The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-03-14
RECORD IGNORED
BY LAND OFFICE
Patent Approved in Face of Surveyor
Generals Report.
HOMESEEKER IS WATCHED
WEALTHY SYNpICATES ARE AL
LOWED THEIR OWN WAY.

/
in which valuable coal lands IN
Carbon and Emery counties have
/ been procured by agents OF the Pleas
/ ant Valley Coal company and its sue
/ cessOr, the Utah Fuel company. dis
| closes a peculiar line of procedure
/ adopted by the commissioner of the
| have profted.
| In reference to this phase of the mat
| ter. man who has had some expert
! ence with the land office said yester-
! Cav:
II a humble homeseeker undertakes
/ 10 homestead a tract of sage brush and
! alkah, mis- every move is watched with
/ care. and special agents are sent to in
/ Nestlgate his claims and 10 verify his
| aflidavits But the big corporations
| step IN and take up coal lands Us graz
| ing lands. and unless some private
( citizen protests the entry at his own
| expense the government gives him
patent.
The records of the land office show
/ that the statement is correct. as far
/ as the latter part OF il is concerned
! There are many cases where the coal
/ lands have been patented as era zin..
/ lands, through a selection lay the state
/ at the request OF interested persons.
Government Surveys Ignored.
; The interior department pays a sur
/ VeyOr general 10 attend to the survey
/ ing of public lands and to report as 40
! their character, but the land office is
} seldom guided by these reports fur
/ Their than TO order d publication OF the
I list OF lands selected by an individual
: for grazing or agricultural purposes
when that land has been declared min
/ eral land
( One Of the conspicuous cases of this
:. IL
Forester. father Of Robert FORESTER
| Of the Utah Fuel company. of a tract
Of land at Castle Gate. within a short
! distance of. and adjoining the Castle
! Gate mines This selection, which was
! taken up as grazing land, comprises
/ $50 acres and Is the North Z :. f. IA.
4 and the s W. L s. F. a of section l.
and the y. w. u y. L. 4 sec. u. town
( ship Is south. range East. OF this
/ land the plat showed the following re-
\ port from the surveyor generals Of
: flee.
The new surveyed portions OF this
/ township consist Of broken mountains
containing several seams Of good lis-
I mite coal, easily accessible and close TO
market The whole is returned as coal
/ land
(SignedD a D. FERRON.
United States Department Survey
/ or"
Dec. %. 1881.
When Forrester's selection Of this
land a. grazing land, was forwarded
/ to the local land office and the tract
! was found 20 be good coal land. a notice
; or his selection was ordered published
! i'm newspaper at Price. in Carbon
! county. This notice merely gave a de-
{ scriptiOn Of the land by section and
/ township. such notice as can De seen
any day in neWspa perS. which are pub
/ lished in towns near unOccUpied lands.
I \ notice which is read and understood
/ by not more than one OF every thOus-
/ and readers 1t stated that a hearing
/ would be had from prOtestants at the
\ land office in Salt Lake on Monday.
/ July IA. 1902. No one appeared at the
r hearing TO challenge the sworn state
( ment Of Forester that the land con-
! tanned no known deposits of coal. and
/ Notwithstanding the report OF the sur
! VeYOr generals office that II contained
/ several seams of good Ignite coal. cas-
: lily accessible and close to market"
} Forrester's selection was forwarded TO
] Washington. under the rules which
( govern procedure in the land office.
/ without protest If he secures a patent
/ Forester will pay S24O for a tract of
/ grazing land that as cold land would
/ have cost him $1,000. The case is still
! pending. although ne is in possession
Cases Not Investigated.
/ There are many large tracts which
{ have been entered in the same way.
/ in which the existence of coal could
/ easily be proven and the difference in
! the price of grazing land and coal land
/ would pay. many times over. the cost
! of an investigation In the Forester
( case the entire expense of an investi-
/ cation of the character of the land by
! an agent OF the land office would not
/ have exceeded 5000. and the govern
/ ment would have been ahead almost
/ $4,000.
| Persons thoroughly familiar with the
| Forester land declare that the veins
! of coal are so prominent that the
! Veriest. tyro i'm the business would not
( hesitate 10 pronounce it coal land Il
: is situated within a stones throw OF
/ the tracks of the Rio Grande Western
( railway. and is almost completely sur
4 rounded by lands which have been
| purchased as coal lands
/ Utah Fuel Men Stand Pat.
! A representative of The Herald called
! on General Manager II. G. Williams
| and Robert Forester Of the Utah Fuel
| company yesterday. and asked each Of
/ them if he wished TO make any state
! ment on the story In Sundays paper
| concerning the cOmpany's connection
! with the coal land grabs in Carbon
| county
NO. sir. I have nothing to say" said
! Mr.. Williams. Had l been consulted
| before the story was printed. L might
| have said something.
! The reply of Mr.. FORESTER was
| couched in the same language. but he
| added;
| i knew The Herald was working on
! the story three or four days before IT
! was printed"
In reply TO another query, he said;
| Some of the statements are false
! and misleading. but I do not care at
| this time TO make any statement con-
| cernin= them"
| Position of State Land Board
| Concerning the selection of public
| lands by the state for sale 10 individ-
| UaIs, Byron GToo, secretary of the state
| board OF land commissioners, said:
THE state land board has nothinC
| TO do with the character of these lands
| The selection is sent to the local land
| office, which has d complete description
| of all unOccupied public lands, as to
| whether they are mineral or non-min-
| eraI. 1t is my understanding that, I'M
| less protest is made. the selections are
! accepted when the required affidavits
| have been made. The commissioner OF
| the general land Office has ruled that III
| "a Of dc T,oH