The Elbert County tribune., 1906-12-13
BIC LAND FRAUDS
tAILRoAps IN UTAH EMPLOYED
DUMMY LocAToRs.
70 GoBBLE UP COAL LANDS

partiaI Report Of Federal Grand Jury
Leads to Indictment Of Railroad
and Fuel Companies and Their Of
ficiaIs.
Salt Lake.-The federal grand jury
which has been investigating co1l land
rauds in Utah and charges tina. rail-
,oad corporations have Disseminated
against certain shippers, made par
ial report Friday, in the United States
District Court. to Judge John A. Mar
ihail.
Indictments were returned against
he Union Pacific Railroad Company,
he Oregon Short Line Railroad Com
oany, the Union Pacific Coal Com
pany, the Utah Fuel Company, and
Ievera1 OF the highest officials repre-
,enting the Hartman and Gould COM
porations of Utah
The Indictment against the repre-
sentatives of the Gould interests en-
braces the Utah Fuel Company, H. G.
Williams. general manager or this
company; Robert Forester, the COM
pany's geologist; w. r. Foster, sec
retary to Robert Forester; Alex. NJ.
cowie, general manager Of the COM
pany'5 Wasatch store at Sunnyside,
Utah
Also Elroy N. Clark, the Utah Fuel
Company's attorney at Denver, and
George A Moore. the company's agent
1t Denver. They are charged with
iefrauding and attempting to defraud
The United States government, the
charges being based on the methods
pursued in acquiring title to coal land
N Utah.
Bench warrants for the arrest Of the
persons accused in the two indict-
nents were issued. Bonds in the case
Of each individual accused were fixed
Ut $4,000.
Fred r. Maynard of Washington, as
iistant attorney general, who has been
conducting the investigation before the
grand jury, is authority for the state
nent that two other indictments
charging perjury before the grand
Jury have been returned.
After the indictments had been re-
turned. bench warrants had been is
sued and the grand jury had adjourned
lntil the first Monday in January, AS
sistant Attorney General Maynard
stated that when the grand jury re-
sonvenes after the holidays the inqui'
Iition will be resumed.
The indictments returned Friday, he
said. mark only the beginning of the
governments probing operations in
Utah, and Wyoming, and the violations
of laws alleged in these indictments
ire only incidents of gigantic system
Of fraud that has been in operation in
The West for many years.
The Indictment against the Utah
Fuel Company and the six agents OF
that company Is based on the methods
ased in acquiring about 400 acres OF
coal lands in Sewer county, Utah. The
lands were filed on in March, 1905.
In a statement made Friday, Attor-
hey Maynard outlined the methods al
legged to have been pursued, as stated
by witnesses called before the grand
Jury.
Robert Forester, geologist and
mining expert of the Utah Fuel Com
pany, is alleged to have been charged
with the actual direction of the men
who fled on the lands. After Forres
Ter had prospected the ground George
"A. Moore, the Utah Fuel Company e
agent in Denver, went over the numer
BUS claims and on each one caused tc
be dug an excavation exposing the
,oal deposits. Dummy" locaters were
then secured to make filings on the
claims.
These were mostly young men. who
we're each paid $50, their expenses tc
and from the lands and SO pei diem
while they were employed in entering
he claims. There was an explicit un
derstanding in advance that the
claims were to be conveyed to the
Utah Fuel Company or its agents.
These dummies" were taken upor
the lands, the uncovered coal deposits
were shown to them, and Immediately
they filed on the lands, with applica
ton papers made out by the company's
attorney Major William H. Bird. Major
Bird has since died. All the entries
10 the 1,400 acres involved We're made
on the same date, March "a, 1905.
For each of the claims thus secured
1t was necessary that a payment o.
81 800 should be made to the govern
ment. Loans for this amount were
made by various persons. The gov
ernment prosecutors charge that the
persons from whom the loans wer,
secured were mere agents of the Goa
company.