Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-01-05

ing also stakeholder and possibly a
uirector or the company. He is also
represented in Omaha by w. J. Con-
nell one OF the attorneys there for the
| same company. Stewart is also repre-
sented in his perjury case by "Bill"
Gufley, of Omaha, who at one time
4 was quite closely connected in a politi-
cal way with tho U. P. r. r. com
! pany; Stewart is also closely asso-
clated with G. B. Hazleton,, postmaster
at Council Bluffs. Harl :. FINLEY and
tdazelton are all members of the same
lodge. Another close personal friend
OF Stewards is Ed Hart, alias ''Watar-
works" Hart, president OF the Council
Bluffs Water company. and interested
IN the street railway. Stewards father
was interested in, and practically own
ed and controlled, during his lifetime,
I a large ranch along the u. P. r. r.
in Nebraska, and did a great deal of
business with that road"
Concerning this case the United
States attorney at Omaha states:
There are three cases against Stew
art. one for fencing. one conspiracy.
one perjury, all good cases and
chances Of conviction good.'
I Receivers Million Acres
. In connection with the Nebraska
prosecution the government has by
decree secured the return o the gofv-
eminent of over a million acres of
grazing land; in Colorado Of more
i than 1000 acres of mineral land, and
suits are now pending involving $780,
600 acres more.
I All these Investigations in the land
cases were undertaken in consequence
of Mr. Hitchcock, the then secretary of
the interior, becoming convinced that
there We're extensive frauds commit
ted in his department.: and the ramifi-
cations Of the frauds We're so far
reaching that he was afraid to trust
his own officials to deal in thorough
going fashion with them. One of the
/ secret service men accordingly re-
signed and was appointed in the in
i terror department to carry on this
work. The first thing he discovered
was that the special agents division or
corps of detectives of the land Office
of the interior department was large
\ ls under the control CT the land
thieves; and in consequence the in
vestigations above referred to had to
be made by secret service men.
If the present law, for which Messrs
ldWley, SullIil, dllu Tic ,otiSI SSiliS-
men l have above mentioned are re-
sponsible. had then been in effect, this
action would have been impossible.
and most of the criminals would I'M
questionably have escaped. No more
striking instance can be imagined of
the desirability of having central
corps of skilled investigating agents
who can at any time be assigned, if
~ IN i'm
vestigate some violation of the federal
statutes, in no matter what branch of
the public service. In this particular
case most of the men investigated
who were public servants were in the
executive branch of the government.
But in Oregon, where an enormous
acreage of fraudulently alienated pub
lie land was recovered for the govern
ment, a United. States senator, Mr.
Mitchell, and member of the lower
house, Mr. Williamson, We're convicted
on evidence obtained by men trans
ferred from the secret service, and an
other member of congress was in
Idicted.
As to Naturalization
From 1901 to 1904 successful in
vestigation of naturalization affairs
was maze DN Inc SeCI6I SeiNlCt, Will
the result of obtaining hundreds of
convictions of conspirators who were
convicted of ,elling fraudulent papers
of naturalization. subsequently,
congress passed a very wise law pro-
viding special service and approprl-
alton for the prevention of naturaliza-
ton frauds; but unfortunately, at the
lsame time that the action against the
70
cut down the appropriation for this
Especial service, with the result of Grip
,pling the effort to stop frauds in ma
turalization.) The fugitives Greene
and Gaynor, implicated in a peculiarly
big government contract fraud, were
located and arrested in Canada by the
secret service, and thanks to this they
have since gone to prison for their
crimes
The secret service was used to as
Isist in the investigation of crimes un-
lder the peonage laws, and owing part
lly thereto numerous convictions We're
secured and the Objectionable practice
was practically stamped out, at least
in many districts. The most eXtens-
i've smuggling Of silk and opium in
the history of the treasury department
was Investigated by agents of the Sc
icret service in New York and Seattle
and a successful prosecution of the Of
tenders undertaken. Assistance of the
utmost value was rendered to the de-
partment of justice in the beef trust
investigation at Chicago, prosecutions
were followed up and fines inflicted.
The cotton leak scandal in the agri-
cultural department was investigated
and the responsible parties located.
What was done in connection with lot
terry Investigations is disclosed in a
; letter Just sent to me by the United
States attorney for Delaware, running
as follows:
Destruction of Lottery
'0The destruction of the Honduras
National Lottery company, successors
to the Louisiana Lottery company
was entirely the work of the secret
service - This excellent work
was accomplished by Mr. Wilkie and
his subordinates. / thought it might
, be timely to recall this prosecution"
Three hundred thousand dollars N
f,ae 1yere COLLECTED nv the pOyerDme emf