Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1905-08-21

s5N% NOxES-Ine Bs0tn2fck Tribune has estab1il
pabaished weakly, such decisious In contest cas-,
Of gsaeral interest to the pablie and special In
Once. = ~, "
July 20, 1904, Levi F. Wells present
ed an affidavit of contest, alleging
that ~" -.
He Is well acquainted with the tract
Of land embraced in the homestead
entry of Levi F. Wells, No. 1862, made
July 20, 1904, at the U. 8. Land Office
at O'NeiM, Nebraska, for the NE. quar-
ter of section 1, township "a n, of
range II w., and knows the present
condition of the same; that the said
Levi F. Wells at the time he made
said entry was not qualified home
stead entryman in this, to wit: that
prior thereto, on the goth day of May,
A. D. 1892, the said Levi F. Wells, at
the said U. 8. land office at O'Neill,
Nebraska, made homestead entry for
the following described tract Of land,
to wit: SIC. " SW. n, section rs, and
N. n NE. v and NE. u NV. ", Sec
ton 35, township 80, range g.; there
after, on the 18th day of November,
1892, the said Levi F. Wells, for valu-
able consideration, relinquished said
entry to the U. s.; that said relinquish-
ment was wholly voluntary and was
made for the purpose of speculation
on the public domain; that said
Wells Ibid not] for any cause lose or
forfeit said entry but his relinquish-
ment thereof was free and voluntary
and for the purpose of fraudulently
making money in the entry on said
land.
Aftiant further charges that said
entry No. 1862 for said ME. quarter
of section "a, range II W., was specu-
lattve and fraudulent and made in the
interest of another person and not
solely for the benefit of the said Wells;
and for further cause of action aft
ant says that he has prior and SUI
perior right to said land as against
said Wells; that at the time said entry
was made on said land af1ant was a
settler on said land, was residing
thereon and had valuable improve
ments thereon, worth about two thous-
| and dollars, with about one hundred
acres Of the same in cultivation and
aMant was at that time in every way
qualified homestead entryman and
afiant further charges and alleges
that the contest filed by the said Wells
against this atlantis former home
stead entry on said tract of land was
speculative, fraudulent and void and
filed for speculative purposes and in
the interest Of other persons and not
for his own benefit; that said Wells
was employed, hired and paid by
others than himself to file said con-
test with the view and purpose that
others than he might acquire title to
said land and that the said Wells by
reason of contest acquired no prefer
ence right to enter said land!
This affidavit was rejected by the
local officers on the ground that it did
not state a cause of action, it being
held by them that Wells, having
forfeited his former entry prior to the
passage of the act of June S, 1900, was
qualified under the provisions of said
act to make the entry in question, and
that the same was not therefore sub
ject to contest because of the fact that
he had made said former entry.
An appeal by Cox from the action of
the local officers, your Office by decis-
Ion of December ~, 1904, held as fol-
lows:
The original entry of Wells was
made prior to the act of June 5, 1900
81 Stat 267), and his right to make
a second entry is provided for in said
act, and therefore your action reject
ing the contest for insuficiency of
charge was correct and is hereby
affirmed.
From your Office decision Cox now
prosecutes an appeal to the depart
ment.
| An lN0lIl2N