Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1907-09-18

Denver Republican of Tuesday, the
10th inst:
FINDS LAND FRAUD
IN THE TERRITORY.
Government officer Said to Have
Unearthed Startling Evidence Of
Schemes to Gobble the Pub
lie Domain.
Washington, Sept, 16.-(Special..)
Peyton Gordon of the department of
justice is said to have unearthed gi
gantic land frauds in New Mexico. He
has just returned from two months
investigation trip and what he discOv,
cred was sufficient to call Assistant
Attorney General Cooley to New Mex
leo post haste. No official announce
ment has been made in the matter.
After Gordon has reported to the
attic crney general and the president he
will return to the Southwest to gather
more evidence of frauds. 1t is under
stood that 100000 acres of valuable
land are involved and that suit will be
begun to secure possession of it. Some
Of the land is that mixed up In the
case which caused Governor Hager-
mans resignation"
That is the way and the methods
that are pursued to give the people OF
the territory of New Mexico bad rep
utation and hold them and their of
ficials up before the country as graft
ers and boodlers. e. Peyton Gordon is
special assistant to the attorney
general of the United States who. so
the New Mexican understands,
was sent to Santa Fe about
two months ago for the pur-
pose of making Investigations into al
legations that great frauds had been
committed in the management and
disposition of the public lands of New
Mexico donated to the territory by act
of Congress in 1898, 1t seems now
that this official is back in Washing
ton and talked to newspaper represen-
tatves What he said, the New Mexi
can does not know. but simply Il. lW.'
up the tenor of the dispatch and the
charges made therein.
Proof Of Baselessness Of Charge.
The dispatch say among other
things: that Mr.. Gordon has unearthed
gigantic land frauds and that about
100000 acres of valuable land are
involved. When this is compared with
the fact that out of the 1,250,000 acres
of public lands granted to the terri
tory and now its property only 1000
acres have been disposed of by the
territorial officials who had in charge
the administration of the territorial
public lands even the most obstreper-
Gus false affidavit men must admit
that it was not possible in any way
that 100000 acres of valuable public
land should be involved. Ten thousand
special assistants and special agents
could not successfully figure out how
100000 acres of valuable public land
could be fraudulently and criminally
disposed of by territorial officials
when but 71,0O0 acres have been act
ually sold. The allegations in the dis
patch whether they come from Mr..
Gordon or not are untrue and have no
foundation in fact to rest upon. The
New Mexican understands that no
charge of criminality or corruption or
conspiracy to defraud the territory out
of $1,000 acres Of land actually dis
posed of at prices from SO to $4 per
acre or the alleged 100000 acres
quoted above could be sustained or
proven in a court of law, and based
upon the opinions and knowledge of
citizens intimately acquainted with
the conduct of the boards and officials
who have charge of territorial land
matters no fraud, no criminality, no
corruption and no conspiracy to de.
fraud can justly or fairly be laid on
these ex-officials, who are now out of
Office.
It is true that assistant to the at
torney general Afford Cooley, was in
the city a few weeks ago on official
business and consulted with Governor
Curry and the special assistants to
the attorney general then in Santa
Fe The New Mexican does not believe
that Mr.. Cooley found evidence where
upon to base the charges which ap.
pear in the special dispatch above
quoted and has no hesitancy in de-
claring that as far in its opinion Mr..
Cooley had nothing to do with the in
spiration of the dispatch. Mr. Cooley
reached here Sunday forenoon and
left here Monday morning following,
having been here but one day, and
when seen by a representative Of the
New Mexican declared there was no
official Significance in his visit here
and that he was passing through the
city on his western trip for vacation.
1t stands to reason that had Mr. Coo
ley been charged with the investiga-
tion of those Gigantic land frauds"
he would have remained here longer
than one day.
Facts as to the Hagerman Incident.
AS to Hagerman's connection