Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-09-08
SINE Startling Disclosures Of Graft
are Soon to be Made.
OFFICIALS SAID TO BE- INVOLVED
Grafters Now Under indictment viii
be Speedily Brought to Trial-New
Cases to. be Vigorously Prosecuted
This Year.

WASHINGTON. ID. c., Sept. 7--Since
the return to Washington OF Secretary
Garfield, of the Interior Department
from his extensive tour of the West
and Southwest. ii has Developed that
startling revelations are soon to be
made regarding land frauds of which
the government has been the victim.
For several years Secretary Gar
fields Immediate predecessor in OF
flee, Secretary Hitchcock, relenilcssly
pursued the public land grafters i'll
the West ana Northwest and landed
many of them behind the bars Cases
which Secretary Hitchcock initiated
are still pending, all of these indicted
not yet having been brought to trial.
The list of men indicted through the
| efforts of Secretary Hitchcock includ.
ed n United States Senator, Represent
tative in Congress and others promi-
nent III their States. Graftcrs all look
ed alike to Hitchcock and 1t made no
difference To him that they happenen
TO occupy high positions and were i'll
| fluential wealthy.
So IL appears to be with Garfield
| Since he became Secretary of the In
| terror he has made Il special study OF
| the land fraud cases. with the assist
ance of Richard A, Ballinger, com.
| missioner of the general land office
Garfield and llallinger were classmates
| in college and longtime friends They
have been described as DRAMATICALLY
honest" and the description fits both
of them. Neither one of them would
| hesitate TO send his best friend to the
lpenitentiary, ii that friend were con
victed of Il crime against the public
service. 1t follows, Srarcfore. that the
wealthy and powerful land-grabbers
will have sorry time trying to es!
cape from Garficld's prosecution OF
them.
Investigation Covers Broad Field.
The operations of the government i'll
| the land fraud cases were begun in
Oregon and Carifornia and i'm these
two Statese most of the indictments
have been found. During the past few
months the work of investigation has
been extended to half n dozen other
States in the West. The theatre
of present activity is the middle Rocky
Mountain region, including the States
of Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. The
Investigation, (which is being conduct
| ed by agents of the Interior Depart
ment aided by secret service opera
tivcs. has disclosed Il really startling
situation. Tens of thousands of acres
OF land have been acquired unlawfully
by individuals and corporations from
the government. 1t is asserted that
substantially the entire area OF coal
lands in Colorado Wyoming and Utah
which formerly belonged to the GOV
eminent, has passed. into the posses
sion OF three or four big corporations
Every acre OF this land is said to have
been illegally obtained from the gov
eminent.
ALREADY the Department of Justice
has begun to act. The prosecutions
Iof the offenders is being directed la
Earl Cranston.l United States district
attorney at Denver. About sixty in
ldictments already have been found and
they constitute only the beginning.
1t has been discovered in many in
stances that the individuals and com
lpanies which have acquired the land
Ihave cut away the timber and mined
the coal Now the government is
considering what proceedings may be
taken TO recover the value of inc tim
Der and coal
The men, for the most part, against
whom proceedings either have been
begun or are in contemplation. are N
high degree and occupy notable posi-
tons in the business and social life
of the West. Notwithstanding thai
fact, however, it Is the purpose of tho
government to follow the cases te
their logical conclusion and. IL posi-
lblc, recover the lands and put the
Iland-grabbers in Jail