The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-08-10
THE LAND DEAL.


 whole pages to telling the people about Johnston defrauding the University out of valuable coal lands.
 Johnston sold the lands for $l2 an acre to the Sloss-Sheffield Go. This company paid s56.0o0 into the State treasury for the lands. The fight against Johnston was the cause of annulling the deal and the State paid back the $S60o0 to the Sloss- Sheffield Company-along with 5000 as attorney fee, making $6l.0Oo out of State treasury.
 Today the Sloss Company has the land they bought also the s56ooo in it's ex- is some worthless mineral lands which they traded. The land they traded will not bring on an average s an acre.
 The detractors of Governor Johnston have cost the tax-payers at least $40 900 but the lawyers got their fee.
 We don't hear so much about the land deal as formerly.
 The above Is from The Bessemer Work T. an. The facts about the land deal are to the value of the lands and the desir- ability of their sale. Joseph F. Johnston. then Governor. induced the Board of Trustees of the University to sell 4.4S0 acres of the mineral land. There was no notice given of the meeting of the Board of Trustees, as was required by the stat ute. There were only five of the members of the Board of Trustees present, includ- ing the Governor, and a ma atority of those pI esent did not know for what purpose the meeting was called. These lands had been used in promoting the organization of the Sloss- Sheffield Steel and Iron Com- pany under an option which was given by the Governor to his warm, conGden- tial personal friend General E. w. Ruck- CT. This option was given without any authority whatever, and was never known by any member of the Board of Trus- tees, until after the investigation was made that such option was in existence Johnston, who was then Governor, with his influence induced bare majority of the Trustees present to consent to a sale of these lands at s126o per acre.
 There were so many questionable acts connected with this transaction and so much irregularity. which was brought about by the willy Governor. that an in- vestigation was made and disclosed such a condition of facts that the Board of Trustees. by a resolution, instructed the employment of attorneys and the institu- l ton of proceedings for setting aside and vacating the said sale. In the mean time | it was ascertained that the lands were very valuable to the University for leas- ing purposes, several persons stating that they were worth as much as from $40 to $50 per acre, or even more. The suit was instituted by filing a bill, and on motion to dismiss the bill for the want of equity. decree was rendered everything said motion. From this decree an appeal was taken and the Supreme Court affirmed said decree; thereby holding that the bill contained equity. It was to be inferred that the result of the suit would be the restoration of the lands to the Univer- sity. and the return of the money to the Sloss- Sheffield Steel and Iron Company. A proposition of compromise was made by the Sloss- Sheffield Steel and Iron Com pany. which as first made, was resisted by the attorneys of the University, upon the ground that it did not put the Uni versity in as good condition as it was before the sale. Other propositions were made, and finally a compromise was eff fected. which was as follows: large and the most valuable portion of the lards purchased by the Sloss-Sheffieid Steel and Iron Company was restored to the University. and the other portion of the lands was to be exchanged with the Sloss-Sheffield Company for lands of equal or greater value. the purpose of the exchange being to body up the lands owned by the University and thereby make them more effective for leasing pur- poses One of the Inducements which led the Trustees to consent to this exchange was that the special representative of tho University. as we'll as other experts, tes- tfied that the land to be exchanged by the Sloss- Sheffield Company to the Uni versity was much more valuable and much richer in coal than was the land which the University was to exchange to the Sloss-Sheffield Company; some of them stating that the lands to be ex- changed to the University contained four times as much coal as those that the University would deed to the Sloss-She field Company. As a part of this com pI onlise and settlement. it was expressly stipulated that the Sloss-Shef1eld Com- pany should pay to the Board of Trus- tees nearly 800 in cash, $2,500 of which was to be used in the payment of the attorneys for the effective services which they had rendered.
 So. the result of the litigation was as follows The sale irregularly and inval- idly made by Governor Johnston was set aside; the $56ooo wrongfully collected from the Sloss-Sheffield Company was re- turned the best portion of the lands at tempted to be sold to the Sloss- Sheffield Steel and Iron Company was deeded back to the University; the remainder of the land was exchanged with the Sloss-Shef- field Company for other lands much more valuable than the lands originally sold, and had the effect of bodying up the University lands, so as to make them much more valuable and effectual for leasing purposes; the Sloss-Sheftield Com pany paid the attorneys fee of $2.50O and in addition paid the University between S6 GOO and $7,O00. Not a dollar was paid | to the attorneys for the University out of the State Treasury. The fee agreed upon and paid was $2.5OO to be divided between three attorneys.
 l The circumstances of this transaction