The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-11-24
Both Sides Agree to Withdraw
From the Federal
Court.
ORDERS FROM WASHINGTON.
Finale of Hard Legal Fight Involving
Alleged Gigantic Land Survey
Frauds.

The so-called Benson land survey cases.
which have been in the Federal courts for
several years, are at an end at last on a
compromise. The compromise has already
been agreed to by both the Government
and the deputy surveyors, whose names
have appeared so often upon the calendar
of the United States Circuit Court, both as
defendants and plaintiffs.
The Government has two sets Of cases
against Benson ct al, one criminal and the
other civil, and on the other hand, Messrs.
Perrin, Glover and Reilly had some civil
suits against the Government for money
said to be still due them.
New contracts for the correction of about
$3O, 900 or 1000 worth of surveys, alleged
to have been fraudulent, have been in the
office of Assistant United States Attorney
Knight during the past week, and sigma
lures have been attached to them by both
Mr.. Knight, on behalf of the Government,
and the clients of Attorney Joseph Camp
bell for themselves. The meaning of this
proceeding is that the Benson cases on
Judge McKenna's calendar for the coming
term are not to be prosecuted.
Mr.. Knight said as much yesterday
afternoon, and John A. Benson admitted
later in the day that stipulation had
been entered into by the respective counsel
to that end and that the new contracts
had been signed.
The criminal cases pending trial in the
Circuit Court were eight in number. Four
were in the name of the United States
against John A. Benson and others; two
against NJ. f. Reilly and others; one
against James R. Glover and others. and
one against George II. Perrin and others.
The set all in the Benson cases proper
meant the Deputy United States Survey
ors supposed to have been associated with
John A. Benson, attorney and civil en-
gineer, and the samellegal phrase in the
other cases stood for The bondsmen of the
deputy surveyors. The civil cases were
Surveyors John D. Hall, John W. Fitz-
patrick, Charles Holcomb and Charles W.
Sawyer.
Elk Congressman George G. Hazelton
first began negotiating with Commissioner
S. w. Lamoreux of the General Land
Office at Washington on behalf of the
bondsmen of Reilly, Hall, Fitzpatrick,
Holcomb and Sawyer, little over year
ago. In their names he offered a stipula-
ton agreeing that the contractors should
make resurveys Of the rejected and sus-
pended surveys.
This proposition was referred to Sur
veyor- General Viii H. Green for his recon-
mendation, and as. Mr.. Green reported
that he could see no objection to the offer
OF the bondsmen the proposition was sent
to Secretary Hoke Smith OF the Interior
Department, with Mr.. LamoIeux's recon-
mendation that it be approved and for
warded to the Attorney General for his
action.
During the spring some correspondence
between the Department of Justice and
United States District Attorney Charles A.
Garter of the previous November was
transmitted by Attorney General Olney to
Commissioner Lamoreux, in which it
appeared that, anticipating the action of
the General Land Office, a telegram had
been sent to Mr.. Garter lnstructing him to
compromise the Benson cases in the fol-
lowing words:
Secretary Of the Interior concurs is recon-
mending compromise in the Benson cases.
You may therefore stop summoning witnesses.
See that contract Tor compromise is such as to
insure performance of terms.
Mr.. Garter did not, however, carry out
the telegraphed instructions, for the rea-
son that the other side was not ready.
Benson was DESTROYS of having several de-
tails attended to in the General Land
Office and made visit to Washington for
that purpose. A continuance was accord
ingly arranged for by Assistant District
Attorney Knight Recently instructions
neys office from Attorney-General Har-
mon authorizing the compromise to be
entered into based upon Mr.. Hazelton's
form of stipulation.
The proposition Mr.. Hazelton mads on
behalf OF his clients provided for complete
resurveys, subject to the acceptance of the
Surveyor-General upon being examined
and approved by a special agent.
The amount involved in these alleged
survey frauds was probably 100000. The
surveys were made between the years 1880
and 1884, and covered little over 1,00O, 900
acres, principally in Los Angeles, San Ber-
nardino, Santa Barbara, San Luis Oblspo,
Fresno, Mendocino and Tuolumne coun-
ties. Colonel William H. Brown was then
Surveyor-General of this State and N. q.
Mcfarland of Kansas was Commissioner
of the General Land Office at Washington.
During President Cleveland's first adj
ministration his Land Commissioner
Sparks-soon achieved National reputa-
ton by his ATTEMPT to show that his pre-
decessor's administration had been grossly
corrupt. Several letters were received by
the President from out of the way places
in Arizona, New Mexico and other Terri
tories charging that wholesale land frauds
had been perpetrated, and some OF these
letters were very severe upon Attorney
General Garland,
The author of these letters was subse-
quently discovered to be Sparks himself,
it is currently reported. Sparks was very
bitter against Garland and called the De-
partment of Justice a department OF In
justice" in connection with some structures
he made respecting the Guilford case, in
which the Northern Pacific was defend
ant. So aggressive was Sparks that he did
not hold his position long, but during. the
short period of time he ran the land
branch of the Interior Department he sent
Special Agent Conrad, Virginia man. to
investigate the surveys which had been
made in the State under Colonel Brown.
John A. Benson had been delegate in
the Garfield convention, and he was the
attorney for the deputy surveyors Conrad
reported charges OF fraud against. AS he
was also civil engineer, Conrad con-
cluded that he was the head and front of
the whole business. The result was the
celebrated Clemson cases."
Benson himself says he never actually
had anything to do with the survey. ex-
cept as an attorney representing certain
clients. He says he went East to Wash
lneton year before the surveying con-
tracts were let, and was engaged on 81 ,00O,-
600 of contracts on the Potomac flats.
The Government has already lost sew
eral OF its cases, notably those against
Hall, Perrin and Benson and John H.
McNee in October, 1892, Judge Gilbert, in
his charge to the jury, saying that there