The Washington times., 1909-01-11

I Reeder & Watkins on October % that
/ Mr.. Lee, whom I had seen at Moscow,
/ on the subject, would go 10 MarBhhcld
| and investigate in person. I authorized
/ Lee TO draw on me If he found that the
/ lands were what they were represented
/ to be.
Lees authority as my agent never
/ went beyond an examination of the
/ land and if the application was filed,
/ to see that got good timbered land n
/ stead CT rocks and marshes.
Obstacles in Way.
! He wires me not to be IN a hurry, as
! there we're obstacles in the way. In the
/ meantime I had talked with lawyers
/ who were familiar with the military
road land grants, and they informed ne
/ that undc" decision Of the circuit court
/ private parties were not permitted to
! sue for these lands Still doubling
! whether I could purchase the lands with
| any hope Of successful litigation. 1
( wrote TO Senator George Turner Of
! Washington TO get his opinion and in
} cideutaIy TO make inquiry about lands
/ on the Columbia river I'm that state. He
/ gave tho same opinion that l had al
/ ready received from the other lawyers
/ Realizing after I got to Washington
y, c., in December that IL was q very
doubtful proposition, / let the matter
[ drop until MT Lee showed me letter
from Reeder g. Watkins, which has been
/ stolen from my desk In my committee
room along with other papers in this
case, probably by some Of the secret
! Service sIeuths, and when they indicated
their desire that I should exert my IN
fluenCe in the Senate, I wrote the letter
of February j., Of which the President
| obtained a Photographic copy. In the
meantime and before that letter was
| written. from my Investigations ana al
ter a conference with the Attorney Gen
rraL 7 introduced the two resolutions OF
Ia ~ ErFa
General for Information, and the other
the joint resolution, which became q
law, instruCtinE him to institute suits,
Nv official activity then IS shown 10
have taken form in the Senate before 1
knew Anything about Reeder 81 Wat
kins' altitude or expectations. and L
was in no way Influenced by them.
Anxious for Land
7 was still anxious to obtain some Of
THE land if il could be done legally. and
wrote Reeder & Watkins to that effect.
but my faith in them and I'm the whole
scheme died when I received the cir
cuIars Of Dorr, which came to me on
February II ana IS from three different
directions, showing the widespread dis
triDution made Of them. Also Mr.. Lees
Ireport to me had led ne to believe that
Reeder & Watkins were not OF the
caIiber and character to be employed in
a matter Cf such magnitude. except pos
Isibly a. to their familiarity with the
local conditions and their ability to
Ilocate quarter sections which were well
ltimhered, as they were ia the possession
I1f "a cruisers map. DOrT Of whom I
had never heard before, was evidently
IpU- hing his scheme of getting suckers
to invest and using my uame, as I have
indicated, without authority because L
lhad not paid any fees 10 him or written
TO him or filed any applications. Z
Therefore felt DO Incumbent on me to
expose the sWindIe in the Senate, which
{ did on the 18th of February, and asked
] the p0stof7ce authorities to issue a
fraud order.
. Pressed Passage.
I pressed the passage of the joint rcso-
F.. Luton 81 the Senate, and on April % It
became a law. March IS L was taken
ill., and on May G1. after a partial re-
cuperauOn, ] sailed for Europe, return
ing October 81.
The Presidents sleuths, set 20 do the
dirty work of spying on a Senator when
/ that Senator had exposed fraud which
was hafucr nnTUpfraTpG the Tsubfi0