The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-08-04
Attorney Sterling Says He Did not
Unite In q Petition in the Land
Office Business.
verv Interesting Letter Of Which
Capt. Swiggett Tries to Find
tho Author.
A Question Which n Answered viii Re.
lievo the Present Strained Rela-
lions In the Local q. u. +.

day or 80 ago of the story OF the strained
relations existing between the officials Of
tho looul land office and the land attorneys
has resulted in a card from Land Attorney
i. p. Sterling, ~ follows;
Ny attention has been callel to IN article In
this mornings INDEPENDENT entll;cu, .Mast
Mr,n !; and n. fesr IT, in .n1snva the !. s wra,s !" mA .Ss
SSs.s''3f J. V v. 'f Gaay ' AND | Z, !, ii Burton, j. not onfs;
everal months ago the land attorneys united in
. pstitlon 10 Land Commiss loner Carter, A;king
nain. i II : rea u. was enacrsed BY . letter
from Snrveyor-tienera Eaton, In which he told
Of the sh,r,coming.. Of the Helena officials. "a
Joined in the move for their removal
] do not care to answer the article above re-
ferrel to at length. but to simply ~ that 80 far
~ ! am cDnceInsi have never drawn . petl,
ton: never have signed a document; or united
With anyone else in signing one. asked anyone 70
elan sroh a petition, or ever been asked ny any
person to sign a petition for the removal OF the
register and rect liver, or either one Of them.
from the land office; In fact, have never heard o.
such a ~Eetilion unit, saw the article reterrad
whatever to use my name In this connection.
and his staten mt is false. in short, 1t is an I'M
mit'gatcd lie.
so far as the signing of q petition or
Undoubtedly right. The reporter who
w.ute the story used the word petition
whe Q he should have said letter. But
Judge Sterling's cnrd gives the opportunity
TO straiRhten out several little inaccuracies
in the original story. which will be done.
The main facts in the original publication
were correct, especially those relating to
the requests made by Helena attorneys for
the removal of Messrs. Swiggett and Rour-
quln, and to the rema1k of COMMISSIONS
Carter that he had recommended the APP
pointment of the Helena land office officials.
aud that the Helena people must grin and
beR it,"
For quite a while a number Of Helena
land attorneys have been dissatisfied with
the wav the business of the Helena land
Office has been conducted. After talking
over their grievances. severalot them wrote
letters to Commissioner Carter concerning
the matter. 1t is not thought that the first
complaints sent to Washington requested a
change IN the Office, but later ones did.
Among these later letters WIS one in which
Messrs. Swlggett g. Bourquin were
".oastcd" to a turn, and in which their re-
noval was demanded: BY some means or
other Capt. swiggett obtained a tyl CIV itten
Cxce pit, nmong others, to Judge John W.
Eddy and A. II. Nelson. Both of the ReI-
tlemen denied the authorship. Mr.. Mel:
aon. up to the time he saw the letter, did
not know the land attorneys of the appo-
site political fnith were striving for a
OAAklHc III ulo III SLANo - ; "
ward he met Judge Sterling and old him
about the letter, asking him if he had
seen 1t.
NO. replied MIR. Ste ling, but if he
asks me who wrote it ] will tell him mighty
quick" This remark was followed by some
adverse c: iticisms Of the land office people,
and the whole conversation left the i'm
preston that Mr.. Sterling had written the
letter, an excerpt Of which Capt. >wiRRer'
had. So the matter simply resolves itseli
into the question: Did +. p. Sterling
write n letter to Commissioner Cater OF
any other official in the interior depart
meht, requesting the remova Of Messrs
Swiggett and Bourquin2"
Whatever the answe may be, it cannot
be denied that , romiuent Helena republi'
cans have requested either by peraonal let
ter o. petition, tho removal of Messrs
SwigQett and Bourquin; and that it this
were lone SUCCESSORS to them could be
found in this city. 1t is also a fact. accord
ing to Mr.. Carter. that the vacancies will no
be made by removal during this admins