The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1915-09-02
ing factor in political matters that
noDe were made after 1871.
Illinois, Minnesota, Alabama, Mis-

llllHOlS, minnesota, ALABAMA, MIS-
souri,, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana
Z Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Colorado
l the government surrender their lands
! but they Joined on their own accounts
! in making state grants for improve
ments, which sometimes were made
and sometimes were not. The main
thing vas for the railroad builders to
! secure the title of the land.
In a recen report Of the Forest
Service there appears the statement:
THE overwhelming majority of at.
tempts to secure land ~fraudulently
were initiated before the land was
withdrawn for forest purposes. An
awakened public conscience. better
local sentiment, and clearer under
standing Of the requirements of the
land laws, together with the presence
on the grounds Of an administrative
and supervisory force, have all worked
together to reduce the number of land
frauds. Yet eve today there are in
the aggregate a considerable number
of individuals and corporations who
seek to secur valuable government
property fraudulently, and have mis-
used the land laws for that purpose"
1t would be a mistake to p
that the land thieves are all dead, be-
cause you can still find their palatial
houses everywhere about the country,
and they have not entirely passed out
OF political life, but fortunately in the
congress OF the United States they
are nearly extinct.
When land grants caused such scan
dals that even the people living in an
age before it was popular for the
masses to know anything about politi-
cal matters, or attempt to control their
own affairs, there arose a rebellion
that compelled corrupt politicians to
abandon further attempts to loot the
public domain by this means. But
they began massive logging operations
and stealing timber off of millions of
acres of government land, floating It
down the streams to the sawmills.
This is lot a rash statement, since it's
affirmation is within the knowledge of
several hundred thousand people who
are still living. These rich timber
thieves were among the most respect
ed members of society, although they
carried on their corrupt methods for
many years. After most of the horses
had been stolen out of the stable, gov
eminent supervision of a mediocre ma
ture was provided and land and timber
graft ceased to be monumental whole
sale business.
No one has ever doubted the wisdom
embraced in the principle of free
homesteads, but if the history of
operations of this law could be fully
obtained it would doubtless disclose
the fact that there have been more
homesteads taken for the purpose of
securing timber from the government
than have actually been acquired for
bona fide settlement.
That the political power which had
been obtained by the land grant and
the timber burglars had not been dis
sipated was shown as late as the nine
ties, when a great many of the most
thickly timbered regions were opened
for homestead settlement by special
acts of congress-. When the entries
were received for these lands there
were long lines of waiting entrymen
who either had already made their ar
rangements and were acting for the
timber barons, or were prepared to
bargain at a later date. Then followed
the timber and stone act, to prevent
this action, but it proved but partially
successful.
1t is doubtful if there ever has been
extensive fraud practiced by legiti-
mate entrymen who have gone upon
their land for the purpose of making
homes. Thus the spirit of the home
stead law has justified and proved it.
self. The Forest Service states that
at the present time "the mining laws
afford the greatest cloak for land
frauds in the national forests, and,
have been more misused than other
laws" The explanation for this is said
to lie in the fact that the land in the
national forests is open to mineral en-
try. and title a be secured upon a
certain amount of mineral showing.
AS an instance of the manner of
securing timber lands, people particu-
larly in the middle west, can recall that
not over fifteen or twenty years ago
many Of the more "up-to-date citizens"
of various cities and towns filed home
stead entries in the timber regions.
These people complied with the law
by living a few days upon the land,
making some minor improvements, and
in visiting their shacks once every six