Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-05
House of Representatives.


House of Representatives.
Washington, d. c.. August 30. 1907.
Dear Sir: In your article. The Tanning
Of the West" published In the September
number of the American Magazine, you
sumo to give an unbiased history of the
land frauds in the west. You Kermit the
Detective Burns to work on theory but
you assume to set down only facts in your
narrative.
Please allow me TO call your attention to
one statement, which is not fact. but the
reverse of that weapon of truth. and so
easily proven false that l am surprised
any historian should have made 1t
In summing up the case of Representative
Hermann you make the deliberate and I'M
qualified statement that Speaker Cannon
and the ring that runs the House put Her
mann for some reasOn) upon the public
lands committee, and there he was thorn
In the side of Secretary Hitchcock"
The Facts.
If you had taken the pains to look over
the committee list Of the Fify-eighth Con-
gress. and also the Fifty-ninth, you would
have. seen that Mr.. Hermann did not have
a place on the public lands committee of
the House IN either Congress. and that
there was no excuse in fact for dragging
the Speakers name into your article.
As l am dealing simply with historic
facts, have no theory to express as to the
motive of this deliberate and unqualified
misstatement In your alleged history of the
land frauds .,--
The natural Inference to be drawn from
this statement, embodied in your article On
land frauds. Is that the Speaker and the
ring that controls the House" tried to en-
barrass Secretary Hitchcock in his efforts
to discover and punish those guilty of vio-
lat!ng the land laws. Again, let me refer
you TO the public records. If you had
looked over the appropriations made by
Congress for the last ten years you would
have known that the appropriation for pro-
boo N1tr In,, dc
fraudulent entry had been more than dou-
bled in the last ten years. That increase
was under. the direction Of Mr.. Cannon, as
chairman Of the committee on appropria-
tons in the Fifty-sixth and Fffty-seventh
Congresses, and under his administration
as Speaker In the Fifty-eighth and Fifty
ninth Congresses. The appropriation for
this work in the Interior Department was
$40 900 in the last session Of the Fifty fth
Congress, and S2J0.0O0 in each session of
the Fifty-eighth and Fifty ninth Congresses.
This does not indicate that Congress was
hostile or desired to embarrass the Sec
rotary of the Interior in his efforts to bring
to justice those guilty of frauds In secur-
ing public lands.
Special Secret Service Work.
In addition to this aid given the Secre-
tary in his work. he was allowed $4,000 for
special secret service work under his per-
sonal direction. by the Fifty-ninth Con-
gress. In his estimates to Congress Secre-
tary Hitchcock Incorporated an Item Of
$4,000 for the pay and expenses of spe-
cial secret service agent. although he had
met the expenses Of Detective Burns out
of the $25O.0O0 that had been appropriated
by the Fifty-eighth Congress for detec-
ton of frauds. He explained to the COM
mittee on appropriations that he desired to
try an experiment with special secret
service agent who should be unknown to
the general staff Of special agents OF the
land Office, and who should work under his
personal direction and report to him spe-
officially. He requested only $4,000, but
when asked II he could not use more ad-
mitted that he could, and the House passed
the appropriation at O000. but the Senate
restored 1t to his original estimate Of 10000.
and in conference 1t was left at that figure.
to you, but as historian writing the history
Of the land frauds, when you incorporate a
statement involving Congress- or the
Speaker Of the House. you should be care
full as to the facts, and not leave 1t open
to conclusions which are not only unwar-
ranted. but absolutely false
will here add that l am not writing at
the dictation of Mr.. Cannon. who is absent
from the city, and who in all probability
has not seen your article. I am writing
this simply to give you the facts and show
you that the paragraph to which refer
was not only directly untrue. but had no
excuse for even the indirect conclusions to
be drawn from It.
Respectfully yours.
L. WHITE BUSBEY,
Secretary to the Speaker.
Mr. LINCOLN STEFFENS.
The American Magazine, New York.