre, and sold for IS to $50 an
acre.
Government Employees Involved.
1.-The system" extended to Washing
ton, for to further their schemes EN-
ployes in the general land Office there,
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 an.
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 FAC, 900 acres
of school lands within proposed forest
reserves, the Withdrawals for which
were made only few months previous
to the beginning of the Investigation.
And now as to the railroads. Under
similar provision they were able to &C.
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: 000-acre grant for timber lands in
Oregon is at present the subject of in
vestigation by the legislature of Ore
gon.
The Government Position.
Mr.. Pugh, as attorney for the interior
department. in speaking of the govern
ment's position in the case. says:
There is no doubt that a great consn;r.
acy can be shown in these cases and that
the exchange of these lands with fictitious
titles for lands with perfect titles would he
gross fraud upon the government. This
was one of the most ingeniously planned
and deeply laid conspiracies to defraud the
United States that the government has had
to deal with. While the school lands used
as basis for the selections under the act
of June L. 1897, arc located within the states
of California and Oregon, the public lands
selected in exchange for such schoo! lands
are scattered throughout the various public
land states and territories. The very best
of the undisposed of lands were selected
in exchange. In the timbered sections the
most valued timbered lands were taken.
In the arid regions, land containing
springs or on which sources Of water sup
ply were found, were taken. If the fraudu-
lent actions had not been arrested there
would have been obtained in this manner
patents from the government to hundreds
of thousands Of acres Of the very best pub
lie lands