The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-05-08
More Light Thrown Upon the
Scandal in Public Lands in
Gem State.
LETTERS WHICH TELL
STORY DUPLICATING MANY
Version of the Appraising Agent
Who Appraised Large Belt
Of Timber.
BY @, E. ARNEY.

BOISE, Ida. May Much interest
attaches to the attempted sale by the
Idaho state land board Of large belt
of timbeIed laud in Boise county In
connection with the recent revelations
Of the state land board, and OF the
large personal interests acquired by
some of it's members, IN lands, through
inside information, the attempted sale
of some 5000 or more acres of state
special grant land has occasioned much
comment. I am pleased TO be ablc TO
give bere the version of the appraieing
agent of Norman Belcher, who filed the
appraisal Of these lands with shs board,
as to the connection he had with two
board members.
Mr.. BeIcher came 10 Idaho in Nav of
1909 and engaged IN the hardware bust
ness. In the fall of 1904 he was elec5ed
Republican member Of the eighth
legislative assembly and served with
credit TO himself and satisfaction to his
constituency. Mr ,Belcher holds the es.
teem and confidence Of large circle of
friends and neighbors here who have
y
here who reads the following interest
ing details OF the transactions leading
mp to the attempted sale Of these lands
will doubt the scriptural accuracy of
Norman Belcher s statement Of his part
in the matter. Mr.. Belcher said today:
MIR. Belcher Talks.
"On August Il, 1909, while at
work in the office Of the state land
commissioner, as state land appraiser,
I received telephone call TO come TO
the Office of the secretary of state. /
obeyed the request promptly, and on
my arrival there was ushered into the
private room of the secretary, where
/ found Secretary of State Robert Lans-
don ard Attorney General d. S. McDou-
gall. McDougall addressed me in sub
stance as follows:
'Belcher, we have decided to hold
a. sale Of lands belonging to the state
upon which the timber has been sold TO
the Payette Lumber company, and We
want you to make tho appraisements.
We would like TO have these appralse.
ments made by YOU without going to
inspect the lands. at SO an acre. Will
yon DO It
81 replied that ] would, and asked
for the description OF the lands to be
void. He replied that Mr.. Hoover. the
manager Of the Payette Lumber com
pany, had left a list of the lands with
the register, Mr.. Church, and 7 could
~ I I'll,
to,Mr, Church e office and received the |
the lands that the board had ordered |
sold | took this list and went TO my
desk In the commissioner office and |
Immediately made out appraisements Co |
cover the same. ] then crossed out |
parts of the affidavit which stated that |
! had inspected each and every sepa
rate legal subdivision meaning each |
forty acres. and scratched out also that
portion of the affidavit stating that I /
had personally viewed same, and went
from there TO the office of the state
auditor, whero I swore to the appraise-
ment IN this modified form. I had been
over this land previously and viewed it
in, a general way, but not by legal sub
divisions.
SIT had been my custom for the two
wears previous during which / had been
working for the state land board in
this capacity, to receive directions in
my work from any member Of the board
who might give them, and it was not
an unusual practice for me to meet
members, or a member, of the state
land board on the street or in the capi.
tol building and receive such instrlc-
tions
"After I made these apprai sements
of the Payette lands, as requested by
these two members Of the board, I filed
them in the office of the register, as
was always my custom. l heard no
more of the matter until I heard in
a general way that these lands had been
sold TO the Payete Lumber company.
On the hrst Of January I left the
employ of the state and moved to Cald-
well, where I have since been engaged
in business,
NOn the 18th day of April, 1910, I