Richards, William A. (William Alford), 1849-1912

Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock provides President Roosevelt with a summary and documentation pertaining to investigations by the Department of the Interior into alleged illegal fencing and land fraud in Wyoming. Hitchcock reports that notices have been issued in 165 cases, proceedings have been instituted in ten with favorable results for the government, two enclosures have been removed in response to notices, two cases are pending before the Special Agent in Charge, one case is pending before the District Attorney, no report has been filed and no action taken in eight cases, and the fences in the remaining cases are presumably still standing. The item includes a detailed list of enclosures.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-11-30

Arthur G. Elston testifies about unethical conduct occurring in Division “P” of the General Land Office. Elston describes being urged by his chief, George F. Pollock, to change a report recommending charges against the Schow Brothers and Lovell Irrigation Company for willful trespass in Montana. He believes Pollock was acting under pressure from Congressman Mondell and the Commissioner of the General Land Office. Elston also testifies to being aware of similar instances of improper behavior in regards to public lands in Wyoming and Colorado.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-11-15

This report details how the Big Horn Ditch Company dug an irrigation canal in Wyoming in the 1880s that was not deep enough to irrigate the surrounding land. Nevertheless, government land surrounding the canal was reclaimed based on its alleged irrigation, which the author of the report appears to consider fraudulent. Stockholders in the company include William A. Richards, Commissioner of the General Land Office under President Roosevelt and a former governor of Wyoming. Based on this report, special agents in 1904 required that Red Banks Cattle Company, which owned the land in question and had the same major shareholders as the Big Horn Ditch Company, to deconstruct their enclosures and relinquish the land.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10

Max Pracht reports on corruption in the land office that he witnessed while a special agent in Colorado. Pracht details the misuse of government funds by William A. Richards, Commissioner of the General Land Office, and his report of it to Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock and Hitchcock’s private secretary W. Scott Smith. The final two pages detail Pracht and Smith’s relationship.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-22

Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock encloses a confidential letter addressed by him to William A. Richards, Commissioner of the General Land Office, which he think will provide the information President Roosevelt desires. Hitchcock also encloses a copy of a Circular giving instructions to Special Agents under the act of February 25, 1885, instead of the Proclamation Roosevelt had requested. Hitchcock explains that the substitution of the Circular for the Proclamation was a result of a conference had by Governor Richards with both Roosevelt and Hitchcock.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-11

Francis Bennett Williams writes to Theodore Roosevelt to ask that he arrange a leave of absence for Alexander B. Kennedy, receiver of public money in New Orleans, Louisiana, in order to attend the Republican National Convention. Williams encloses a letter from William A. Richards, commissioner of the general land office, in which he denied Kennedy the requested time off.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-05-28

Francis P. McManamon examines the origins of the Antiquities Act of 1906 that President Theodore Roosevelt and his successors used to safeguard natural and scientific sites across the United States. McManamon asserts that it was threats to ancient archaeological sites across the American Southwest that led to calls for greater government intervention, and he highlights the case of the Casa Grande ruins in Arizona. McManamon notes the work of private organizations, government agencies, individuals, and members of Congress, most importantly Congressman John F. Lacey of Iowa, who worked to save important sites before the passage of the Antiquities Act. McManamon traces the slow path to passage of the Antiquities Act, and he highlights its important text and provisions. He notes how Roosevelt used the act to set aside eighteen national monuments, and he asserts that Roosevelt’s actions, especially in regards to the Grand Canyon of Arizona, set important precedents for his successors, especially President Bill Clinton.  

 

Two photographs and two illustrations supplement the text. 

In response to President Roosevelt’s request, Roger S. Baldwin relays that he will draft a petition for forest rangers to become state game wardens to enforce game laws. Baldwin will send a draft of the petition to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, William A. Richards, and will forward a copy to Roosevelt. Baldwin notes that he is taking technical classes at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-10-28

After further review, Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock recommends the appointment of William O’Neil as the lumber scaler at the Chippewa Indian Reservation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-08-21