Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1907-08-31
RESUME HEARING
IN ALBUQUERQUE
On Demurrers Fill
ed in Timber
Suits
JUDGE FALLS ARGUMENT
Claims Cases as Now
Brought are Usurpation of
Power of Congress. lssy.

Il deny the jurisdiction or any court
in this Territory deny the juris-
diction of the Supreme Court of the
United States. If the Territory is not
sovereign the United States would
be suing itself in instituting this ac-
ton. II it is a sovereign it cannot be
sued away without its consent
The foregoing is brief synopsis Of
the remarks made by Attorney Gen
eral Albert B. Fall yesterday in his
argument before Judge Ira A. Abb
bott in support of the demurrers filed
by him in the cases of the United
States of America versus the Terri
tory of New Mexico ct al, which were
brought by special assistant attorney
generals of the Federal government,
who are investigating alleged land
frauds. in New Mexico.
Speaks Fully Three Hours.
Judge Falls speech was at times i'm
passioned and consumed fully three
hours in its delivery. He took the
ground that the Territory was a SOW
ereign in a sense and as stated in the
quotation above, could not be sued
without its consent, unless sued as
State would be, and in that event 1t
would have to be in an original action
of the United States Supreme Court.
He declared that the court in which
the cases are now pending has NC
jurisdiction in the premises; that
neither the Territorial Legislature nor
Congress had given it any right. He
maintained also that Congress had
not conferred upon the Department of
the Interior or the Attorney General
of the United States the right to sue,
the Territory.
Matter for Territory to Settle.
If any legal contracts with refer
ence to lands were involved, he de-
clared it was purely matter for the
Territory to deal with and bring suits
upon and not the United States. He
said the lands given by the United
States to the Territory We're in fee
simple and Congress only had the
power to forfeit the land grants or
punish the Territory. The President,
he stated might indirectly in the ap-
pointment of the Governor, see
to it that the governor carried out GER
tain policies that nobody else could do
except through direct act of Congress.
He contended it was vain and use
less thing for the Federal government
to bring suit against the Territory,
which is creature of the United
States, when Congress could abolish
the Territorial government entirely If
it wanted to do So.
Usurpation Of Powers Of Congress.
Judge Fall remarked that the Unit
ed States Supreme Court had passed
upon these propositions as well as
land grants of similar character and
decided they were absolute gifts to
the Territory, and the United States,
in the absence of direct legislation OF
Congress, could not enforce any con-
dition which might be attached to
these donations of land from the pub
lie domain. In other words, he stat
ed that State or Territory could be
punished for not enforcing the pro-
visions connected with a donation OF
land from the public domain by Con-
gress passing an act giving United
States officials the right to bring
suits, but he claimed that no such
rights now existed.
Hearing to Be Resumed in Albuquer-
que.
When Attorney General Fall had
concluded, Colonel George w. Pri-
chard, former legal adviser of the Ter
ritory, began the argument on the de-
murrers he had filed in these suits.
He maintained that he had wrongfully
been made a party defendant, as at
the time the alleged illegal contracts
were made with the American Lum-
ber Company and Clark M. Carr he
was not attorney general
The hearing will be continued Mon
day morning at / o'clock in Albuquer-
que.