Reforming Beef
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Ranchers on Trial

The ranchers refusal to remove their fences enraged President Roosevelt, who ordered legal action. In November of 1905, charges were brought against Bartlett Richards and Will G. Comstock, who entered guilty pleas. The presiding judge, William H. Munger, barely slapped the two on the wrist, ordering fines and court costs under $1,000 and a total of six hours in the custody of the United States marshal. Rumor had it that the marshal, T. L. Matthews, then escorted the two men to the Omaha Club, where they served their time over dinner and conversation.


Richards & Comstock with relatives
Source: Nebraska State Historical Society
Again, President Roosevelt was furious, but there was little he could do other than express sincere regret that federal judges were appointed for life. He did fire the United States Attorney and replace him with Charles A. Goss, who would go on to serve as chief justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court. There was nothing else Roosevelt could do . . . for now.

Many of the large ranchers had used a variety of shady tactics to grab land, like deceitfully using Civil War widows or their orphans to take homesteads. The federal government sent investigators to Nebraska, and brought indictments against 26 men, charging them with conspiring to fraudulently secure title to federal lands. Richards and Comstock were among those charged. Prosecution was headed by U.S. Attorney Goss, assisted by S. R. Rush, an attorney from Omaha.

Theodore Roosevelt at one of his many stops on
his campaign trip through Nebraska, 1900
Source: Nebraska State Historical Society

Their trial began on November 20, 1906, and lasted for a month. Richards and Comstock were found guilty, fined $1500 each, and sentenced to a year in jail. The convictions were appealed, but finally in 1910, Bartlett Richards was jailed in Adams County, Nebraska, where he died.


Watch the video,
Richards & Land Fraud
to find out more about
his shenanigans.

Read more about it:
This article contains a summary
of the land fraud trial.

Attorney S. R. Rush went on to become Special Assistant to the Attorney-General of the United States and prosecuted land fraud cases for fifteen years.

These efforts by the United States government
ended the free range era forever.

Reference: History of Nebraska by James C. Olson and Ronald C. Naugle