Arizona weekly citizen., 1895-07-13
WEEKLY CITIZEN.
SATURDAY, JULY 6, 1895
THE PERALTA GRANT.

Alter thirteen years of constant act- ivity, wherein it played the most dee- tructive part in the welfare of Arizona, and the prosperity Of its cltizsns, the infamous PerRlta grant and Reavis, are passing along to become matters of history, second to none in importance, as far as Arizona's prosperity Is con cerned; not even second to the govern mental policy towards our territory.
 The Pe-alta grant IS the largest land fraud ever attempted in the United States and probably in the world by a private citizen, and the case one of the most important ever tried in our coun- try. We know Of no case wherein was involved the vast amount of money, which the F, 500,0OO acres covered by this grant will be worth within ten years. The present valuation has been placed at one hundred million by government authorities, and the utmost solicitude has been felt by the government ID Washington, as to its outcome, covering as it did Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe, Flor ence, Globe. SolomonVille, Clifton, Morenci and other towns, and the en- tire extent of land from the MsrIcopR mountains to Grant county, New Mex ico. Though the most desirable section of our territory.
 Resvis spent 24 years of his life, and a vast sum of money in preparing the case to become one of the largest landed proprletors in the world. The work re- quired to defeat this little kingdom has been a stupendous undertaking. In the present court trial a large amount of money was expended. Thirty-fVe thousand dollars was especially sppro- priated by congress for the purpose, and the best of talent was employed for the final trial in the persons of Hon. Matt Reynolds, and Mallet-Prevost It may be said truthfuIly that Resvis prscti- cally stood up before the land grant court without case, without even au attorney, he was destroyed before he got there, aud was deserted by his for msr legal supporters.
 Reavis has never recovered from the complete and exhaustive report Of Sur veyor General Johnson, one by one his celebrated attorneys looseued their grIp and fell by the way side. No answer could be made to General Johnson's re- report, both his findings in law and faet were unanswerable and the report just as it was made was submitted complete by the government counsel and du credit gwen MT. Johnson.
 The history of the case is briefly as follows: Reavis filed his original papers in 1882, before the surveyor generals office at Tucson. Within twelve months Royal A. Johnson was appointed sur veyOr general of Arizona, and had ju risdiction over this case. Lawyers from Phoenix and other towns visited the of- flee, examined the time worn, and ink eaten papers, sometimes for thirty minutes, laid them down and reported to those interested that the papers were unqusssIonsbly forged. An uneasy feel ing was stirred up all over the grant. h. dignation meetings were held. Survey or General Johnson denounced because Reavis was allowed to enter public office and efforts made at Washington to remove him. One despatch sent even charged that a report favorable to Rea- wis had been sent to Washington. For tunately for the people Of the country covered by the Peralta grant, the head of the department of the interior, Secretary Teller. had known our survey or general from boyhood and soon after MT. Johnson took his degree in law at the Columbian University, had tebd- cred him the chief law clerkship in the interior department, which Gen. eral Johnson declined to come to Arizona. Under these circum- stances the excited utterances of a just ly aroused people were unsvailing and the destiny of that valley to large ex- tent was left to cool head plodding along.slowIy and carefully in the survey or generals office.
 The CITIZEN, being intimately ac- quainted with the facts, championed the cause of the surveyor general through out. Knowing that in so doing we were the strongest possible friend to the set tiers, and time has entirely justified our course. It took tUo years of arduous study and work to find the cunning changed Masol deed forgery, the mo- tarial records of it, the forgeries of the other papers, the unearthing of the whole scheme, which comprised an amount of villIany almost beyond con- prehension, the work being so cunning ly done that 1t deceived even the most wary and the most learned. At thIs critical point in the case General John son played his master stroke, which was inducing the Mexican and Spanish governments, at the request of the high ] est authority of our government, to carefully search the archives of Madrid, 1 Sinancas, Seville. Guadalajara and the l city of Mexico and positively certify that | not paper was on file Bt those archives in connection with the case. This was | done after the law governing such ! possible grant had been consulted and 1 upon an almost positive knowledge that | Resvis was ignorant at the time of the l law, and would hasten to remedy ine l defects as soon as discovered through Surveyor General Johnson's report.
 The effect of this work can be aprecl- l sted when Reavis' testimony on inc witness stand, under Reynolds unusr. |