The Columbus journal. (Columbus, Neb.) 1874-1911, 1908-08-12
VIII TiiobifS6N ACfi

letters has played : prominent part ID
the history Of the country since thu
formation Of the government Men
long since dead, laid the foundation O
their fortunes on that word. But it il
only in connection with the theft Of
the public domain that the journal
desires to use the word.
A few months ago, one Of the sign
ers of the Declaration Of Independence,
whose bones had rested for moro than
. hundred years in the soil Of South
Carolina, we're taken up and reburried
in Philadelphia. As the funeral pro-
cession passed down the streets Of the
Quaker City. it halted By the grave Of
Benjamin Franklin. Hats were 70
moved, heads bowed and. . silent
prayer offered up: then the procession
moved on and reinterred the remains
Of the man who had passed away one
hundred years previous. This incl
dent recalled the fact that early in the
history of the government the man,
while occupying . position on the
bench, had entered into . conspiracy,
with other politicians, and robbed the
government of five million acres of
land in Georgia and Alabama. Part
of the tract obtained through fraud
was afterwards recovered.
The government domain has always
been . avorite source of plumber BY
politicians, and = history of the frauds
perpetrated against the government
would startle the people. It is Of the
land frauds of . more recent period
that the Journal desires to mention
frauds that made it possible for the
formation of the lumber trust "a mo.
noPoly which grinds at the door of
every home, brushes Ill attempts ut
competition, stiles legislation, appears
to control the courts and forces the
retailer to sell lumber at stipulated
prices or get out of business
The foundation of the lumber trust
was laid thirty years ago, when man
named Weidenhauser, now Z resident
Of st. Paul, Mimi, with the assistance
Of other capitalists, planned to steal
all the vacant lumber lands in Michi-
gan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. With
the aid of the Republican and Demo
cratic members of congress, they sue
ceeded, and today Weidenhauser is the
richest man in the world. He could
buy all that John D. Rockefeller
owns, and then have enough money
left to purchase the stocks, bonds,
mortgages and other property owned
by Morgan and the Vanderbilts.
Weidenhauser's wealth is estimated ut
one and . half to two billions of dol.
lars, and lumber, obtained through
graft, was the basis of the colossal
fortune.
1t was in 1878 that plans were laid
by the conspirators to obtain, through
fraud, the pine lands owned by the
government in the states above named.
In the summer of 1879 men were
gathered up in Chicago, Minneapolis,
St. Paul and other cities and induced,
for q consideration. to file homestead
rights on pine lands. Then the con-
spirators lobbied through congress
what is known Is the "Act of June
IA, $780," This act allowed ill par
ties who had taken government home
steads, prior to that date, to 90 before
the government land Office in the dA-
trict where the land was located and
prove up by paying $1.25 IN acre for
the land; less $14, the amount Of the
filing fee at the time the land WAS
All the land cost the con.
spirators was $186 aquarter and the
small amount paid the party hired for
making the fling. Under the pro-
visions of the "Act of June IA, $780,"
it was not required that improvements |
Of any kind be made on the land or . |
residence established thereon. The
excuse given at the time for the pas
'age of the bill was that the govern.
ment land Office was behind in its |
work and that an act of this kind
would relieve the department from .
arge amount Of labor.
Many of the men who participated
n the steal are now dead, but some of |
hem still live, and one IF them, Sena.
or Teller, Of Colorado, represents his
tate in Washington. Soon after the
Ict was passed, Senator Hill, of Colo
ado, who had been deceived q to the
rue object Of the bill, denounced the
Measure, and also denounced Teller,