The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-09-12

Secretary of State Hammond, State
Coal Mine Inspector Lloyd ct al is true,
the Uncompahgre Indian reservation is
and has been for some time, open for
the location OF mining claims.
If their position is not correct they
have either made a grand blunder or
else a gigantic grab of public lands;
thereby cheating honest prospectors
ana settlers out of what should justly
be their due An air of mystery sur
rounds the entire affair The governor
and his colleagues frankly confess their
action, but maintain that Il was done
upon the advice of a prominent attor-
ney. However, when requested to give
the name of the attorney they politely
declined to do so. stating that for rea-
sons entirely satisfactory TO themselves
they preferred to keep the name Sc
cret
The governor, Secretary of STATE
Hammond, Coal Mine Inspector Lloyd
and several others have either Jump
ed a large portion of the asphaltum
beds on the Uncompahgre reservation,
or else lawfully located them. Certain
it is that location stakes have been
erected on the property, and the no.
. tees Of location flied with the clerk
and recorder Of both Uintah and Car
bon county 1t is either a high handed
outrage or else lawful-it remains TO be
seen which.
According to Secretary of State Ham
mond's story, as told a reporter for
The Herald yesterday, the Uncompah-
gre reservation has been one in name
only and that it was never the inten-
ton of congress to make it an Indian
reservation; that the idea that it was
such grew out of the fact that the
president once issued a proclamation
relative Il H. This theory is entirely
at variance with that held by attor-
neys well versed in laws pertaining to
the land department of the govern
ment and among those thoroughly
conversant with the status of affairs
in connection with the reservation, the
action of the governor and his part
ners is looked upon as an arbitrary
usurpation of power.
WHICH Is RIGHT?
The situation in a nutshell is: The
register of the land office in this city
declares that neither the Unc0mpah-
gre nor Uintah reservations is open
for settlement. Governor Wells and MS
fellow locators, assert that the I'm
compahgre reservation is open for the
location of mining claims. Acting upon
this alleged belief the governor and
ed two claims each-ffty in all
on a gilsonite vein, thereby securing
the richest portion of the asphaltum
beds. The vein is found in the south
ern portion of the reservation. Both
the governor and the secretary of state
strenuously denied having received any
private advice through official sources
that would enable them TO gain an ad-
vantage over the citizens whose inter-
ests they are supposed TO protect. New
ertheless, it is somewhat strange that,
although the locations were made ia
the early part of last month, informa-
ton concerning them has just leaked
out. 1t is said that Senator Brown
gave it as his opinion that the reserva-
tion was open Tor the location of min
ing claims. The senator is not in the
city, but his secretary stoutly denied
the imputation. He declared that the
senator had never discussed the mat
ter, except in the senate, when ne once
had a short tilt with Senator Villas.
THE GOVERNORS STORY.
When called upon yesterday to state
his side of the case, Governor Wells
said: 1.-The Uncompabgre reservation
is open for the location of mining
claims. the Uintah reservation is not
MY statement is based upon advice re
ceived from one of the best known at
IDIIl6NS III lie SldlCs Jul AA-S I4oS4AAO
must decline to divulge. The reserva-
ton was opened, 1 think, last Decem-
Der, under certain conditions, under
the act of 1894. At the time the loca-
tiOns were made I was not consulted In
The matter and knew absolutely
nothing about it until informed thai
my name had been paced on two Of the
location stakes. AT first l demurred
but the matter was explained to my
y q nd 7 consented Il
remain as one of the locatOrs. If the
title is not valid [ am perfectly willing
to relinquish my claim without con-
test, or if anyone has a claim to the
same ground that is more valid than
mine, l shall pursue the same course
But If the claim is valid | assume than
Nhe people OF Utah would rather see me
obtain ii, than to see it gobbled up by
non-residenfs of this state. | have
never used my official position to fur.
Their my private interests and the in
sinuation that I received notice of the
reservation being open through officia
channels is absolutely false. Coal Mint
Inspector Lloyd made the locations
SECRETARY OF STATE HAMMOND
said: The locations were made under
advice of counsel that the Uncom
pahgre lands were open for loca
ton and settlement. AS Soor
as Inspector Lloyd finished the
work Of locating the claims, notices Il
that effect were filed in the recorder
office of both Uintah and Carbon coun
ties. This was done, as 1 understand
it, because the line between the twI
counties was close to the asphaltun
lands and it was simply an act Of pre-
caution. believe there are ten acre:
in each claim There was no secrecy
about the matter; we received no pri
waite information from Washington and
we were not on the inside track L
the reservation is open for location
and we think it is, then we have a.
good a right to the land as anyone.
Senator Brown contends that con
gress never created the reservation
that it was done through a prociana
ton issued by the president. We dix
not locate the claims in order to b
there in time when the reservation
should be thrown open by proclaGna
ton, or, in other words, to act tn
part of 'sooners,' but because w
thought we had legal right to do SC
Under the act of congress, in 1884
when the commissioners appointed t
allot the lands in severalty to the In
dams finished their work and reporte,
10 the secretary Of the interior an'
the report had received the secretary
approval, then the lands in excess o
the allotment were to be imnediatel.
thrown open for settlement. All thi
has been done and the asphaltum bed
are the excess land. 1t does not re
o1lire q, proclamation of the president
We have acted strictly in accordanc
with the law