Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-14
hI Amount Reoog m Value Of
Sect on Of Grazing Land.
MONEY DIVIDED NIO TWO EQUAL PARIS
Half Faid for Securing Of Entryman, Rest
Went or Land.
C0@sToCK NAMED as CHIEF BENEFICIARY
Former Defendant and big Ranch
Owner Recognized as Man who
stood Behind General
Proposition.

Possibly the most interesting testimony
yet brought out in the present land trial
In which Thomas NJ Huntington. Fred
Hoyt and Ami b. Todd are the principal
defendants was that Of Irving d. Hull, who
was on the stand nearly the entire fore
noon OF Saturday. 1t was developed dur
ing Huls evidence that the sum Of $500
had been fixed as the fiat figure OF the
valuation Of a full section of land in the
grazing country Of Sheridan and Cherry
counties, and the big cattle men were will
ing to invest that amount Of money in each
section to which they could acquire title
The money divided into two punches OF
1900 each. The first $500 was to pay for
the securing Of entrymsn. their fling fees
and expenses, and the leases they would
make for grazing purposes to the cattle
men during the time required for them to
make final proof and for commissions to
the agents securing the entrymen. The
remaining $500 was to be paid for the fun
| section claims II the entrymen wanted to
sell after making final proof, the prefer
ence to buy being promised TO the cattle
and ranch men putting up the first $500
expense money.
The evidence Of Hull showed that there
was a very general understanding among
all the old soldiers, who had made the Al
inEs that they could make 800 out Of the
proposition on final proof. The government
attorneys brought out the admission from
/ Hull that he had been solicited by Hunt
ington to secure old soldiers to make fl-
ings in the grazing country and that good
money was to be made out of II, and that
the ranch owned in part by w. G. Com
stock would be the direct beneficiary OF
these hllngs and entries. and stood back
OF the general proposition.
The first witness examined Saturday
morning was A. NJ Clark Of Logan. Ia,
who testified similarly to the preceding
witnesses Of Friday afternoon, and gave
the further testimony that: Hull told us
that we could get $50 a year lease money
for the land and $500 for II when we proved
m II we wanted TO sell II. OF we could
continue to lease It to the cattle men"
i Hull Tells "Details.
Irving D. Hull Of Woodbine' Ia. who
has figured so conspicuously In both the
present and previous trial WIS the principal
witness. He said:
"T am a farmer by occupation and
soldier Of the war of the rebellion, having
served in an Iowa regiment for three years.
I have known Thomas NJ. Huntington for
about three years, being introduced to him
by my brother, James Hull, who Is a
tanchman near Gordon. first saw
| Huntington TO Nalh 10 MN At -NOiloAhi
Neb., a little while before the Kinkald act
went into effect l met him on the plat
form at the depot, and we afterwards
went into a Pullman car and talked for
about an hour We talked on homestead
ing matters and he asked me II would
not turn around and go back TO Woodbine
I from Norfolk and get declaratory state
ments from old soldiers 70 file on land.
! He said he wanted as many as he could
get just as quick as the law went into
effect on June %, 1904.
He said that the expenses OF the old
| soldiers making the filings would be paid,
| including filing fees and transportation
! out OF the lease money they would get, and
! that they would only be expected to visit
| the land every six months The soldiers
who had the longest service In the army
were preferred He said, also, the men
who leased the land would pay the entry
man $500 for the land after he had proven
up.
Dividing the Money.
something was said about Mr. Com
stock being one OF the parties with whom
the arrangements could be made. The
ranchmen. he said. would be willing to
4 pay $500 for the lands during the time OF
! hling and inal proof and that out OF this
J $500 all the expenses were to be paid in
/ Guiding the $50 per year grass lease, and
| that the balance Of 800 was 10 60 to the
! parties securing the entrymen as their
| commission. My compensation was to come
/ out Of the S10O part OF which was TO go
! to Huntington and part to my brother
! James and I was TO be paid out OF what
my brother got for his share. Huntington
| told me that as I was an old soldier my
self / could do better than my brother
James, who was not a soldier. by soliciting
! old comrades TO make the filings. In my
talk with Huntington he said that he had
! driven out from Gordon some forty or
/ fifty miles TO see Comstock and at first
| Comstock said he didn't think that he
wanted any filings, but when Huntington
mentioned the old soldiers 10 him Com
stock became interested Huntington told
me that he could place all the filings OF
old soldiers that could get and that we
| could make money out OF IT,"
How He worked II.
The witness then went on 20 tell that
ne accepted the proposition OF Huntington
| and went back 10 Woodbine, where he se-
I cured seventeen old soldiers to make filings
| on these conditions, and that the leases all
| ran to Huntington. He personally paid
| the expenses OF the entrymen from Wood
| blne to Gordon and return but he did not
nay any OF the filing fees or hotel and
! livery expenses at Gordon He did not
know who paid these expenses. He was
| reimbursed about O week afterwards for
| the money that he had expended for trans
! pOrtatlon for the entrymen, and his COM
mission besides. This money was sent %
J him by his brother James Hull at Cor.
don After this the witness sent other
soldier entrymen to Gordon on the same
terms and had sent about forty men In all
from different parts OF Iowa 10 make
filings He stated further that IN each or
the declaratory statements made out by
him for the old soldiers that Thomas M
Huntington was Invariably designated as
the locating agent
Correspondence Goes In.
The remainder Of Hulrs testimony related
70 certaln correspondence betWecn HINT