Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1907-06-04
HACERMAN HARD HIT
By PLUCKY PR|CHARD
Caustic, Convincing Reply Showing Up Holowness,
Insincerity and Weakness of Fake Reform
Governors Plea.


erman to President Roosevelt is
found the following paragraph relat-
ing to the application of Bonham and
Holt and others for the purchase of
! certain lands belonging to the Terri
tory:
In this connection it Is interesting
| to note that Mr. G. W. Prichard, then
Attorney General, on February 2,
1906, gave an opinion to the effect
that the contract was legal one
and should be completed, and notwith.
standing the severe condemnation
| you have visited on Captain Reid
Prichard's successor, for advising the
delivery of the Pennsylvania Develop
ment Company deeds, yet Mr.. Prich-
ard has now been re-instated in the
Office of Attorney General
Attorney General Prichard was seen
at his Office this morning by reporter
ter of the New Mexican, and was
asked If he wished TO say anything
concerning the above statement. He
said:
THE man who wrote that para
graph. whether Hagerman or his at
torney, either did not know what he
was talking about, or intended 10
mslead and deceive the President. |
never gave an opinion that any con-
tract between the Territory and Bon
ham and Holt was legal one. There
was no occasion for an opinion on
the legality Of any such contract.
did give an opinion to Mr.. A. A. Keen,
Commissioner of Public Lands, on
February 2, 1906, as to his authority
to make deeds covering certain lands
belonging to the Territory, for the
purchase of Which there were sixty
two applicants, no one Of whom was
asking for more than one hundred and
sixty acres. In that opinion ! said:
. Seeing no irregularities in the pro-
ceedings referred to that would dis
qualify the Territory from disposing
OF the lands mentioned, ! am oil the
opinion that you, as Commissioner
of Public Lands of the Territory
have the authority to make deeds tt
, the applicants upon their paying the
, purchase price that may be agreed on
SO long as such price is not below the
minimum price fixed by the act OF
Congress and that such action or
your part would not be in violation
of either the Act of Congress ap
!, proved June q, 1898, or the laws Of
the Territory Hereunder.
"The lands applied for in this case
were published for sale in a newspa
per in the land district where the
: lands were located, Applications fo
purchase were made under this pub
I lished notice and no application wa
o considered where the price Offered
was below the minimum fixed by law
( or the tract OF land desired exceeded
one hundred and sixty acres to an
O one person. Such was the opinion
4 gave. Now what was the Opinion
!. of Captain Reid, my successor
4 thought to be SO similar to mine b.
a Mr.. Hagerman. Referring to tn
9 Pennsylvania Development case a
> the time Mr.. Reid advised deeds t
. be delivered to Mr.. Hopewell, th
/, Company's agent, Mr. Reid said:
"'While the circumstances surroul
ding the transaction are such as
indicate that the lands described i
said deeds may eventually becom
I the property of one or a few persons
technically the law has been compile
r. with
e Here is an open confession tha
IS the law had been evaded in this cas-
n and the possibility that one perso
g would become the owner of abou
n eight thousand acres of land by tn
u delivery of the deeds referred to. Tn
g man is obtruse indeed who can Sc
5. no difference between this opinio
n and the facts upon which it wa
based, and the one | gave and tn
IS facts upon which my opinion wa
r, based. had no facts before me II
IS dicating that one man would EVENT.
70 ally own the lands that the sixty-tw
is applicants We're applying for. Nor
e over had no expression coming frol
T. the Department of the Interior &
c. Washington adverse to the grantin
a of the lands named to the sixty-tW
leI applicants, as Mr.. Re- had in til
s. case he passed on. "A decen. regal
for the wishes of the Department
n the Interior, if nothing else, shou
st have caused both Mr.. Reid and ex-Go
ernor Hagerman to hesitate in an a
ID tempt, to pass title to these LAND
h when they knew that the Pennsylva
IN la Development Company was to
h the beneficiary. No one with ar
to knowledge of this transaction ca
doubt hat the passing of these deet
n. by Ex-Governor Hagerman was IL
X result of a trade for Democratic su
es port. Assistant Attorney Gener
le Cooley believes so, upon the fac
lie presented to him, and those of us wi
I'D were here at the time coincide wit
x. the correctness Of that inference al
If the occasion should ever requi