The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-12-10
GET THE BIG ONES.
CONTINUED from Preceding Pags.l

they We're expected to go before the
land Office and swear that they had
complied with the law For this they
were to receive $50 and the BiIbys were
to take the land. The Bilbys have been
carrying on their Kansas operations
during the past year mainly, and as q
consequence no instances Of fraudulent
proVings Of claims by any Of their
'-h8boes, - are found against them Yet
the jury found evidence that they were
simply importing people to 90 through
the formula of making entries, We're
perjuring themselves and CONSUMING TO
obtain government land, and it was
upon this that they returned t'7@ IN
diCtments.
The elder Billy claims to be the rich
est man in the state of Missouri. His
home is near Quitman
The charge of subornatiOn Of per-
jury is the worst Offense IN the list
1t is one thing that the government is
ever vigilant to prosecute. II amounts
to the making of a false oath. In TINS
instance the technical Offense was the
sworn testimony Of these 'hoboes
that they had been over the land upon
which they filed had homesteaded it
and intended to make it their resi-
dence, not in collision with anyone,
but for their own beneht and not Tor
other persons. These phrases are en-
cOmpassed in the oath to which people
who file on land must subscribe. If IS
found that they had broken every
separate part of the obligation Whlch
they had accepted
The elder Biiby and his younger son,
r. L Billy, were both only indicted
for unlawful land enclosure, and with
them Arthur Bowman, the foreman OF
the Wallace county ranch.
Three County Omcials Caught.
The indicting of r. NJ. Crawford,
county treasurer of Stevens county,
Z. NJ. Dean. probate judge Of Morton
county, and NJ. J. Allen, county attor-
ney of Morton county, awakens con-
siderable interest in that il shows mat
not even men who hold ofnces OF pup
lie trust are immune from the charge
of illegal land holding. None OF these
men are however, charged with mis-
using in any manner whatever tnelr
official positions In this respect they
are not attacked at all. Crawford mas
1850 acres illegally enclosed, Alien
2,0S0 and Dean 1850. No., said J.
S. Dean, United States attorney none.
of these men are accused of having IN
any way used their offices to get this
land. They have simply fenced 1t up
illegally as others have done."
Other Cases Are Plain
J. A. Kelley, whose home is at
HugotOn, Kas., is one of the worst
offenders. Out of a total enclosure in
his pasture of $3.50 acres, 1880 are
unlawfully taken. Wood Colt and H.
Colt have 2,720 acres illegally claimed
in Stevens county. A. b. Lynch and
Robert Merton have 3,04O acres illeg-
ally fenced up in Stevens county The
Boiee Cattle company of New Jersey
is a big offender. or a total pastur-
age of 161.6O0 acres in Stevens and
eminent land. E. Lehman and G.
Meridian, both of New York, are Off
GERS of this company, and both in
dieted. Lewis Cans name was re-
turned, but it is found now that he
has been dead for a year. This slip
occurred simply because Cans was an
officer and included with the rest. 7.
B. Porter has II, $50 acres unlawfully
enclosed in Morton county. w. E.
Moore has 7,040 acres in Morton
county fenced up to which he has no
right.
J. N. Mclean has 1880 acres in
Morton county illegally fenced. N. C.
Combs has 5000 acres in the same
county. All of these cases are plain,
unVarnished ofEenses of Hnlawfully
enclosing government land. They are
simply instances of what has been go
ing on at q wholesale rate all over the
western part of Kansas There are
many more similar cases which may
be ferTeted out. Plenty of them exist.
Colonel Green, who is back of the in
vestigation, simply took hold of the
first instances which came to hand
and all of them PANIED out.
About Six townships Enclosed.
1t is remarkable that only so far as
( the grand jury has probed that almost
six townships in four different eOun-
ties have been found to be illegally
! cattlemen. 1t shows how fragrant this
omense has come to be in western
Kansas. In the cases now under the
1melight a total Of 40S, 400 acres is
1 enclosed and of this amount 1875, ESQ
acres is illegally taken or almost one
third 1t shows the extent to which
1 land grabbing has gone. To still a.
/ little further show how easy it is to
r
/ remembered that all of these results
are the work o. one man in the space
+ of four short weeks of time. Colonel
( A. L. Green is the man who unearthed
them. OF course he has an excep-
I tiOual talent in this line and he has
done the work of a half dozen men.
ii unraVeIed the great land steals of
! the northwest, and fresh from that
labor Secretary Hitchcock sent him to
/ Kansas TO train his guns on the con-
ditions here. Before the grand jury
he was exceptionally well aided by E.
! d. McKeever, assistant United States
I attorney. The two are good team.
! Mr.. Green declares NckeeVer to be
/ the best man to- keep a Jury at work
1 that he ever came across, and his
/ opinion is expert Both of the men
are making regulations with their
] present work.
Total of Twenty-two Indictments.
The entire list of land indictments
returned by the grand jury this week
numbers tWepty-tWo. They are
against the following persons. j. A.
Kelley, r. d. Crawford Wood Colt, H.
Gotts A. B.sLynch, Robert Merton. H
S. BEIGE. 3. Lehman, G. w. Meridian T.
Is. Porter, w. e. Moore, j. NJ MacLean.
NJ. g. Combs, n. j. Allen, E. NJ Dean,
Z A. NJ. Dean, John il. Billy, j. r Bilby,
r. T. BHby, j. II. Drain, L. c. jenkins
and Arthur Bowman In the table of
I unlawfully enclosed land which pre-
a cedes this. article viii not be found as
many names. This is because there
are several different companies with
several officers, partners or employees
4 indicted, all however, guilty of offense
on common land. The Investigation of
I this many defendants since Tuesday.
at which time the work of the jury
I commenced. shows HON assiduouslv it
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