The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1907-03-28

~-- 49, Il 'heu N4dhiuk tiau uifcCl Cuti-
nection referred TO timber lands
alone. When the march OF time and
the destruction OF the Eastern tim.
Der finally served TO bring the vast
and magnificent forests of the Pacific
slope into the market the price Of
lumber had advanced to such a point
that much OF this Western tin. Der
land was extremely valuable. Some
OF IL. they say, was worth as much
as $500 an acre as IL stood. Hut the
difficulty about getting 1t into the
market was that under the Law there
was no direct method by which a
person or company could secure title
to large consolidated tracts, and OF
course 1t did not pay any big concern
to secure small tract. In order TO
use logging roads and all the other
modern machinery fur the harvesting
OF the big .rees that grew out there
II was an Imperative necessity TO get
control OF many acres together. One
man could locate l60 acres under the
timber and stone act, or but 800 acres
at a nominal price under the desert
land act, but for numbering purposes
such tracts were insignificant and
practically yalueless. On the con.
trary, il an individual could secure
title to several thousand acres In a
BODY he had something worth for
tune and readily salable at fancy
figure. Hence the entire object OF
the land frauds was to enable the
conspirators to so manipulate the
laws as 10 enable them to get possess
sion OF lands in large tracts.
To do this an ingenious device vas
resorted to. 1t consisted of a peryer-
sion of what is known as the ''lieu
land law" THIS law, when enacted.
was intended to exemplify high
form Of benev0lepce ON the part OF
the government. but IL you mention
lieu land law to anybody from Ore
gon now he will instantly understand
that you are talking about ths land
frauds. This law came into being In
this way: For the benefit Of poster
ity congress passed Law perm. lifting
the president to set aside portions of
the public domain as forest reserves.
But 1t was pointed out to congress
that many settler might be found
located within the boundaries of
such reserves, and that it would work
a grievous hardship on him to he
thus arbitrarily penned in where he
could never hope for neigbbors, so.
ciety or schools. So congress incor-
porated in the forest reserve law
provision that IL any man found his
property included in reserve he
could take certificate for IL from
The Land office, and with this certiti.
cate, known as scrip, he could locate
and take clear title to any body of
unoccupied public land OF the same
acreage anywhere else In the United
States.
This scrip was transferable. under
the law, and the simple problem be.
fore the land fraud artists was, there
fore, to lind some way in which TO
come into possession OF plenty of
scrip at a cheap price. Ii that could
be done there would be no difficulty
ibou securing title to immense tracts
Of the finest government timber
ands from the sale OF which to lum-
belmen millions upon millions OF
dollars could be realized. But how
10 get the scrip? Nothing easier,
provided one bad the right sort of
with the General Land
office In Washington. Just get tip
from Washington as to where for
EST reserve Is to be located and hast. !
IN to buy all the worthless lands In
It. That was one way, and all 1t re-
luiIed was TO have competent spy
In the General Land Office to seud
pat the tip. But there was another
way, much more certain to bear
fruit and by which scrip could be Sc
cured in larger quantities. That was
TO have as a confederate In the Gen
eral Land Office the Official who des.
Ignated the lands that were to 10 in
to a forest reserve. Then 20 to some
section where worthless lands abound
ed and buy them all and have the
Official designate the
whole caboodle as a forest reserve.
This Is what it is charged Binger
Hermann did for the men who have
b zen tried and mostly all convicted
for participation In What is known
rs the Blue Mountain steal in East
ern Oregon. Hermann was the on.
,ial In the General Land Office who
to the secretary of the
interior what lands ought to he re-
served, and 1t Is charged that he and
the other Blue Mountain operators
thus secured title to 5000 acres OF
the finest timber lands In Oregon.
The lieu land law. - No wonder
this phrase has a bad smell 10 Ore
,on The state OF Oregon has a vast
anantity of school Lands FINN uo,na