The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1912-09-12
CHARGES SENATOR
WITH BIG GRAFT
Collier Weekly Says Wyoming Member of United States
Senate Has Used Public Domain for Grazing, Has
Committed Perjury and Has Helped Union
Pacific Grab Millions in Wealth
From the Publ Domain
charge of Illegally fencing public
land. The Collier article SAYS:

charge of Illegally fencing public
land. The Collier article says:
The fencing of these lands was in
vestigated during Roosevelt's admin
istration. While the investigation was
pending Warren induced the state
commissioner of lands. one OF his
political ring, to select for state pur-
poses lands which Warren had fenc-
ed. For these lands the state traded
to the government other lands owned
by the state. Warren thereupon leas-
ed from the state the lands which he
had attempted to steal from the gov
ernment, and thus whitewashed him
self. Some of the small ranchmen
tried TO save themselves in the same
way, but the state did not have any
lands to exchange for them, and they
We're lined in sums as high as $1,000
and some OF them went to Jail. Wyo-
ming gave up 5000 acres of good
land in exchange for a lot OF poor
land, in order to save Warren's sheep
pasture and to help him out of d dam
Serous rut. 1t lost several hundred
thousand dollars by the DEAL
Now all this and the charges of petty
graft which Mr. Connolly makes aga
inst Senator Warren would be of con-
siderable Importance. lodged as they
are against the chairman of the SEN
ate appropriations committee. the
man who holds the purse strings of
the nation. Even if they went no fur
ther. But they do so further. They
lead to the bench of the supreme
court OF the United States.
From the inception of his political
/ r11-aa1 - VIC Mr. In,nnlIu ..ylr,..--
has had the lieutenants of his ring in
Wyoming nominated to the highest
places ON the judicial bench at the
national capital, while his colleague,
Senator Clark, as chairman of the
judiciary committee, has looked to
; their confirmation. One OF his lieu
tenants, Willis V~andevanter, now sits
ON the supreme court of the United
States. * = * Vandevanter has the
reputation iii Wyoming OF being one
Wyoming yer had" and this:
when the Union Pacific was steal
Inc by force and fraud the great
wealth of Wyoming's mines, members
of Warren's political ring were in
stalled III the interior department at
Washington. Van Devanter was for
SIX years chief law officer of the in.
terror department while the fraudul-
ent coal claims of this company were
pending in that department. Wher
appointed to the interior department,
lie was attorney for the Union Pacific
in Wyoming. When he got through
with his services in the interior de.
partment he was elevated to the fed.
, eral bench.
John w. Lacey, Van Devanter':
brother-in-laW and former law part.
ner, represented the Union Pacific al
!, the time the government investigated
these frauds. Just previous to his
elevation to the supreme court of the
United States, Justice Van Devantel
4 wrote an opinion, as a Judge of tn.
. eighth circuit (federal) court of an
peals, giving the Union Pacific ant
6 each of its branches a strip of lane
4 400 feet wide, from Omaha to Ogden
over 1000 miles. (See Stuart VS.
Union Pacific, us Federal Reporter
page 1881 Justice Brewer. of tn,
United States. in another opinion hac
: decided in another opinion hat TIN,
railroad was not entitled to this land
r The Senate has been the citade
I OF special privilege FOR a reason tina
c the public has not clearly understood
1T has not been merely that the Sen
6 ate could block any legislation no
acceptable to the PREDATORY inter
ests. That was really only a small
n part of the Senate's usefulness to PR
vilege. The real power of the Sen
ate lay in is control of appoint
n ments to the federal bench. TIL,
n agents of special privilege in t h
V senate have named the agents o
q special privilege in the fedora
V courts. Penrose for instance, nam
i ed Archbold for the court of com
merce. The system by which ap
pointments We're made is inherite,
from the earliest days o f the repub
4 lie ,J
Q 1t remained, however, for the pre-
sent administration to pass to t h
senatorial agents of corrupt bushes
d the power of naming justices of tn,
V supreme C curt of the United States
Mr.. Connolly in writing the bi,
y graphy of Senator Warren has don,
V a service in bringing to light tn,
character of a senator, one in bod,
q of ninety-siX. But his greater serv
ice was in showing the inspiration
for the appointment of Willis Nande
vanter to the United States Suprem,
q court, one of the nine men, who a
f Interpreters of the law have the pow
e er of reviewing the acts of congress
t itself, and of the president, and, wht
@ holding their places for life are tn,
o real representatives of sovereignty il
our government. 1t would be inter
S esting to trace in a like manner the
inspiration for the Appointment of TIL,
other four supreme court justice!
g manned by president Taft.