Looters Of The Public Domain: Embracing A Complete Exposure Of The Fraudulent System Of Acquiring Titles To The Public Lands Of The United States Puter, S. A. D. [Stephen Arnold Douglas]; Horace Stevens Western Americana

494pp. Quarto [26cm]. Bound in red cloth, with title stamped in black ink on spine and front board. Additional simple white ink stamped decor, and large illustrated paper label. Rubbing to extremities. Rear hinge cracked. Profusely illustrated with splendid halftone engravings and etchings of important incidents connected with the different trials, together with the latest photographs of the principal actors in the great land fraud drama. Author Stephen Puter is one of the figures most publically associated with the Oregon land fraud scandal. This massive scheme saw land granted to the Oregon and California Railroad (with government intent to sell cheaply to settlers who would develop the land along the railway line). As the land was heavily wooded and not easily developed, most settlers weren't interested. Edward Harriman, the president of the Southern Pacific Railroad, recruited Puter to round up saloon-goers and escort them to the land office, ensuring that they registered as a settler for a parcel of land and then transferred registration to the appropriate fraudster. The land parcels were compiled, and large blocks of land were then quietly auctioned to timber companies. When the scheme was inevitably exposed, Puter was arrested. He had previously been fired by Harriman, following a disagreement. He wrote "Looters of the Public Domain" while imprisoned, and the title is a true tell-all, exposing many powerful figures in business and government.