Federal Crackdown on Massive Land Frauds
Secretary Garfield requests $500,000 to combat $110 million in public land theft, including $600,000 in Washington state.
Washington, D.C., Jan. 19. More than $110,000,000 worth of public lands have been stolen from the public domain through land frauds in the Northwest during the last two years, according to a report made by Secretary Garfield to the house and senate appropriation committees. In which he asks for $500,000 extra to prosecute the offenders and recover the property. There are 32,000 separate land fraud cases now pending. The Washington cases involve Colville Indian reservation land worth $600,000.
“More than $110,000,000 worth of public lands have been stolen from the public domain through land frauds.”
Land speculation and the exploitation of public or tribal domains were defining conflicts of the early 20th century in Washington. Today, the debate over who controls public assets continues to drive local political discourse regarding environmental preservation and tribal sovereignty.
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