The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1890-02-23
KEEPING UP The FIGHT
Tue Case Against the Asrthsrn Pacific
Presented 10 the Citizens OF Butte.
Stirring Addresses by =. @. Merrill.
Lee Mantle ana Othors-Res-
olutiops Adopted and
Subscriptions Made.
ny the standards special Wire.

ny the standards special Wire.
BUTTE, Feb. 800 citizens at
tended an enthusiastic mineral land meet
ing. held at the opera house tonight. |
william Thompson VIA chosen chairman |
and L. =. Wild secretary. I. &. Merrill
was introduced and said:
"Thc CLAIM of the Northern Pacific rail-
road tn u large area of mineral
lands of Montana is not a new subject.
DIN July =, 1854. there was .approvesi by
the president AN act granting the North
mineral. land. and providing for other
land as indemnity for the mineral land
not On May s. iS.,i ths. com,
miles ON each side. The COM
pany now ma. a strip in alternate
state, and a strip 70 miles in width as i'm
demnity i'm lieu of mineral lands. This
nn to MAIN r%n iis @ % he i ianSs e,a aim" i'n SS
ths, I'm Montana comprise ~:
OOO,OOO acres. 1t is claimed by some Of
don't want mineral lands. Hut Thomas
+. Oakes, i'm a letter published i'm St.Paul,
says that the railroad is only denied these
contain mineral, and II minerals are sub
sequently discovered. that does not inval-
Clarke county. which has been pros
pectcd as much as any county. there
was ID per cent. more mineral property
year. To whom must the existence of
mineral land he known: The govern
ment is the only power that could effect
the title. HUT are your claims known to
the government? Only these claims are
known to the government which are pat
those patented, or for which applications
for patents had been made, are the only
ones excluded from tho grant. According
acres of mineral land claimed by the
Northern Pacific, and of this nine mill
ions, 2,OOO,OO have been surveyed. OF
fhSssss - (hHl lunb rAs.ry.x all pNc0nt tpnrtS sNf n
half dozen townships have been certified
to the Northern Pacific for IA patent as he
of the land oiiicc have given them their
certificates. In 18Th, tho surveyor gem
eral of Montana received q letter OF in
struction from the commissioner of the
general land Office. at Washington. sta =
ing that not 81 would bc appropriated for
surveying mineral lands in Montana. But
the deputy surveyor in order to get his pay
surveyed minera property where mines
were i'm operation and classiiied it as
fled il as mineral land he would not have
got his pay. The Northern Pacific de-
m Hnrnsxs ~ ,h shs ,a debut, stating rn;, = TS S,a,c a's s,r
vcyor. In these 2.OOO,OOO acres are 5000
mining claims which are discovered
They are owned by men who have not the
money to patent them. IT these patents
are issued to The Northern Pacific, then
ocably taken from the owners. On Au-
| gust II last an attorney of thc Northern
| 1ac1uc Ulaue All strRutffcIlt III ftRafu 10
the mineral properties. claiming that the
exceptions were only of lands known to
bc mineral on July .. 1854, the date of the
grant. Yet there was not n quartz mine
in Montana at that time and few placer
mines.
s.Justice Sawyer on December y last, i'm
a Central Pacific case. decided "a patent
void because il was i'm AN alternate Sec
ton belonging tn that road, vet there was
was that the land had not been known
To he mineral at III time of
sns sEani' , hn" S iens.inae e "sinerM nas n %e
could do nothing. Congress can still help
US. These lands still belong to the gov
m until the titles. are issued. We
want the same reservation made i'm grant
ing lands 10 the Northern Pacific that the
Northern Pacific makes in c~onveyanccs
rcscrving and excepting such parts thereof
as are or may be mineral lands. 1t is
doubtful whether we can get this through
lay ali facts before each mcmbcr of con-
gress and then before the people of the
Lee Mantle was called ON and said: 81
regret that SO few citizens are here Tonight.
l think this fact Is partly because the peo-
n,G s. na on tho sheiy t minina n c GEin |" and
partly because OF tho persistent efforts on
tho part of some of the public journals,
impression that this is a movement i'm be-
half Of some political party or politician,
Individually 1 desire to disclaim anything
OF n political nature i'm assisting this move
ment. i am quite willing to hold the
present administration responsible il after
10 full presentation of the facts il decides
against the people; and l am willing t.
hold every man representing the state oi
Montana responsible if they don't take
hold of this movement and push il with
the zeal it's Importance demands. ]
care not whether they he democrats or re-
~publicans. l believe a man can tc a poll.
tician and not cease to bc ~ patriot. ]
claim to bc that sort of n man. and 1 be-
lieve % of 100 of our citizens are such men
On one hand are several railroad corpo-
rations with unlimited capital, unscrtiptt
lous i'm methods and Rraspin0 in nature
with the best legal talent In the land u
present their claims. On the other hant
an ~unorganized mob consisting of thu. res
idents of Montana. IL is perfectly certain
that nothing can bc accomplished unless
"a vast sum of money can he raised. The
movement is of interest Ia all, for withou
the mineral lands Montana would bc /;
heryiing ground for Texas steers"
Chairman Thompson said that il wouls
bc necessary to raise from $1,000 e
$4,000 and shares were being sold at 81
share. A large number of shares wers
disposed of ut the meeting, and "A commit
tee was appointed TO sell shares in tn,
city. H.. l.. Frank. G.. w. Goodale ans
John & lille were appointed to draft ap
propriate resolutions which were unani
moisly adopted.
For suffering Dakota.
The first box of clothing was sent b.