The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1891-01-31
Entrynen victors.

held by Zen. Russell "A. AlRer In the
state Of Washington. The decision in
the case is made interesting by the fact
that It settles several very impo tant
ques ions arising under the general land
I,ws. The case il entitled the United
States VS.. Stephen s. Bailey, II wand
X. Hawley and Russell A. Alger, trans
ferees it has to do with timber land en-
tries in what is known rs the Olympia
series, and the decision is directed to
the register and receiver of the land
Office at Seattle.
1t appears that soon after the entries
were made in 1881 the lands were trans
ferred to Stephen s. Bailey, and IN 1887
Bailey and wife conveyed them all to
Russell A. Alger and Ravand X. Haw-
ley, the present transferees. In July,
1883 Special Agent j. M. Carson report
ed recommending the cancellation of all
the entries, first because they were
made in fraudulent manner, and
secondly because3he lands were agricul-
tural in character, and therefore not
subject to entry under the act Of June3,
1888. The parties in interest having
been duly informed, hearing was had
at Seattle in October, 1883. The de-
PENDANTS by their attorneys moved that
all proceedings against the entries he
dismissed, and that the same be rein
stated and passed to patent. The
motion was based on the grounds that
the land department has no jurisdiction
over the cash entry after the issuance
aud delivery to the entryman Of the re-
| AM hat al. -
was given in each of said cases, the
officers of said department had no pow
er or authority to iuves igatc the charg-
es made by said special agent. The
attorneys also filed application for a
hearing on the merits.
The department. denied the motion to
dismiss and ordered hearing for Aug.
81, 1889. The motion to demiss vas do
MED on the ground that the rule is we'll
settled that the da,il department has
jurisdiction in land cases prior to issu-
ance of patent, aud may cancel an entry
even after certifq6: and receipt have
been Issued,
1t was charged by Special Agent Car
son and urged by Special Agent Ogden
that each of the timber entries involved
was made for the benefit of some party
other than the entryman. This, il proved
would be fatal to the entri 8. Each
entryman before purchasing swore he
was not seeking the same "on spscula-
ton, but in good faith to appropriate
to his swn exclusive use or benefit; that
he has not directly or indirectly made
any agreement or contract in any way
or manner with any person or persons
whomsoever by which the title he may
acquire from the government shall inure
in whole or IN part to the benefit of any
person except himself" The testimony,
says the decision, failed to disclose any
positive proof tending to impeach the
good faith or truth OF entrymen's state
ments. Ex-parte aflidavits introduced
in support of the charge If fraud were
held inadmissablc rs evidence because
contrary to rule 40 of practice, namely:
THAT duo opportunity will be allowed
opposing claimants to confront and
cross-examine witnesses introduced by
either party"
IL was shown in tho examination that
J. I. Lohr had been employed by en-
trymen to select their lands, and verbal
agreements were made between him and
each applicant that in case the latter
wished to sell their land after making
purchase Lohr would pay $50 more than
any one else offered. No promise or
contract was made prior to entry to sell
no other person appears to be interested.
The decision is that the entrymen's
rights were not affected by snch agree
ment The fact that the lands were all
entered and sold about tho Same time
does not imply fraud, but may DO &c.
counted for in many other wsvs. The
FIRST point made by the special agents
therefore falls to the ground.
As to the second point the government
brought nine witnesses to slow that the
lands entered were fled for agricultural
purposes, and could he cleared ut an
expense Of 500 an acre. The trans
ferees brought forward ample testimony
to show that the cost Of clearing would
be nearly $500 san acre, and that the
lands were not Of sufficient value rs ag-
ricultural lands to warrant the expense
OF clearing them. The land office
holds that where the chief present value
OF land lies in the timber and not in
the land itself for agricultural purposes
the lands are subject to entry under
the law.
There are many hundreds of thous-
ands Of dollars Of Michigan money In
vested IN Upper Peninsula and Western
timber lands, and great trouble has
arisen in securing patents, because OF
the disDosikion 70 blackmaIl buvers by