The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1907-06-01

C<AAHt <Auo0NAIOy SCAECfAl-00 ILL SACGIs &Ak0e
while the secretary would not be jus.
titled in directing the Withholding of
the deeds, yet he believed the best
interests of the Territory seemed to
require that for the time being the
deeds should be withheld. Upon this
intimation the deeds were withheld
ON he ground that they had never
been executed, and the matter was
presented to Congress. MIR. Lacy stat
ed in this case, he thought that 40
legislation was needed. and the secre-
uary in his letter to me of May 24th
said that the House of Representa-
tives was loath TO consider legislation
looking toward the enforcement of the
June 81. 1899. This case was in no
particular like the Pennsylvania De
velopment Company transaction. Pos
session of the land had not been de
livered. No land had been used OF
wasted by the destruction of timber
,or otherwise No deeds had been ex-
ecuted or delivered There were no
territorial interests which had suffer
ed for which it would be wise to OBJ
tain indemnity.
In this connection, it is interesting
to note tnat Mr.. George W. Prichard
then attorney general or February 2,
1906, gave an opinion to the effect
that h contract was a legal n and
should be completed, and that, not
withstanding the severe condemnation
you have visited upon Captain Reid
Prichard's successor for advising the
delivery of the Pennsylvania Develop
me1 Company deeds, yet Mr.. Prich-
ard has now been re-instated in the
office of attorney general.
Repeatedly l called to the attention
of n department of the interior va
rious contracts or propositions for the
sale of lands in large quantities and
of timber. such as those with Bye,
Paxton, Burkdoll and others, III l nev
er received any definite instruction
or directions in these matters. and
indeed, the best lawyers of the de-
partment appeared to differ materially
IS to the construction of the law, on
account of the difficult and eompli-
Gated nature of the questions involv-
ed.
l desire again to impress upon you,
as attempted to do during the inter
view l had with you, that from the
very beginning of my. administration
| left no stone unturned to find a def
mite, clear and practical solution of
all the questions connected with the
administration of the lands granted
to the Territory-that it was my m
slant endeavor to ecu from the fed
eral government a clear definition as
to the extent of its supervisory pow
ers over those transactions, and as to
it's purposes, if any, of preceding
law. l was confronted at every urn
with the necessity of exercising ad-
ministrative discretion, when parties
to contracts and arrangements entered
into by my predecessor came ito San
ia Fe prepared to carry out their part
in those contracts. In each instance
the Commissioner of Public Lands re-
ferred them TO me-, and it w1as l who
had to take h responsibility. l could
do nothing else than exercise my best
Judgment according to the necessities
of each case. Whenever 1 had receiv-
ed any intimation in any particular in
stance as to the desire or preference
of the federal authorities L did not
fail to follow the suggestions so made
| was confronted with the very embar
RAISING alternative of entirely repud-
Eating the acts of my predecessor in
office on grounds involving legal
questions, on which even the lawyers
of the federal government Disagree
or of carrying out these agreements
in such as l WAS firmly con
WINGED the rights of the Territory
would be in no way impaired, if in
the future it might be decided that
such transactions were in violation of
the law. Such an instance was the
Pennsylvania Development Company
case, and l maintain that the action
| tOok W "a al act of administrative
discretion, which could not be charg-
ed against me, even if it were an er-
ror in judgment. 1 further maintain
that it was not an error in judgment,
but for the best interests of the Ter
rftory, whose interests 1 was bound
to safeguard to the pest of my ability
it was neither improper, lille
gal nor fraudulent.
Mr.. Assistant Attorney General
Cooley, when he prepared his report
which forms the declared basis of
your structures of my official conduct
labored under serious misapprehen-
sion both as u the law and the facts,
in relation to the Pennsylvania Devel
opment Company transaction You
say: This report to the Department
of Justice related to your delivery Of
certain deeds to the Pennsylvania De-
velopment Company. 1t appears that
the grant of land which was agreed
to before you became Governor was
- to- fo1a o-ocS1r fror1dnlon and