The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-11
SECY, HITCHCOCK'S REPORT.
CHAPTER on TEE PROSECUTION
OF LAND THEEIES.
He Says Re Cons,dered Neither the station
Nor the Power OF the Guilty The
higher the Onende the Greater the
Crime -4SO Indicted and SO Convicted.

Crime 400 IndlCted ana 80 convicted
WASHINGTON. Dec. i0-The last annual
report which Ethan Allen Hitchcock will
make as Secretary of the Interior was pre-
sented to-day. and the sole reference he
makes TO the fact is in speaking Of the
opportunities for tho fraudulent acquisition
of public lands through the stone and timber
act Of June, 1873. the desert land act of 1887.
the Communication clause of the homestead
law Of 1891 and the amendments to these
laws. all Of which he suggests be repealed
or modified, and then adds
My Official influence in this matter will
soon terminate, but l shall have the comfort
IN retiring from the public service OF a well
founded conviction that the action of the
President relative 70 this class of lawless-
ness will be - rigorous az 10 enable my
success3r 10 successfully administer the
law"
In spesklng Of his attitude on the land
frauds Secretary Hitchcooa has written a
paragraph which may he taken as q sort
Of valedlctory
In the discharge Of any duty under the
law I have proceeded without the slightest
prejudice for or against any person or per-
sons Interested In such efforts as have
been made 70 protect the service under
my supervision from the ravages of inordl-
nate greed I have not Chnsldeed either
the station or the power Of ahe guilty. APP
pa-ently they are all on the same footing.
IA my jud sment. however. the higher the
On ender the greater the crime against
soa sty and law, because Of the force and
inA,, nee Of The higher example. IL is not
nossih n for persons and cor poratlonS OF
great IL. fuence and power TO maintain en-
closures of thN public land in open dis
regard of criminal statute without thereby
enooraaiDn others to do likewise. and here
=, NAV he or oporly roted that reports on
file in the penl. tmsnt indicate that approx
mataly SOC. 900 aores ard more of the public
domain IN certain, States and Territories
are by unlawful meA rs appropriated to- the
exclusive use II Trivata interests for private
gain"
The Secretary sags that the unus-a al
~scttvIty in prosecuting cor sprators 70 a.
fraud the Cove rnmant has been continued
through the year. and 70 sho' Y that vigor has
characterized the work he says that 40
persons have been indicted SOr violating the
land laws, thai eiphty-nine have been con-
yicted and that the Indictments against the
others are still pending. Apparently there
vera no ac11l.llls. Nc deClLras that the
Department IS CONSTANTLY uncovering now
cases thpt are startling and m speaking
Of the CIast pubic domain which has been
looted SAYS;
1T is the NATION s heritage and every
avaiabls rod thereof should be regarded
as sacredly dedicated % the purpose OF
providing homes for the homeless. The
laws enacted for the protection of the ands
should therefore he riEidlv enforced. and
this has been the cardinal principle Of my
administration.
The Secretary reports that l9,431 ,ls7
acres Of public lands were disposed Of dur
ing the year, Of which l.774,3il acres were
sold for cash. The others went for mis-
oellaneous entries, embracing homesteads,
land warrants, scrip locations, state selec-
flons, swamp lands, railroad and wagon
road selections and Indian
Two million thres hundred and seventy
four thousand more acres we're disposed OF
than during the previous year. There re
main of the Inappropriate puOAc lands
10000 600 acres, Of which nearly one-half
are in Alaska.
The Secretary reports that there were 1924
cases of depredatIOns upon publc lumber 70
the value OF $4,000, an increase OF $4,000
over the previous wear. Settlement was
made IN liz cases and $4,000 collected,
Recommendation for civil suit were made
in sixty-three cases and Grimm al proseCu-
tons also in siXty-three cases, He de-
claras that 2.09l coo acreSof public land were
enclosed unL ~fully and that in siXty-siX
of these cases the enclosures have been re-
moved and 33s,OOO acres restored. Pro-
CeedinGS IN the other cases are pending.
In speaking Of Indian affairs the Secre-
fairy warmly commendS the admlnlstra-
tion Of Commissioner Leupp, and he grows
enthusiastic over the educational work
done. He points out that in the Govern
Inent schools there Is n total enrolment
ofIndlan children OF =, iS2 pupils, more that
1,2CO more than last wear, but the average
attendance has decreased it2. lie speaKs
of the construction OF nineteen new school
buildings now gong on and mentions that
the support Of the-e schools has cost $780,
coo for the year, or more than one-thlrd OF
the appropriations tor the Indians ana
their ar airs.
In discussing the leases of oil ands in
the Creek and Cherokee nations Secretary
Hitchcock refers 10 the Fub-leases scandal
IN which Gov. higgins OF New York tried
20 get tue President 10 override the SeCre-
tary In behalf OF 1. y. Barnsdall ard others.
Mr., Hitchcock does not mention names,
but says
upon for an explanation and oral hearings
were had, at which tull opportunity was
given for such explanation as the parties
Interested might desire 10 make. The
magnitude of the transactions, involving
many millions OF dollars, left no doubt in
my mind as TO the party furnishing the
capital and that If said transfers ordriIlng
contracts were allowed to stand the oil
industry in the Indian Territory would be
practically under the control Of the cor
roration which already dominates to a large
extent the oil industry Of the country.
The parties therefore were required TO COM
ply strictly with the rCgUl aLions.
NOT satisfied, however, the parties en-
deavOred 70 secure a reversal or mOdli1ca-
ton Of the deuartmcntal regulations from
the President, but having been fully advised
of my action in the premises the President
declined 70 make any mOCi lCation and
directed that the rulings be eIforced.'
IA On the sllbieH OF pensions the Secretary
eays the roll mas decreased during the year
from 1888, AS TO gS5, 81, or ll.t70. There
were 34,0H new names put on the rolls and
47,4l4 taken OF through death and other
causes. OF the names now on the rolls
6o6, 345 were actual soldiers and sailors,
" the rest BEL widows and other depend
"a enti. The i'cresse was the largest IN any
year OF the history Of the tension Office
and the number OF pensioners at the close
Of the year was the smallest since 1891.
There was an uneZpended balance OF ST.
521 900 for pensions, which was returned
20 the Treasury. %