The Washington times., 1906-11-28
2ATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS
INDICTED.


The Federal grand jury. which has
been sitting here, has adjourned 10
await the outcome of the investiga-
tion. Prior TO adiourning the jury
decided to indict three corporations
and two individuals for land frauds
in the State of Wyoming.
Special Agent Michael A Meyeudorff
told the commission OF Investigations
which he had made amt which showed
that the Union Pacific Railway was in
1903 procuring thousands of acres OF
coal lands by paying dummies to file
on them and then give it power Of at
torney 70 agents OF the Union Pacific
Coal Company.
AS the result OF his protest 10 the
Land Department IL is claimed he was
transferred 10 Los Angeles.
Evidence, it is said, was produced
tending to show that Senator Warren
OF Wyoming has exercised strong infiu-
cuce over the Land Department
Col Percy :. Sewers, special agent
Tor the Land Department In Utah.
brought 70 the commission abstracts for
$3.50 acres OF land owned by the Utah
Fuel Company in Carbon county. Utah.
Most OF the entries for this land were
made through Robert Forester. geo
logist for the Utah Fuel Company.
Paid to Make Declarations.
The method employed. according to
Sewers was for the fuel cOmnGny-g
agent TO pay somebody TO make a dec
laration on the land Then tn, land
was turned over 70 The fuel company.
which made cash eutry. Forester paid
all the fees in the land office. The Wit
ness said.
II know OF several cases in which
these filings were contested and the men
So Contesting We're bought of"
The witness explained that the Land
department made peculiar ruling re-
gaTding what is and wat is not coal
lands. Nature did not place coal i'm
Utah according TO the rulings of the
department exclaimed the witness,
in issuing patents on 4,J00 acres of coal
lands near SunuNside, but the depart-
lnent wrote me that they had granted
the patent on December L despite the
fact my letter was written on Decem-
her 6.
Ignored by Department
Then / tried TO get the department
to classify the lands designating what
was coal ana what was agriculture
lands that there might be no more
trouble. No attention was paid 90 my
request
captain George Hair also special
agent or the department of l tah, testi-
lied that the holdings OF the Utah Fuel
Company and of the Pleasant Valley
Coal Company in Carbon county.
amounted to 81. .-53 acres he explained
that great deal of this was land en-
tered on by the State of Utah IN puT-
Suance Of the enabling act by which the
Government gave Utah fully 1900 0O0
acres OF land. Under the provisions OF
the law, however, the State could
enter on agriculture lands only which
were worth about Sl.25 an acre. Coal
lands We're sold by the Government az
from SO 70 SO an acre according TO To-
cation This was apparently too much
Tor the corporations TO pay, accordingly
they succeeded i'm inducing the State
land board TO make entries on coal
lands as agriculture lands ana these
lands would be turned over TO the cor
porations despite the protest OF the
agents
do you realize" asked the attorney
for the RIO Grande railroad that the
governor of the state. secretary Of state.
and other public of1CIals were members
OF the land board and have charge OF
all the lands acquired By the state un-
der the enabling act2"
Failed to Examine Lands.
'T do replied the witness. "hut
want TO state that there is a vast dif-