The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-03-18
ARE after HIM.
People of W estern Kansas Want
Col. Green's Scalp.
Say He Has Placed Them Before
World rs Criminals.
is NO LONGER HERE.
Now Stationed at Boise City,
Idaho.
Still People He Prosecuted Are
Not Satisfied.
IS NO LONGER HERR.

Residents of Morton county. Kan
sas, are out after the official scalp of
Albert r. Green, special agent of the
| interior department of the government
who was located here in Topeka for
the past two years and who secured
most of the evidence of the Western
Kansas land fraud cases.
A more highly indignant community
of people would be difficult to find;
they think that Green has placed them
before the state and the country at
large as being a lawless set of GRIM
inals and resenting this they are pre-
pairing to use all the influence at their
command to GUST Green from his Of
fee.
Col. Green is now located at Boise,
Idaho. to which point he was trans
ferred from Topeka a couple of
months ago.
AS soon as the last of the Morton
county cases have been disposed of the
activity against Green will commence.
The following cases still hang fire:
Indictments for unlawful fencing
against ]. w. Mclean. M c. Combs
and the H S. Boice Cattle company:
for conspiracy to defraud the govern
ment involving Ernest c. Wilson,
Henry Brown and John Bartholomew
The last three cases are now pending
in the United States court and will be
taken up shortly. 1t is claimed that
the evidence is not strong enough to
free.
Wilson was found not guilty by the
jury at Wichita last week on the in
dictment for using the mails to de-
fraud and c. H. Drew, who had an in
dictment hanging against him for US
ing the mails to defraud succeeded in
winning his suit as well.
The evidence in but few of the cases
has proven strong enough to secure
conviction and as a result a majority
of the indictments have failed to stick
Elated by the result of these suits
the people of Morton county are more
than ever assured that Green was
simply catching at a straw to start
prosecution. In the last report of the
secretary of the interior that statement
is made, 1T is alleged that 16 men ard
corporations in Morton alone had 49,.
$40 acres of public land enclosed"
Morton county is the extreme south
western county of the state and has =
populat ton of 210 people. 1t is practl-
cally an isolated community. for the
nearest railroad is over 80 miles away
the Santa Fe passing it on the north By
two counties and the Rock Island on
the southeast through Liberal. With
the scattering population the settlers
have engaged largely in the cattle BUSH
ness and when the suits were filed for
fencing government land the interested
parties took the view that it was blow
aimed al their livelihood. Living as
they do away off by themselves, they
have come to think of themselves a lit
tie apart from the remainder of the
state as it naturally results when con-
ditions of this sort obtain.
The first intimation that they had
that the government was investigating
conditions was the arrival of Green.
The special agent spent some time in
the county looking around and secur-
ing aff1davits. Here is another grieV-
ance which is being harbored against
Green. 1t is claimed by a number of
the residents of the county that Green
intimidated the parties whom he secur-
ed to sign affidavits. That threats were
freely used and a result of these
several women We're frightened inte
signing affidavits that they would no.
have signed otherwise.