Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-12-22

1890
dismiss that suit, as said lands were
taken up by the parties for whose use
they were bought, ct a price much higher
and greatly in excess of their true value,
and tina it would be a benefit TO
the prosperity of the county TO
permit the sale to stand, as such
lands at that time were bringing but q
nomins price-not exceeding % or 50
cents per acre. This petition to Governor
Ireland, so generally signed, was cir
culated in the belief that the best inter-
ests of the school funds were being sub
served by the purchase of said lands by
MIR. O'DounelI and others, n in the
belief that the purchases by said parties
were beneficial instead of prejudiciel to
the school interests, and consequently
were not within the meaning and scope
of the act of April IA. 1888. which was
alone relative to fraudulent and preiu-
dicial purchases.
In support of the belief entertained by
he petitioners az to the benefits accruing
to their county from such sale to Mr..
O'Donnell aud others, n in approval
and Endorsement of the action of such
purchasers, l quote you freely from the
official report Of Col. Charles de Morse,
deceased, one of the most highly re-
sDtCtcu NcttTGuS U II eLuI VI eau
and a member of the and board, APP
pointed by Governor Ireland under the
act of April II, 1888, and now on file in
the land board Office at Austin. This re-
port embraces the testimony of Frank
". Stevens, county surveyor of Brazoria
county who, being duly sworn, deposes
that he knew of no violations of law in
procurement of school lands allowed IN
excess of the quantity allowed by law,
nor any except one section within three
miles of the county seat, nor any watered
lands.
DR.. Fl. Stevens, of the firm OF Shap-
ard, Stevens u Co., who were Mr.
O'Donnell's agents and advisers In the
purchase of said land, in the same re-
port of Col. de Morse, testified as fol-
lows: He acted for Mr.. O'Dennell in
purchasing AZ, 900 acres of school land,
for which O'Donnell paid 81, 81. so and 81
per acre. The transaction OF purchase
was entirely regular upon its face, and
he believes the state has been benefited,
as the lands now pay taxes at their ap-
praisement, and similar lands both be-
fore n since have been sold at less
money by individual owners. Parties in
New York, Houston and Galveston had
been solicited to buy the lands prior to
Mr.. O'Donnell's purchase, but they did
not consider them worth the price asked
by the state. Mr.. O~'Donnell, since
purchasing the school lands, has bought
other lands in order to have an entire
body and has bought some Of these ct
so n rs cents per acre.
In view of the foregoing facts and cir
cumstances deposed to by the officers,
both state and county, of the state of
TnVna in ~ nforonn 90 m tho nr1rnhoCna nf
public school lands by Mr.. O'Donnell for
himself and others, together with the
testimony adduced upon the trial of the
cause before referred to, aside from that
of the besotted Enrmann, the courts of
the state could reach no other conclusion
thar that expressed in favor of the de-
PENDANTS.
Col. A A. Talmage and wife by deed of
date July 8, 1885, conveyed all lands in
Texas then owned by him, including the
school lands bought by him from Mr..
O'Donnell and others together with some
so, 900 acres purchased of individuals at
q lower price, as appears from the fore
going testimony, than hat bought from
the state, conveyed to the Brazoria land
and cattle con- all said lands, which
deed is recorded in BraZoria county
records of deeds.
Now that the Republic has q true his
tory of all and singular the transactions
of Mr.. O'Donneli, Colonel Talmage and
others in the matter of the purchase of
lands in the state of Texas, how can it
possibly justify its course in publicly
alleging that this was O gigantic steal Of
100 900 or 200 900 acres of the public school
lands of Texas, in view of the fact that
this Information in full could ave been
obtained before it made its defamato-y
allegation against the name and charac-
ter of the honored dead?
The only superlativs expression that /
can now recall to express my contempt
and disgust for Ehrmann and the st.
Louis Republic is the following para
phrase:
Judge if hell. with all its power to damn,
Can add one curse to the foul thing, Or. Ehr-
mann.
Now let US turn to another phase of
this strange story by DR.. Ehrmanu and
the Republic. My first and last ao-
uuaintauce with DR.. Ehrmann was on or
about November 10, 1886, at San An
tonic, Tex. He told me then that he
wanted to negotiate a loan OF $500, Civ
ing his interest in the James NJ. O'Dou-
nell estate, inherited through his wife,
who had died some time previously, as
security. l referred him to Bradley &
Groesbeck, real estate agents, of San
Antonio, Tex, and who were collecting
rents on property then owned by the es-
tate of James Nj. O'Donnell in San Az
tonic, of which estate L was then and
am now the administrator. Mr.. Groes-
beck succeeded in procuring him the
$500 at II per cent interest. Dr.. Ehr-
mann executing O note payable four
months after date, secured by q deed of
trust on his inherited interest through.
his deceased wife, each trust deed being
recorded in Bexar county records, Vol.
43. PIP. 5S7, 5SS, $50. $50 and also re-
corded in records of Harris county, Vol.
Il, PIP. l20. l2l and 122, naming J. w.
Bradley as trustee. A few days after
this I returned home via Austin, to
which point on my travel DR.. Ehrmann
accompanied me-. Now as to his intro
duction by me TO ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Templeton as "Mr. Withers,' "his
mothers name' TO ''avoid service
being had upon him. 1 declare |
this to a been impossible, as
service had already been obtained,
and he had fully answered the interroga-
tories propounded by the attorney-gen-
eral. l parted with DR.. Ehrmann at
Austin. When the note for $500, to Sc