The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-30

stripped of the timber. which was worth
az az least " per acre. making a loss to
the government of $4,000. The general
land office has sent Special Land Agent
McGlnnlS of New Orleans to Gainesville
and that gentleman is now at work in
the land ONCE making a complete exam
ination of records. When this work is
complete, he will visit the government
lands in person, and report to the land
commissioner and United States district
attorney. One of the men at work in the
case has filed five complaints with the
united States district attorney, and he
now has twenty bills of information, in
addition to'this which he will present to
the grand jury when court conVenes in
December. The charges entered against
the parties is trespassng upon govern
ment lands, and in case of conviction
Is punishable by Imprisonment or a fine
or both. The cases against some very
prominent man Of the state, who are
associated with the lumber companies
seem to be very clear, but perhaps on
the other hand the lands were purchased
by the companies in good faith. The
fault in many instances lies with the
tax assessors of the counties, who enter
6 g9yernmens lands 0ni the tS county tax
the taxes have not been paid for years,
and the lumber companies have bid IN
the property when sold for taxes Some
cases are very clear. Parties have home
Steaded land at the United States land
office at Gainesville, and after erecting
a hut upon their claim have cut the tim
Der from the same. The homesteader
then had no more use for the property,
and has pOcketed his receipts from the
sale of the timber and moved to other
parts. Some of these parties will be
looked up and brought into court Mr..
McGinnis made trip to Levy county
last week and found several instances
of this kind. 1t is estimated that the
government has lost $500. 600 worth of
timber in this way. Mr.. McGinnis thinks
1t will require at least nine months to
complete his work. The government is
evidently bent upon obtaining all the
facts that can be gathered.
Montezuma Correspondence Atlanta
Journal: Montezuma is a small
its il" L. trade and the e" SUCCESS iO OF
it's business men. Messrs. Lewis. D.
Z. Vaughn, Ellington and the McKenzies
have amassed fortunes. Hon. Z. 3. Lew
is, Familiarity known as Lige, is a member
of the state Senate and is chairman of
the finance committee. His grandfather
who lived in the lower edge of Dolly
near Coney, on Gum creek His father
was John f. Lewis, whose genius for
money making was equal to that of the
lamented John B. Ross of Macon. John
+. Lewis, when a young man, embarked
in a small country merchandise at Coney
Like other young men, he was suscepti-
BILE. to female charms and fell in love
with Miss Lavinia Butts, a daughter of
Hon. Elijah Butts, a man noted for his
culture and his ability to make money
MI ana Mrs. Butts however. objected
to the marriage, and young Lewis resort
ed to that plan which laughs at lock-
smiths. This marriage, without consent
of Mr.. and Mrs. Butts, led to a tempo
rary eStrangement, and the peacemaker
who appeared upon the scene and did
the act of reconciliation was an old
neighbor and friend, Pleasant Ray, the
father of the well-konwn Tom RAY of
Vienna, and in years Mr. Butts became
exceedingly fond Of his son-in-law. When
the war was over Mr.. Butts called on
ms son Johh ana sald; John, have
come to give you an idea how to make