Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1907-10-22
Against Phelps.
Dodge Company
and Officials
THREE COUNTS ALLEGED
Coal Entries in San Juan
County Claimed to Be
Fraudulent.

In the indictment returned yester-
day afternoon by the federal grand
jury here charging conspiracy to de.
fraud the United States out of certain
coal lands as was mentioned in last
evenings New Mexican, nineteen per
sons are involved and among them are
officers Of Phelps, Dodge and Company
which has extensive mining interests
in New Mexico and Arizona, and also
operates the Ell Paso and Southwest
ern Railway system. The coal lands
alleged to have been illegally acquired
by connivance and conspiracy are sit
uated in San Juan county. The indict-
ment is very lengthy one, containing
about twenty typewriter pages in
which there are three specific counts.
James Douglas, James Mclean, A.
Curtis James and Cleveland H. Dodge,
who are all members of the Phelps,
Dodge and Company, are among the
persons indicted together with the cor
poration itself, which Is named in the
true bill as the principal defendant.
Their addresses are all given as New
York City Others include Professor
Louis D. Ricketts,, well known geo
logist and mining expert of Princeton,
New Jersey, who is believed to be at
present in Cananea Mexico, Charles
A. Spiess of East Las Vegas and Gran
vile Pendleton, of Aztec, attorneys at
law. and David M. White of this city,
civil engineer. Miss Henrietta G,
Ricketts,, of Princeton, New Jersey, a
sister of Louis G. Ricketts, and Mag
gle A. Vann, of Princeton, New Jersey
colored servant in the employ OF the
Ricketts,. are also included in the In
dictment.
The others implicated are Robert B,
Hegardt, Robert B. Riel, Arthur E. j.
Tovey, Niles S. Berray, Edwin T.
Stewart, Angus McAlpine, Emil R.
Stahl and Carlton F. Moore, all of
whom are located at Globe, Arizona,
and are supposed to be employees in
that city of Phelps. Dodge and Com.
pany and Thomas H. O'Brien, of Fier-
ro, coal locating agent of the same cor,
poration. None of the entrymen on
the coal lands involved it Is said, are
residents Of New Mexico.
Premature Publication of Names Of
Indicted Persons.
The names of the persons embraced
in the blanket indictment were sup
pressed yesterday, at least they were
not given out for publication in last
evenings New Mexican, but strangely
enough the complete list appeared In
this mornings Albuquerque Journal,
under date line as having been sent
Yesterday from Santa Fe. Clerk Fran
els c. Wilson of the court was asked
by representative of the New Mexi,
can for list Of the names yesterday
afternoon shortly after the true bill
was reported and filed with him, but
he declined to give out the desired
information. He stated that he could
not do so until warrants had been
served. The warrants were issued
Yesterday afternoon and only three OF
them were served last evening by
Deputy U. S. Marshal c. E. Newcomer
who did not furnish the list Of names
to the correspondent of the Albuquer.
que Journal. The question now arises
who leaked last evening and furnished
the correspondent of the Albuquerque
morning paper with the information
desired and why this information was
kept from the New Mexican, which
had made every proper effort to obtain
the same in the right way?
Yesterday afternoon it was official
ly declared that the cause Of justice
would be injured If the names Of the
indicted persons were made public be-
fore this morning. However, this did
not keep some official connected with
the affair from "peaching" and giving
information against the official declar-
alton.
Grand Jury Adjourns Until October 81.
Owing to the absence from the city
for some time of Special Assistant At.
torney General Ormsby McHarg, who
is In charge Of the present investiga-
tion into alleged land frauds, the grand
jury at 2:30 o'clock this afternoon took
another recess until October 81. Mr..
McHarg will leave tonight for Wash.
ington, D. c., having been summoned
there ON official business.
Four members of the grand jury
were dismissed this afternoon and the
vacancies thus created were filled
from the special vanire Of four addt
tional jurymen summoned yesterday.
(Continued On pana EinhfA