Williams news., 1907-08-10
THE PERRIN LAND CASE

lion. l.. =. Williams, MT. PerrIn'S s private counsel, are out of the city, the NEWS reprints the following, without comment, from the Los Angeles Examiner, of August 1. Mir. Williams is expected to arrive home today or the first part of next week, and if he desires to publish any comment on the article the columns of the NEWS are open to him:
 San Francisco. Aug. John A. Benson and D.. Edward B. Perrin will go to trial before Judg De Haven Monday in the United States district court on charges of land fraud similar to and allied with, according to the prosecution, the famous Benson Hyde Dimond case now pending in Washington United States District Attorney Devlin, who will prosecute the case for the government, assisted by A. P. Black, today made the following statement:
 This case is connected in its methods and in part of it's proof with the notorious Benson Hyde Dimond case, now pending in Washington. The government ex poets to prove the same fraudulant methods of acquiring land as is charged against the defendants in Washington. It is claimed by the government that Dr. Edward B Perrin employed John A. Benson in the month of October, 1903, tc locate scrip for him on good timber land in Tehama county, Cal.
 This scrip was secured from the. government by reason of forest reserve being declared in Arizona. known as the San Francisco noun tain forest reserve, in which Dr. Perrin had very large holdings; that during the time this business was being carried on they entered into negotiations for the acquisi tion by Dr. Perrin of 12,OOO acres more of timber land, which were to be procured by means of dummy and fictitious and fraudulent ap- plica tions to purchase school lands from the state of California, and applications for the exchange of the school lands thus applied for the timber land of the United States outside of the forest reser- vations.
 It is charged that Benson would file fraudulent and fictitious applications in the names of people who never existed and by means of forged powers of attorney and forged assignments imposed upon the officials in the land office and thus carry through. on a very large scale, the fraudulent scheme. In some instances the applications would be signed by real persons, but who had no bona fine intention of applying for the land and who simply allowed their names to be used either as an accommodation to Benson or for consideration agreed upon between the applicant and Benson for the use of the name.
 Ut is claimed also that 10 ac. quire advantageous information in advance from the officials or from he general land office in Washing ion Benson bribed some of the employees in the land office for the purpose of having the employees give the information desired and thus put him in a better position for making applications to purchase school lands, which lands would afterward be included in forest reserves by procla nation of the president.
 It will be shown that Benson and Perrin proceeded to Washing ton in the interests of their scheme to acquire 12,0O0 acres agreed upon and while in Washington and after Benson had paid several hundred dollars to the employees in the land office, he was arrested and charged along with Hyde and Dimond with conspiracy to defra ud the government out of it's public lands by means of false, fictitious and feigned applications to pur- chase, as above set out.
 "Benson has frequently been charged with fraud in one form or another for the last quarter of q century. At one time he escaped to Sweden and was brought back by United States Marshal Franks. but managed to escape conviction on the charge then preferred against him.
 ''Dr. Perrin is a very large land owner and a reputed millionaire. having large holdings in Arizona