Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-05-24
Amazing Revelations Of Consplr-
acy to Defraud United States
OF Millions.
PROMINENT MEN INVOLVED.
Among Them Are U. S. Senator,
Ex-U. S. Senator, One OF Wealth.
lest Men in World, and Others.
Frauds Have Been Under Investigation
By secret Agents of Interior Dc
partment for Some Years.

chicago, May ga dispatch to the
Tribune from washington, ID. G., says:
Amazing revelations of conspiracy
IN defraud the United states of millions
of dollars worth of mineral and tim
Der lands will be laid before the grand
1uries of half Il dozen states within
few days.
The frauds, It is alleged. win involve
in criminal charges the names of men
high in business and political circles.
They include;
One United States senator: one for
rner United States SENATOR a man re-
uuted TO be one of the wealthiest men
in the world; a railroad man known
from the Atlantic TO the Pacific; two of
the wealthiest lumber barons in the
United States; numerous smaller fry,
including railroad officials, coal operat-
ors and men at the head of fuel compa-
MES
These men, whose names for obvious
reasons cannot be made public before
the grand jury acts, 1t is declared here
will surely be indicted by the evidence
which is now in the hands Of the United
States district attorneys In half dozen
western cities.
The frauds. il was declared yester-
nay. ia an OilGldi ludl Nels thttlll ltilp "a
number of states, including California,
Colorado, Washington, Oregon. Idaho,
Montana, Minnesota aud the Dakotas.,
Much of the evidence in these frauds
was obtained by Detective Burns, who
is engaged in the municipal graft pros
ecution in San Francisco, and by Fran
els j. Heney, who Is prosecuting the
same San Francisco gIafters. Upon the
conclusion of their work in san Fran
cisco, Atty. Honey and Detective Burns
are expected TO return TO the govern
ment service for the prosecution OF the
timber and mineral land thieves. Some
of the grafters In san Francisco are
also said to be implicated in the fra uds.
The frauds have been under investi-
gati1n by the secret agents or the inter-
ior department for more than three
years These secret agents have I'M
earthed startling evidence. showing that
the public domain has literally been
looted by corporations who havd been
protected and aided in their operations
by United States senators and federal
officials.
Most Of the lands acquired by the So
called conspirators We're timber tracts
I'm the west. of which hundreds of thou
sands of acres have been taken from
the public domain.
In some instances the services of
dummy" enuynen We're utilized for
the purpose. IN others the title was OBJ
tanned through the use Of lieu land
scrip.
In obtaining the conviction Of the men
said To be involved. the government eX-
poets to regain possession of large areas
of forest land. some of which have been
In the hands of lumber operators for
many years. Much of the land, 1t is UNI
derstood. has not yet been cut over.
II is admitted by certain officials that
in number of instances the offenders
viii be immune from criminal prosecu-
tion owing 10 the fact that the statute
Of limitation will apply. but in all such
cases the title To the land will revert
10 the government.