The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-07-28

list that are of the character contem-
plated by such act of congress, ana M
tended to be granted thereby; but where
lands embraced in such lists are not OF
the character embraced by sueh act OF
congress, and are not intended 10 De
granted thereby, the list, so far as these
lands are concerned, shall be perfectly
null and void, and no right, title, calm
or interest shall be conveyed thereby.
And your orator further shows that in
obedience to said law, il became and WAS
the duty or the then commissioner, Tor
the want of proof that the lands named
and described in said lists OF selections
were of the character contemplated py
said act of congress, to withhold MS GER
tificates and return them 10 the iocal
land Officers of complainant, but either
through inadventure, mistake, or Clear
error of law said commissioner dld ap,
prove said list, and under his hand ana
seal, did indorse his certificate thereon
State Party to Fraud.
And your orator AYERS and charges
that neither in equity and good con,
science, nor in law, were the lists OF idho /
although so certified, available 10 con-
vey any right. title. claim or interest,
from complainant TO the state of Utah. TO |
any of the lands herein concerned, De
cause the state of Utah while not as |
government. or collective DOqS 80 M |
tending, was by and through the failure |
of certain of it's officers and agents 10 !
safeguard its interests as herelnbe1ore
described, made to appear as an active !
party to a gross fraud upon complainant
in matter in which the complainant had
been bestowing d gift or grant to said
state, and had been made the most poten-
tial factor in such fraud, though in small
sense the beneficiary thereof, and be
cause the commissioner of complainant |
general land office acquired no juriSdic-
ton to act upon such states dppllcatIOn
to have said lists so certified by reason
of the terms of the act of congress above !
set FORTH
How Company Got Lands.
The bill goes on to relate in detail the
methods by which title to each piece or
land before described passed from the
United States to the state land board, TO
the applicant in behalf of the Utah Fuel
company, and then to the company.
Names and dates the details of the de-
scriptions not being repeated, are as fol-
lows:
Robert Forester: Application July 3.
1860; state agreed TO sell. same date; pat
ent issued. June 81 1902; transferred to
Utah Fuel company. June "a, 1892; con-
sideratiOn, 81.
Robert FORESTER: Application, July ?,
1900; state agreed to sell the same day;
patent issued April Is, 1902; property con-
veyed for 81 to the Utah Fuel company
June "A of the same year.
James Forester: Application July 2,
1900; state agreed to sell same day; de-
scription filed July ); patent issued June
o. 1902 and property conveyed TO Utah
Fuel company the next day for 81.
May Kimbali applied also on July ,. 1900,
received a patent Sept 8, 1902, having
conveyed the property to the Defendant
nearly two months before for 81 and other
valuable considerations.
ChagIes Mostyn Owen Figures.
Chares Mostyn owen was also an appli-
cant, making application Nov. q, 1901.
Dec. IS of the year following a patent
was issued for the lard and five days
later Owen transferred the property 10
! the Utah Fuel company for 81 and other
considerations.
William H. Myers applied July 8, 1900,
| and received the states patent Aug. Il
! 1902. having given for 500 a quit claim
same year, nearly two months before re-
| ceiving the patent. The transfer was TO
| the Utah Fuel company
| Clarence B. Sprague wanted his on the
| same day, July 2, 1900, and June z, 1907
he, too, received a patent, having ten days
| before given a quit claim deed for, the
consideration of 81 TO the Utah Fuel COM
| pany.
| piled for land July 2. 1900 received a pat
l. ent June a. 1902. and transferred her in
| terest to the Utah Fuel company June 70
! of the same year.
Edwin L. Carpenter made application
| July g. 1900. received a patent June q,
| 1902. and transferred his property to the
| Utah Fuel company June Is of the same
| year.
John j. Judson "also ran" on Jan. 20,
| 1901 and received his patent Oct. o. 1893
which he, too. transferred to the Titan
| Fuel company on Oct 81 of the same year
! Andrew w. Down applied the same day.
| Jan. %, 1901, and received his patent oct
| 22, 1903. He transferred his interests for
| 81 and other considerations to John j.
| Judson and wife, and on the same date
Oct. 81, 1903, "the said John j. JudsOn and
wife by warranty deed for and in con-
sideration of the sum of one dollar con-
veyed to the defendant
Land Office Criticised.
The actions of the commissioner of the
general land office are then taken up and
| discussed. The court is asked TO set aside
| the decisions regarding the lands men
| toned in the bill, as follows:
| Your orator AYERS as a further rea-
| son why said certified selections should
/ by this honorable court be avoided, and
| all the conveyances by which said de-
| PENDANT claims the right of possession or
/ title to the lands herein described. should
| be set aside and held for naught and
| complainant fully restored to the posses
| sion of said lands, and all clouds upon
! the title removed therefrom, that the de-
| cison and certificates of the commission
| err of the general land office was made
| through inadvertence mistake and by the
| application of erroneous rules. IN this.
| that said commissioner held and decided
! that the lands concerned were DOn~mln-
| eraI lands without any legal evidence
| before him tending to show proof, and
| contrary to the rules and regulations
heretofore made and issued through the
secretary of the interior; and, further,
! that although IL appeared by the nOta-
| tions of the local land officers of com
| plainant that many of the descriptions
of land embraced in such lists were min
| eral lands, as appeared from the plats
| and records in their office, and notwith-
| standing the report Of the surveyor of
! complainant. and the accompanying field
| notes OF his survey show ed there were
! well defined veins of coal on said lands
| of superior quality and that coal was
in large quantities exposed to view on
! much of said lands, and that the same
was chiefly valuable for said deposits
and of little or no value for any other
| purposes said commissioner did hold. de-
eide and certify that all said lands were
nCn-mneral lands acting under this mis-
take of law; that no lands were coal
coal in sufficient quantities to make the
land chiefly valuable therefore was
! known to exist on each smallest legal
subdivision of each description embraced
in said list. and that on evidence would
be regarded by him as tending to estab-
lish the fact that said lands were coal
lands, unless it demonstrated that there
were actual outcropping of coal on each
legal subdivision, or by tunnels used i'll
connection with an open mine; whereby,
in consequence of these mistakes of said
commissioner all of said mineral lands
were, without authority of law, certified
to the state of Utah.
~.