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The
California Redwood Company, Puter says, ran "men into the land office by the hundreds." Twenty-five alien sailors at a time were marched from their boardinghouses to the courthouse to file their first citizenship papers; then to the local land office to take out claims; next to a notary public
264:
In July 1916, Stephen A. Douglas Puter was indicted, along with seven others (including his two sons and a son-in-law), for "Illegal Use of the Mails and Fraud" during the perpetration of the land fraud scandal. S. A. D. Puter, who was in New York at the time, declared himself the leader of those
181:
Puter fled Oregon before being sentenced as had two of the other defendants. Oregon authorities declared their intention to apprehend him and his partner Horace G. McKinley anywhere in the world, and sent photographs through U. S. diplomatic channels. McKinley fled to
221:, Puter both confessed to and accused others of their role in the scandal, and in it were portraits of his co-conspirators and copies of documents confirming their criminal acts. In his book he wrote a clear statement of the scope of the scandal:
265:
indicted, and insisted that they were innocent of any charges of fraud. He traveled by train to San
Francisco, where he turned himself in. He and his sons were listed as residents of Berkeley, California; the son-in-law was from
249:, who made up three-fourths of Oregon's congressional delegation, as well as a number of other prominent Oregonians and federal officials. In 1907 he testified to having bribed a grand jury during the land schemes in Oregon.
477:
289:
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Puter died May 10, 1931, in
Burlingame, California. He was survived by his wife, Sarah, and two daughters, Vivian McEwen and Gladys Jones, and his body was interred at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Daly City.
233:
The timber land scandals were not limited to Oregon. The
California Redwood Company in Humboldt County had also been running a claim scheme to secure title to thousands of acres of redwood timberlands.
546:
276:
item as "the final echo of the Oregon land fraud cases," four of the eight co-defendants entered guilty pleas. They were fined; the highest amount, $ 1500, was assessed to S. A. D. Puter.
202:
Jail. Puter objected to the fact that
Mitchell had received a lighter sentence than himself, since Mitchell had participated in making the laws the two had broken.
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to "execute an acknowledgement of a blank deed"; thence to the paymasters for their fifty dollars each; and finally back to their ships or boardinghouses."
568:
890:
325:
Looters of the Public Domain: Embracing a
Complete Exposure of the Fraudulent Systems of Acquiring Titles to the Public Lands of the United States
245:. Puter was able to keep much of the money he had acquired through the timber fraud. His testimony led to the indictment of Mitchell, Hermann and
885:
742:"S.A.D. Puter and 2 Sons are Indicted: Son-in Law Is Also Indicted: Fraud Conspiracy Charged: Illegal use of Mails is Specific Accusation"
198:, police who apprehended him also discovered weapons in his rented room. After his capture and return to Oregon he served two years in the
257:
Puter's son, R. C. Puter, was charged with criminal negligence in 1915, after he allegedly hit and killed Mary Logan with his car in the
229:, were secured by Eastern lumberman and capitalists,…and nearly all of the claims, to my certain knowledge, were fraudulently obtained.
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880:
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for several months before capture, wrote a book after conviction, received a
Presidential pardon, and later was convicted of
178:. He was indicted early in 1905; allegations besides the land schemes included bribing then-Senator Mitchell $ 2,000.
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to private hands, ultimately benefiting large timber companies and some Oregon politicians, including U.S. Senators
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194:, in March and was subsequently a fugitive for several months before being captured in late May 1906. The
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674:"Tried to bribe Grand Jury: Puter: Land Fraud Witness tells of his corrupt transactions in Oregon"
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Thousands upon thousands of acres, which included the very cream of timber claims in Oregon and
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428:"Mitchell Indictment Stirs All Oregon; Government says Senator took Bribe in Land Cases"
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The Oregon
Companion: An Historical Gazetteer of The Useful, The Curious, and The Arcane
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238:
825:
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401:
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331:
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List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States
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171:
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478:"Los Angeles Herald 25 January 1906 — California Digital Newspaper Collection"
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pardoned Puter after he had served 18 months of his sentence so that he could
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158:, which transferred tens of thousands of acres of federal lands given to the
802:. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General. pp. 127–.
205:
492:"Burns Comes After Puter: Ready to Take Fugitive Who Escaped Him to Oregon"
367:
547:"Los Angeles Herald 7 July 1906 — California Digital Newspaper Collection"
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103:
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Early in the 20th century, Puter was instrumental in carrying out the
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Kingpin in Oregon land fraud scandal who received
Presidential pardon
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99:
322:
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with Horace
Stevens, a former land office clerk. In the detailed
139:
35:
Stephen A. Douglas Puter from the March 27, 1906 edition of the
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363:
218:
107:
781:(September 23, 1919). "Fines Imposed in Oregon Land Frauds".
