Oregonian/1908/May 23/Puter's Book Is Off The Presses

S. A. D. Puter's book, "Looters of the Public Domain." a comprehensive exposition of the Oregon land-frauds, has been published and placed on sale. It is an elaborate compilation and contains much of detail regarding wholesale land grabbing in this state, which has not heretofore been published. It consists of nearly 500 pages and includes about 200 splendid illustrations, among which is a steel enraved frontispiece of Francis J. Heney, besides half-tones and zinc etchings of all of the principal actors in the land-fraud drama. The complete title of the book is: "Looters of the Public Domain; by S. A. D. Puter, King of the Oregon Land-Fraud Ring, in Collaboration with Horace Stevens." Practically all of the manuscript for Puter's portion of the work was written in a prison cell, while the landgrabber was an inmate of the Multnomah County Jail, under a two-year's sentence for conspiracy to defraud the Government of its public lands. Aside from the numerous captions, the book contains approximately 275,000 words.

Mr. Puter, "the land-fraud king." spares neither friend nor foe in his interesting and sensational recitals, and leaves very little to the imagination in any of his exposures, which require 25 chapters for him to describe, besides six chapters. that are handled by Stevens personally. The latter also wrote the Introduction, which contains about 500 words. Owing to the vast amount of reading matter in the book, together with the extent of its sensational revelations, it would be impossible to cover the various features with any degree of completeness without extended comment upon each subject.

The Northern Pacific Railroad Company is alleged to have been responsible for securing the passage by Congress of an act creating Mount Rainier National Park, whereby, it is charged, that corporation, by the exclusive privileges conferred by the act, was enabled to grab about 820,000 acres of valuable timber lands in this state, as well as 120,000 acres in Idaho, and about 100,000 acres in Washington. C. A. Smith and various other wealthy lumbermen of Wisconsin are shown up and the part they played in robbing the people of Oregon of their possessions. The celebrated "11-7" case is given in detail. Puter's explanation of his confession to Heney differs materially from that already published.

Of especial interest is the chapter in which Puter in his own words tells of his escape from Burns in Boston. Roosevelt's forestry policy is defended vigorously and ex-Secretary Hitchcock is given credit for his efforts to suppress the land steals tn this state.

In brief, Puter tells about his connection with different fraudulent land trans actions covering a period of W years, his operations being confined principally to the Pacific Coast. Peculiar interest attaches to nearly all his recitals, as many persons of National reputation are involved tn some of the disclosures. That the book will create a decided sensation in certain quarters is a foregone conclusion.

A fierce attack is made upon the Northern Pacific Railroad Company for its alleged scheme of securing the passage of the Congressional act of March 2, 1899, creating the Mt. Rainier National Park, whereby it is claimed the corporation Was granted exclusive privileges in the matter of making lieu selections, thus enabling it to grab 320,000 acres of the best timber lands of Oregon, with only about 30 miles of completed roadbed in this state, the act providing that the railway company should have the right to make such selections in airy state penetrated by its lines. In this way it is charged that 120,000 acres were also acquired in Idaho, besides 100,000 acres in Washington, in exchange for worthless holdings in the Mt. Rainier forest reserve. The Northern Pacific is accused further of having employed bulldozing tactics in preventing settlers from obtaining a foothold in unsurveyed townships in the states named, and instances are cited to sustain this contention. Incidentally, it is hinted that R. A. Ballinger, late Commissioner of the General Land Office, who resigned March 4 last and was succeeded by Fred Dennett, was friendly to the Northern Pacific in the matter of its lieu selections, and that his appointment to the office was part of a game to secure their approval by the Land Department in Washington, D. C.

One of the most interesting chapters in the book relates to Puter's motives for aiding the Government against his former pals, wherein he describes the manner in which Fred A. Kribs was driven into a corner and forced to "peach" on his associates. In this way the evidence against Senator Mitchell was secured, resulting In his conviction for accepting fees fer expediting patents to the fraudulent timber entries that had been made in behalf of C. A. Smith. Puter declares openly that had F. P. Mays, Willard N. Jones and F. A. Kribs not turned a cold shoulder upon him after his conviction in the 11-7 case and had come to his rescue with bonds on that occasion, he would have been the last person on earth to have exposed them, but having been "turned down like a white chip" by this trio, as he expresses it, after having been long implicated with them in fraudulent land transactions, their indifference to his fate aroused all the vindictiveness in his nature, and he went to Heney on his own volition and gave him the information that has sounded the doom of the Oregon land frauds. This view of the situation is at direct variance with Lincoln Steffens' recent version of the matter in the American Magazine, wherein William J. Burns is given full credit for having brought about Puter's so-called confessions.

A great deal or unwritten history pertaining to the land frauds appears throughout the book. a considerable portion of which will have a tendency to cause much anxiety in various quarters. Metals of a well-laid plot to raid the public domain in the Deschutes country during 1902-3 are given, wherein Puter secured financial backing from several prominent capitalists to acquire title to 17,280 acres of magnificent timber land for speculative purposes. Among those mixed up in this affair, according to the author, was A. B. Hammond, the wealthy Pacific Coast lumberman, who has vast property interests throughout Oregon and California; N. H. Withee, of La Crosse, Wis., and William H. Bradley, of Tomahawk, Wis. (since deceased), besides several other Eastern lumbermen.

A complete history of the famous township '11-7 conspiracy is given,' and much that has never heretofore seen the light of. day is presented in the chapter relating to these frauds. It was in connection with this case that Puter and his associates were convicted by a jury in the Federal Court on December 6, 1904, and the trial of the defendants marked the first appearance of Francis J. Heney in Oregon as a public prosecutor. In his account of the trial and conviction of the '11-7' gang, Puter declares that himself and associates were to be sacrificed as a burnt offering for the sins of those "higher up," and that ex-United States Attorney John H. Hall was to be the high priest at the ceremony. Hall is also accused of being actuated by animosity against the defendants on account of the failure of Puter and McKinley to pay him $5000 for having the indictments against them dismissed.

The story of Puter's capture by Secret Service Agent William J. Burns at the Fenway branch postoffice in Boston on the night of March 26, 1906, and his subsequent escape from the famous. Government sleuth, will doubtless create considerable of a stir, as it differs materially from any account heretofore given publicity. According to Puter, there was a fierce battle on the sidewalk between Burns and himself, for possession of the latter's revolver, and when the land-fraud king got the upper

hand in the struggle, and advanced threateningly towards the great detective, Burns is charged with imploring 'For God's sake, Steve, don't shoot!" and then seeking safety in flight behind a friendly lamp-post.

Considerable space is devoted to a description of his prison life in the Multnomah County Jail, wherein Sheriff Stevens comes in far a great deal of praise in connection with his conduct of the institution,

Puter makes no effort to spare himself in any of the recitals, but boldly acknowledges his own wrongdoing, indicating a disposition to "take up the burdens of life on Improved plans" as soon as the news reached him, December 31 last, that he had been pardoned by the President.

Upon the completion of Puter's portion of the book, Horace Stevens, his collaborator, takes up the thread of the narrative, and in the course of six chapters makes some startling revelations chief among which is his history of the oil-land litigationlitigation [sic] in Kern County, California, wherein some serious charges are made reflecting upon the integrity of Judge E. M. Ross, of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals, ninth circuit. Stevens was formerly in the Government service as an assistant to special inspector, Department of the Interior, but resigned February 10 last for the purpose of finishing Puter's book, upon which he has been working during his spare moments ever since the idea was conceived of publishing it.