The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-03-10
LAND FRAUD CASES
ARE TO Be PUSHED
Government Faces Peculiar
Situation in Western
Coal Holdings.

With the million-dollar appropriation
for the prevention OF fraud upon the
public domain Immediately available,
Land Commissioner bennett is busy to-
day organizing his force 20 clean up ole
business in his office, and to get at the
bottom of new frauds alleged 20 have
been committed in the Northwestern
States.
The field force of the Land Office will
be Immediately increased by the addi-
ton of 200 trained men who Will be put
at work this summer in the Northwest
They are being organized by n H.
While the great portion Of this work
is expected TO be the clearing up 81
cases that have burdened the docket OF
the Land Office for years, II is thought
that many new ones will be discovered
The settlement out of court OF the
now famous Horse Thief canyon
case, in which the Union Paclnc ran S.
road Company reconveyed 10 the Gov
eminent 4 $50 acres Of coal lands IN
wyoming, worth more than SlVO,eS,VN'
has established beyond a doupI TIE
sought 10 be recovered in the vast ma
jority Of cases are worth millions OF
Valued Very Low.
The land in this case alone was val
ued at but $4,000 900 by experts, but the
,aiIroad neopIe were glad 10 settle at
| tho rate of s cents a ton for the coal
mined and to lose the original purchase
price of the land In the settlement
/ they virtually admit that the property is
worth ten times the amount Of its valu-
alton by the Land Office.
But this is only a beginning There
are still vast areas Of coal lands in the
public domain which President Roose-
Welt withdrew The problem IL now
/ forced upon the departments OF how
/ to handle all this coal when X Is re-
turned 10 the Government; and rlgnt
hero the Interior Department officials
/ have made the discovery that they are
running around in a circle
The land involved IL the Wyoming
seftlemeut was entered through the
/ nrocess OF using dummy entrymen, and
/ then decided by the entrymen 10 the ran
road conLany Having been turned
hack 10 the Government II VIII now De
| anrrafsed and placed on the market Tor
! ~ 80 coal lands II viii be listed, ap-
nraised. valued and be ready for Sale
on June l. The highest appraisal that
I has ever vet been made on coal LANDS
/ is 500 per acre, and the department
/ officials do not expect that nguIes III
/ this case will go much higher
Back to Interests.
The expectation Is that the very in
| terests which now hold it viii secure 1t
AT the sale June I. They have the only
TRANSFORMATION facilities and have done
/ = vast amount Of work on the land
/ They are powerful and prepared for
every emergency. They control the
! business and the markets. Private per-
sons. compelled 10 put in works and
develop markets, would find themselves
unable to do business in competition
with the other railroad-owned mines. in
short. the frank expectation is that al
some price about 500 an acre. these
! lands. once taken by fraud will be sold
back 10 the same interests.
At 500 per acre this tract. in which
il is calculated there Is a potentiality OF
nearly $4,000. 600 of royalties, would be
sold for $4,000.
Tie situation In all the Western
/ mining regions IS much the same
as al Horse Thief Canyon The Gov
! eminent can get back its lands. but II
! can't thereafter get any adequate re-
/ turn from them.