The Washington herald., 1910-05-08
to get rich at the expense OF the whole

IN AADO-
In 1875 the Georgia legislature was
bribed by a group Of Southern and Bos-
ton capitalists TO give a grant Of about
10000 acres Of public domain. This
grant, says Mr.. Myers. was made an
election issue. and a legislature. compris-
ling almost wholly new members. was
! elected In February. 1886 this Iegis-
lature passed a resembling act. declaring
the act Of the preceding year void. on
the ground Of its having been obtained
\ by improper influence" Mr. Myers
! proceeds 20 tell how. after the grants
were secured. the companies attempted
TO swindle the State Of Georgia by max
/ ing payments in deprecated currency
! and that Georgia refused to accept H.
When the grant was resclnded both
houses OF the Georgia legislature marched
in solemn state to the capitol front and
burned the deed
But the capitalists concerned sued and
/ carried the case 70 the Supreme Court OF
/ the United States That court held that.
! irrespective Of the methods used to OBJ
tain the grant from the Georgia legis-
lature, the grant, once made, was in tho
nature Of a contract which could not be
impaired by subsequent legislation. Upon
the strength Of this decision the New
/ Mississippi Land Company, after
/ lobbying in Congress for eleven years,
succeeded in securing an indemnity
award Of about N,5000o0 from the gov
eminent
Federal Land Frauds.
/ The Balhnger-Pinchot controversy IS
far from being the first OF its kind. II IS
simply one more case. as Mr.. Myers
shows, Of a long succession Of such scan
dals- II the numerous reports OF Con-
Sressional and legislative committees and
/ Land Office officials are correct, the seiz-
ure OF public domain has been ceaseless-
I ly going on The United States Senate
Committee on Public Lands reporting on
dune 20. 1854. declared that the mass Of
evidence that it had taken established
the fact that in Ohio and elsewhere com
. binations Of Spectators az the public
sales Of lands had united for the purpose
/ Of driving other purchasers out Of the
market The committee described az
length how these companies and individ-
uals had frauduIently bought I'D largs
tracts Of land at SIS an acre and sold
the land later at exorbitant prices II
showed how. in order 10 accomplish these
frauds they had bought up government
Land ONCE registers and receivers
Another exhaustive report was handed
4 IN on March 5. 1885. by the United States
Senate Committee on Lands. MANY Of
. the spectators. the committee said
81 &C.
lands bought by them were located 9th
+ ers were people of wealth and inteIli-
gence.' All Of them naturally united 10
render this investigation odious among
the people" The committee told how an
attempt had been made 10 assasslnata
F one or its members. The first stem %
the committee set forth. necessary TO
the success OF every scheme OF specl1Ia-
ton in the public lands is 10 corrupt tia
land officers by secret understanding
between the parties that they are % re-
celVe certain portion Of the profits
/ The committee continued:
The States OF Alabama. NTississinri
and Louisiana have been the principal
theater OF speculations and frauds in
buying up the public lands and dividing
the most enormous profits between the
members Of the different companies and
/ Spectators. The committee refers 20 the
dispositions OF numerous respectable wit
nesseS 10 attest the various ramifcstiors
/ OF these speculations and frauds and rbe
means by which they have been carried
into effect"
Famous Frauds,
These are but the merest elirpses of
the mass Of facts given in The History
% the Great American Fortunes" The
bribers and bribed Of to-day have no new
system In fact, they can get points
from the practices Of old. There was the
Portage Lake Canal Company. and like
wise the St Marys Falls Canal Com
pany, which. nearly three-quarters OF a
century ago, obtained large gratuitoos
land grants from the government a. aid
and announcement" These land grants
were supposed to comprise swamp lands.
but by fraudulent official surveys the
lines were changed so as to take in soma
or the most valuable copper and other
mineral deposits In the Northwest. The
mines Of the Calumet and Hecla Mining
Comrany. for instance, are located on
part OF these identical swamp lands.
sensational as they seem. the legisIa-
tive Investigations Of to-day are tame
compared with those Of sixty years or
more ago Among the large number of
instances Mr.. Myers relates is that OF q
Wisconsin legislative committee which
was appointed in 1855 to investigate
charges Of bribery in connection with a
passage of an act in 1886 giving large
land grant TO the La Crosse and Nil
Waukee Railroad Company. This COM
mittee reported that fully $500 600 in
brides had been distributed 70 get a land
grant worth nearly SlScO.O0o Seventy
members Of the legislature were bought
up; the governor OF the State. Coles
Bashford, was corrupted with $4,000 to
sign the act. and virtually every editor
and politician I'm Wisconsin received
brides. Bribers and bribed used a secret
code. the key 10 which. however. was dis
closed 70 the investigating committee.
Three centuries Of American life have
been full Of such scandals. But incident
follows incident and event succeeds event
with such rapidity that the public soon
forgets them. But when massed. they
make an appalling impression. The re-
cent indictment Of ninety-one members Of
the Pittsburg common council for corrup-
ton and graft has made a profound SEN
sation- Yet fifty-seven years ago New
York City had an even greater sensa-
ton when. in 1858. the grand jury show
ed how the franchises for the Third ave
nue., Sixth avenue, Ninth avenue. and
other surface car lines had been obtained
by bribins the board OF aldermen. That
event was Quickly foroottnr ca ,,,,.L -