Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1908-03-05
UNDESIRABLE CITIZENS
The German Russians
So Designated.
GOVERNOR COE |. CRAWFORD
Would Have Kept Them From
Moving in the County Near
His Ranch.

Would Have Kept Them From
Moving in the County Near
His Ranch.
A correspondent in Nutley town
ship writes us inquiring as to where
and when Governor Crawford made
any reference to undesirable citi-
zens." This question can best be
answered by the publication of the
official report of the Chief of Field
Division, General Land Office, to his
superior the Commissioner General at
the time of the failure of the grand
jury to find an indictment against
Crawford. 1t reads as follows:
Department of Justice,
United States Attorneys Office,
| District of South Dakota.
Sioux Falls, S. D., April II, 1908.
Hon. Commissioner General Land Office.
| Washington, ID. G.
Sir: See my report on March 81 1905, on
the fraudulent land scheme of Coe I.Craw-
ford ct al. made in response to your letter
of instructions "P'' 3492S GFP., of Febru.
airy IA, 1906.
| / have the honor to advise that the case
of the United States VS.. Coe l. Crawford,
for subornation of perjury, and against
| said Crawford and J. w. Blount, for con-
| spiracy to suborn and conspiracy to
| defraud in connection with the Harry
Lampe, Thomas Thompson, and Floyd
Valentine homestead entries In Walworth
county, 5. D., was presented to the grand
jury on Monday afternoon, April l6, 1906,
by Mr.. Porter, United States attorney.
| Thompson, Lampe and Valentine, men
toned above, John Netter register Of the
| United States land office at Aberdeen, and
! Is. q. Powell, clerk of courts of Walworth
county, S, D., and myself were present az
witnesses before the jury. AT noon on
Monday the grand jury voted to return no
/ bill. 1 have been informed that the jury
stood twelve to eight against returning q
bill.
In view of the evidence submitted, the
| result was astounding and was based i'm
| no way or manner on the testimony sub
mitted. MrPorter informed me last even
ing that the evidence in this case was
/ perfect; that the parties whom Crawford
had suborned, Lampe, Thompson and Val
| entine, were excellent witnesses for the
government, and that the only reason he
| could imagine why an indictment was not
| returned was that politics was brought
into the case in the deliberations.
Coe i. Crawford was in Sioux Falls Fri
day night, short time after two of the
witnesses, Lampe and Thompson, arrived
and sought to influence the testimony
they were to give before the grand jury by
stating to them his side of the case. He
had three witnesses i'm his room at mid
night Friday night for over an hour.
saw them Immediately after they lief,
Crawford's room. and they told me of the
conversation Crawford had with them
They said that the, had told him that
they were going to tell the whole truth, as
as they understood 1t, about his hirin &
them for 500 to make these entities, and
| that the statements that he had just then
| made to them were not in accordance
with their understanding of the matters
| when they made the entries.
Friday evening Crawford was talking to
several of the grand jurors in the lobby Of
the hotel, and also spoke to a number OF
other persons in the lobby of the hotel
about the case against him. These parties
came to me asking what knew of the
case against him, and stating that Craw-
ford was talking to everyone that would
listen to him about the matter. of course
/ refused to discuss the matter in any
way with any one of them.
| On Saturday noon Mr.. Crawford intro
duced himself to me. saying that he
understood that the department had a
case against him, and that he wished to
state that the four young men of Huron,
S. d., Lanpe, Thompson, Blount and Val
emit ne were entirely innocent of any
wrong-doing, and that he had not know
ingly done any wrongful acts himself in
connection with making these entries
that he was interested with his brothers
in a cattle company IN WaIworth county
and that at the time the Lampe, Thomp-
son, Blount, and Valentine, entries were
a lot of Russian immigrants were looking
for lands in that locality, and in order to
keep this class of people at distance
| from their property he had suggested to
| some friends in Huron the advisability OF
| filing on these lands.
| Some time after these filings were made
there had been some talk, he said, of these
i
saw the final homestead proof papers he
had advised against it. as ne had observed
that the proof papers required continuous
residence on the land. He also stated
voluntarily that he had taken relinquish-
ments of their entries some eighteen
months ago, and that he still had them in
his law Office at Huron He offered no
excuse for keeping these ACCOMPLISHMENTS
and did not ask him anything further
about 1t. As stated before, Mr.. Crawford
apr reached me, introduced himself, and
and Immediately began to talk about
these matters in the lobby of the hotel.
During the entire conversation / did not
ask him a question relative to the case,
and excused myself and got away from
him as soon as decently could. To my
mind he convicted himself in the short
explanation he tried to make to me of
these things.
The case was presented to the grand
grand jury at the earliest possible