The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-08-13
LANDS SECURED
BY GROSS FRAUDS
Dummy Entrymen File on
100000 Acres UnderIaid
With Coal in Alaska.
TROUBLE ABOUT TO BEGIN
HEARING TO BE HELD IN Sc
ATTLE WITHIN A MONTH.

Dsuve~. Aug. 12-Within month a
bearing viii begin in Seattle, Wash, that
government officials claim will disclose
-rr1f of gigantic frauds i'm connection
with coal lands in Alaska. This investi-
cation viii be followed by similar hear
mas 70 bee held in a score of cities.
The best coal engineers and lawyers
connected with the general land office
have been assigned to duty in connection
with the hearings, and special agents who
have been working quietly for months
securing evidence will take the stand as
witnesses.
HE facts pertaining to the alleged
frauds are known to Secretary. of the In
rzr.nr BailiuCer and Fred bennett, COM
missioner of the general land office, and
they have given the word 20 their suoor-
5iuates TO proceed against persons re-
su1usiola for the alleged frauds. Com
missioner bennett stopped off i'm Denver
several DAYS ago on his way to the coast
and held a lengthy conference with the
chief of the field division of the general
land office with headquarters here, when
Instructions were given as to the method
u procedure.
Frauds in Alaska.
That more than 10000 acres of rich coal
lands in Alaska, some of them having
been filed upon by dummy entrymen,
procured through agents Of six large cor
p0ratiu1s, the land office has ample evil
deuge to prove, according 10 Information
made public tonight. Powerful interests
have sought TO force the department OF
the interior. through financial political
and even social pressure, TO patent these
lands, a great deal of which was filed
upon years ago This pressure was re-
sisted. however, and when congress passed
the law of Nay, 1898, providing for asso-
Citations of four or more individuals TO de-
veIoD Alaskan coal lands TO the extent or
$50 acres for each combination, the in
terast back Of these dummy entTymen
tried 10 get these lands through TO patent
under this law.
Commissioner Dement'S view OF the
matter is that all entries found TO be
fraudulent which, he believes, will prove
90 be at least % per cent of the 10000
acres referred to, should be cancelled at
once.
lncxhaustibIe Fields.
The governments interest lies in the
wish 70 have the great Alaskan coal fields
opened 10 supply -Oal for the ships Of the
navy stationed IN the Pacific. II Is said
that the opening Of the Alaskan deposits
viii give the United States control of the
commerce Of the Pacific ocean by reason
Of It's ability TO supply fuel from a field
almost fueXhausuble.
One of the coal com pauies involved in
the alleged fraud is located in Seattle, an
other in New York and still others in San
called dummy enrymen were recruited
principally from the docks Of Seattle, the
mines Of Butte, Mont and from the la
boring classes Of Chicago. In many in
stances. according to the evidence in the
hands Of government inspectors, these
men never saw or heard OF each other, al
though they were described in the filing
papers as members Of a cooperation or
ganization for developing sections Of the
Alaska fields. The evidence also shows,
in many instances, that the name Of the
person ostensibly filing upon the land
was fictitious. and in many cases the per
sons signing the papers were paid a small
sum for doing so, and knew nothing
whatever of the import Of the document
TO which they were attaching their sigma
ture.
The government officials claim that they
have traced the authors of the fraud in
several cases directly TO paid representa-
uves of corporations involved.
IL is limited that further action than can
collation. of patents will be taken in the
shape Of criminal prosecutions