The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-11-09
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VEDER B. PAINE CONTEST CASE
Supreme Court of Oklahoma Sus-
tains the Lower Court.

Guthrie, Q. T.. Nov. S.-After several
years of delay the supreme court of the
territory has handed down an opinion,
affirming the judgment of the court below,
in the celebrated land contest instituted
by Veder B. Paine in 1889, against the
townsite settlers for possession of the
100 acres of land known as East Guthrie,
a thickly settled and valuable subdivision
of the city of Guthrie. The local land
office rejected Paine's homestead fling in
1889 and subsequently on an appeal, the
secretary Of the interior decided against
Paine on the ground that Paine sought
to file on the land for speculative pur-
poses. Paine them brought suit in the
district court for possession of the land
but his petition was set aside on a demur-
rer, and the case was appealed TO the
supreme court On the hearing in the
supreme court only three judges were
qualified to sit in the cause, Judges Dale
and Blerer being disqualified, and the
court were unable to agree upon the de-
cision because two Of them, McAtee and
Scott, were In favor of the reversal of
the judgment of the lower court, and
Justice Burford was IN favor of affirming
the same. Inasmuch as this condition
operated as an affirmance of the Judgment,
Justice Burford handed down an opinion
affirming the opinion Of the lower court
Subsequently a re-hearing was granted,
the case re-argued and submitted to the
present court. Justice BurweIl, who
wrote ;he opinion handed down at the
present time, says in part:
The record In this case is very volumi-
nous, containing several hundred pages Of
closely typewritten matter, much Of which
has no bearing at all upon the issue pre-
scented in this cause; but we have care
fully read and considered the entire rec
ord, together with all OF the briefs fled
by each Of the parties, to the end that we
might reach a correct conclusion.
a number Of questions are presented by
the briefs fled on the re-hearins which
We're not argued in the original case, but
we entertain no doubt but that the opin-
ion heretofore fled by Justice Burford
correctly states the law as 20 the propo-
siJions discussed therein. II this is true.
then even though the questions raised on
the re-hearing were decided in favor Of
the applicant. they would not change the
judgment Of the lower court
'-rhe opinion written by Justice Bur
ford. We now adopt rs the opinion Of the
court. From this record, however. II
seems plain that Paine settled on the land
in controversy before any settlement was
made by the towusita settlers and = this
v ere submitted 20 Us on the evidence in
troduced before the land department.
our conclusions as 70 the fact would
probably be different from the findings
of the fact or the secretary ot the interior:
but, inasuuch as there seems evil
dence which tends 20 support the findings
OF the secretary Of the interior. we are
preolude5 from weighing the same. The
rule that the courts axe bound by the
findings Of the fact Of the secretary Of
the interior If there is any eviasnce. 10
support them. in some cases might an
pear harsh. but this rule was laid down
by the highest court OF the land. and 50
isr as We have been able % ind. has
been universally .'owsI. Thereso-a we
feel bound % adhere thereto.
AFTER due consideration we must say
that We find no error in the judgment %
me court below. Il viii. therefore. BE
affirmed an OF the justices concu-ri,g ev-
cePt Hainer. Who vas OF counsel. in sly
ting, and NcAtee, Withholding an expres-
sion OF opinion at this time
The opinion. however. does not settle he
controversy. as she ease Viii b taken p,
the supreme court Of the Unitea states