183:
763:(September 20, 1919). "4 Plead Guilty To Mail Fraud in SF".
460:; Arthur Weightman Spencer; Thomas Tileston Baldwin (1905).
261:. He was expected to be tried on a charge of manslaughter.
799:
Annual Report of the Attorney General of the United States
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759:
722:"Two Arrests Made Under New Land Fraud Case Indictments".
628:
Whose woods these are: the story of the National Forests
449:
213:
In 1906, while incarcerated, Puter co-wrote the book
170:, who was later exonerated. Puter was considered the
110:. After being convicted of land fraud, he lived as a
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316:
735:
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645:The Farmer's Last Frontier: Agriculture, 1860-1897
134:, two years later. As a young man, he worked as a
272:Several years later, in what was described in an
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174:of the scandal. In 1902, he took his family to
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901:Recipients of American presidential pardons
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142:. He left California in 1888 and moved to
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521:"S.A.D. Puter arrested by Alameda Police"
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186:on a steamship; Puter escaped capture by
796:United States. Dept. of Justice (1920).
597:"An Oregon Century: 100 Years of Oregon"
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466:. Boston Book Company. pp. 485–488.
338:
204:
891:People from Humboldt County, California
717:
715:
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98:(January 6, 1857 – May 10, 1931) was a
886:People from Trinity County, California
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812:San Francisco Chronicle, May 13, 1931.
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190:officers in an armed confrontation in
126:Puter was born on January 6, 1857, in
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861:. New Haven, Yale University Press;
841:"Puter caught, but free again"
724:Sacramento Union +date=July 27, 1916
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391:
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397:"Oregon History: The Oregon System"
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834:. Vol. 36. 1916. p. 132.
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858:The United States forest policy
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852:Puter discussed extensively in
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334:: The Portland Printing House.
160:Oregon and California Railroad
1:
881:Writers from Portland, Oregon
648:. M.E. Sharpe. pp. 62–.
456:Sydney Russell Wrightington;
295:
121:
848:. March 27, 1906. p. 1.
827:"The Land-Grant Lobby"
642:Fred Albert Shannon (1977).
354:Engeman, Richard H. (2009).
215:Looters of the Public Domain
96:Stephen Arnold Douglas Puter
16:American criminal and author
7:
569:"Land Claims in T.11S R.7E"
283:
132:Humboldt County, California
10:
917:
779:International News Service
761:International News Service
702:"Youth Held Responsible".
274:International News Service
209:Puter writing in his cell.
128:Trinity County, California
57:Trinity County, California
573:Oregon Historical Society
527:. May 22, 1906. p. 7
408:Oregon Secretary of State
156:Oregon land fraud scandal
150:Oregon land fraud scandal
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498:. 24 May 1906. p. 7
23:Stephen A. Douglas Puter
625:Frome, Michael (1962).
458:Horace Williams Fuller
259:San Francisco Bay Area
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210:
747:The Morning Oregonian
704:Riverside Daily Press
370:. pp. 280, 318.
243:turn state's evidence
223:
208:
192:Boston, Massachusetts
567:Cain, Allen (2006).
253:Later life and death
176:Berkeley, California
102:and author from the
196:Alameda, California
188:U.S. Secret Service
81:Criminal and author
876:Land use in Oregon
855:Ise, John (1920).
783:Los Angeles Herald
765:Los Angeles Herald
706:. August 27, 1915.
681:The New York Times
525:San Francisco Call
496:San Francisco Call
435:The New York Times
247:John N. Williamson
239:Theodore Roosevelt
211:
832:Sunset (magazine)
655:978-0-87332-099-3
437:. January 2, 1905
377:978-0-88192-899-0
317:Puter, S. A. D.;
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37:Morning Oregonian
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749:. July 26, 1916.
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164:John H. Mitchell
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73:May 10, 1931
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896:1857 births
687:16 February
531:16 February
502:16 February
870:Categories
608:2011-01-23
413:2011-01-23
296:References
237:President
227:Washington
122:Early life
116:mail fraud
104:U.S. state
69:1931-05-10
50:1857-01-06
578:April 5,
404:(online)
360:Portland
321:(1908).
284:See also
219:tell-all
136:surveyor
112:fugitive
100:criminal
172:kingpin
652:
374:
364:Oregon
327:
140:logger
138:and a
108:Oregon
677:(PDF)
431:(PDF)
184:China
689:2014
650:ISBN
580:2018
533:2014
504:2014
443:2014
372:ISBN
166:and
63:Died
44:Born
106:of
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