was merely a figurehead, so far as knowledge of his duties went, this sort of thing was kept up all through the administration of Governor Geer, and there was no attempt at suppression of the evils until George E. Chamberlain was elected Governor.
Ciovernor Chamberlain had held office but a few months when he saw that matters were very much in need of adjustment in the State Land Office, and on April 1 of that year, appointed George G. Brown as Clerk of the State Land Board, and on September 30 following, named Oswald West as State Land Agent. The latter was not only a young man of strict integrity, but was also well qualified, through long connection with the Ladd & Bush bank, of Salem, to introduce business principles in the conduct of affairs in connection with his duties.
West soon familiarized himself with conditions, and learning that thousands of acres of indemnity selections with defective base, which had been sold by the State to innocent purchasers, were subject to cancellation by reason of these irregularities, he proceeded to take steps to protect those who had bought the lands in good faith from the State. As there were no authentic records in the Land Office to show the exact situation, the newly-appointed Land Agent made a complete abstract exhibiting the status of affairs, from which it was ascertained that the State was still entitled to about 8,000 acres of indemnity from the United States. This base was worth $5 an acre in the open market, but instead of disposing of it in that manner, West used it, so far as it went, in amending the basis of those selections where it was demonstrated the applicants had acted in good faith.
When West reported his findings to Governor Chamberlain, showing how Odell and Geer had selected 73,500 acres on mineral base, out of which only about 1,000 acres had been clear listed by the General Land Office, and that 13,500 acres of their selections on other base had likewise been rejected, he was directed to set an investigation on foot for the purpose of finding out the exact status of these selections, with the result that the State reimbursed those who bad made purchases in good faith through the instrumentality of Odell and Geer to the extent of $142,000. The General Land Office having rejected the 87,000 acres of mineral and other indemnity selections made by them, with the exception of the 1,000 acres indicated, the State has made repayment on 78,000 acres, leaving an area of 8,000 acres yet to be repaid on. The amount refunded applied only to the purchase price of the lands, and does not represent any portion of the commissions charged by the firm as a bonus for inserting the base, all of which the applicants lost in consequence of their dealings with the two rogues.
After getting the matter of rejected State indemnity selections well in hand. State Land Agent Oswald West turned his attention to the investigation of the alleged frauds in the purchase of school lands. In going through the files containing the applications to purchase, which covered the undeeded tracts, West found a large number of applications bearing signatures which, in his opinion, were forgeries, and he thereupon reported the facts to Governor Chamberlain. Acting under executive instructions, John H. McNary, District Attorney of Marion County, Oregon, on August 12, 1905, filed informations charging H. H. Turner, a Salem notary public, and A. T. Kelliher, a wealthy land speculator of Minnesota, with forgery, and the grand jury later indicted them for the offense. When their case came to trial. Turner turned State's evidence, and the indictment against him was dismissed on motion of the district attorney, because Kelliher's attorneys objected to his testifying until a dismissal was entered. He confessed having forged practically all the signatures to applications covering about 60,000 acres of school lands, upon which his name appeared as notary. Kelliher stood trial and was convicted by a jury, January 4, 1906, and was sentenced four days later to five years in the State penitentiary at Salem. From this judgment he appealed to the State Supreme Court, which reversed the verdict, and the defendant ultimately escaped punishment.
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