The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1902-01-17
CASE SETTLED.
Worlds Renowned Section 80 Case Done
With

Worlds Renowned Section 80 Case Done
With.
The Hnal chapter in the case Of the
s Midway company VS.. Frank Eaton ct
( al. has been closed, the United States
supreme court having handed
down ills decision. 1t is in favor Of
) Eaton, Merritt and others. and de-
) feals Tie claims of the Midway com
: rany. The decision of the stale SUI
!; preme court of Minnesota is now at
: tirmed, with costs, by the highest
court in the land, and this ends the
: case, which may he properly descrih-
! ed Us the human interest side of the
: famous "Secl ion 81 case" which has
I been in litigation for seventeen
years.
In tile land department.. where the
case was most bitterly contested. the
defendant, Eaton, was represented by
!, Wayne McVeagh, of Philadelphia,
former attorney general Of the Unit
ed States; Burdett, Thompson &
Law. and Brainerd & Lee, of WASH
ingto and opposed them were
] James X. Reddington. Manning &
Fox, of Washington. and p. II. Sey-
mOur, Duluth.
liz 1854 the United States negOti lat
ed IL treaty with certain Sioux half
. breeds 10 relinquish their title to
land lying on the western shore OF
Lake Pepin, in the Mississippi river.
! near Lake City. In lieu Of these
I lands the half-breeds were to select
other lands in any part Of the public
domain. In order 10 identify the
half-breeds, scrip was isshed TO them
specifying how much iand each was
! entitled iotake up. The law provid-
ed that no transfer of the scrip should
: he valid.
The lialf-breeds soon began TO dis
pose OF their scrip, however, and one
of them. Grille MUreau. execut ed
power of attorney to locate land to
Eaton, and another power of aitor-
iorney 10 sell the land TO Leonidas
: Merritt Eaton. in 1883. located the
: scrip OH 800 acres in section 80 in the
( name of MOreau. Merritt. as attOr-
ney in fact for Moreau. conveyed TO
s Eat on and The other scrip defendants
Z VI. Lnnstortf. now deceased, Of Mil
: waukee; Leonidas Merritt, r. II.
Y .,,,I A ,lz ,l,f, inn In
: interests through Eaton.
In 1884 'rhos. Hyde, of Ely, who
once could have sold his interest Ia
Col. Ptckands of Cleveland for a for
tune took IL presumption on the land
described. alleging that the land had
! been locate ed in violation of the law
by the scrip l0caLOrS. The local land
office upheld the scrip locat ions. Tut
! il was reversed by Secretary Villas.
and his reversal was sustained by Sc
creLary Noble. The secretaries held
that the simultaneous execution of
the two powers of attorney for cash
considerations, accompanied by de-
livery of the scrip, amounted TO a
plan TO evade the statute prohibiting
the transfers of tins kind IF sc. ip.
At the hea ing it, developed that
Hyde had entered intoa contract to
transfer the land, in case he was sue
cessful. and the secretaries held this.
too, was in violation of the law and
that neither Eaton nor Hyte was en-
titled to the land.
Immediately when this decision be.
came known there was a rush for the
land Office Parties said to represent
the Minnesota Iron, Germ mia Iron
and Midway companies obtained FL
ings ON parts of the covtted land.
!: Since then section 80 has ben i'm con-
slant litigation in state aid federal
5 courts. ~, sp.
( In December, 1899. Judge Nicer, of
! the district court of Duluth. over
! ruled the decisions of Secretaries
!: Villas and Noble and SCI aside the
) patent under which the Midway com
5 pany claimed and awarded title To
! scrip defendants, Eaton ct. al. The
supreme court Of Mimi sofa sustain.
! ed this decision and then it went up
! to the United States stpreme court.
l.. G. Harris went to Washington re-
s presenting Eaton and j. L. Washburn
was there representingother defend
g ants.
!. The attorneys for Eaton commended
! that while it may be Illegal to convey
s the Sioux scrip the law does not pro-
( hibit conveyance Of THE land obtained
8 under it, 1t develops that the object
& OF the government in prohibiting the
Z transfer of the scrip was to avoid dis.
8 putes between the sctipee and third
3 persons, which the government might
be called on to settle,
Thomas f. Cole.
NE Nd