Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-10-15

rested here late today on indictments
charging conspiracy to defraud the gov
ernment in the Alaska coal cases They
were released under bonds Of s., 500 each.
WASHINGTON, oct. 14.-After months
Of secret effort the officials OF the general
land office announced today the indictment
Of a number of claimants to valuable coal
lands in Alaska. The entries involved num-
Der 1d and cover almost 5000 acres of
land, all of which lies in the 'Behring
strait district, in which the Cunningham
claims are located, They are what are
known as the English or stracey and the
Christopher Simmonds group, the former
containing eighty and the latter seventy
four claims of lG0 acres each. The deposits
covered by these claims are believed to
be as rich as those Of the Cunningham
mines, which cut a conspicuous figure in
the Ballinger Pinohot controversy.
The indictments were handed down in
the United States district court sitting at
Tacoma and the information that they had
been returned was conveyed in two tele-
grams received today by Commissioner
bennett from Special Agent Christensen, In
charge Of Alaskan matters, to whose ef-
forts the findings are especially due.
To Issue warrants Soon.
The first telegram contained the an
nouncement of the action against the Eng
llsh group and stated that indictments
has been returned against c. f. Monday,
A. II. Stracey, Archie W. Shields and E.
siegley.
! A few minutes later came the second
| telegram telling of the indictments of Cor
nelius Christopher, George Slmmonds and
| Mortimer c. Sweeney OF the second group.
Mr.. bennett added that warrants would be
issued as soon as the indicted men could
be apprehended.
| The first group Of defendants takes its
name from the fact that number of peo-
pie in western Canada are supposed to bc
interested in the claim taken up by this
party Stracey is a resident OF Vancouver
and is charged with being instrumental I'm
making some of the locations. Monday is
a prominent attorney of Seattle.
The charge against the indicted men is
that the entries were made in the names Of
dummies" Most of the entrymen- were
residents Of Washington and their claims
are said to have been located with an
| agreement that the claims should be as,
signed or decided TO third parties as soon
as parties willing to become interested
could be found by the locator There is
/
that the locator should receive large
percentage of the sale price.
Different Kind of Fraud.
The charge differs from the charge made
in the Cunningham claims in which there
was no allegation that the entrymen took
the claims for persons other than them
selves, but rather that they had a previous
agreement to work or dispose of their
claims as a unit II is said that very few
OF the claimants in the new cases ever
saw the land on which their names were
used for locations
Both groups of claims figured to a con
siderable extent in connection with the
Ballinger- -Pinchot inquiry. Charges Of
fraud in connection with the entries were
made two years ago and II was asserted
that investigation had been stayed by the
land office, supposedly for some ainister
/ purpose.
Meeting this allegation with the state
/ ment that the services of the land office
| force were imperatively required elsewhere
| and that there was no statute OF limita-
! tions TO run against these cases, II was
conceded that they we're not pressed for a
period. Since last May, however, Mr..
| Christensen has been giving the major por-
! ton Of his time TO them, with a result
over which the land office and the entire
Interior department confesses itself much
graufied.
/ 1t also is known that another federal
/ grand jury sitting at Spokane in connection
! with the district court Of the Eastern dis
/ trct Of Washington, is considering stiu
other charges OF fraudulent coal entries
/ IN Alaska and that results are expected
from these Investigations, similar TO those
obtained at Tacoma.