The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1907-11-01
THE BINGHAM
Opinion Of U. 5. Supreme
Court in Famous Liti-
cation of Importance.
POSITION TAKEN BY JUDGES

SALT LAKE, Oct. 30.-The COM
plete opinion of the United States SUI
preme court in the famous apex suit
By the United States Smelling, Mining
and Refining company to gain rights
to valuable ore bodies in the Bing-
ham district claimed by Colonel e. A.
Wall and associates was received yes
terday by Senator George Sutherland
and other attorneys interested in the
case. The case is one of the most
important mining cases ever Diet r
mined by the supreme court, both on
account of the value of the property
directly involved, which aggregates
several millions, and by reason of the
bearing it will have upon other con-
tests in this and other states.
Suit was originally brought by the
United States company against Wall
and others to quiet title to certain
ore bodies underneath the surface of
claims of the United States company
Wall and associates claimed, how
ever, that the ore bodies belonged to
vein the apex of which was within
the mining CLAIMS known as the
Kempton and Ashland, owned by
them.
The United States company re-
piled to this claim that if the ore
bodies in question belonged to such
vein, it was broad vein, and the
width of the apex was partly within
the Old Jordan and Mountain Gem
claims, belonging to that company,
and partly within the claims of Wall
and associates; that the locations of
the Old Jordan and Mountain Gem
claims were older than those of the
Kempton and Ashland, although the
latter had been first patented. The
United States company, therefore,
claimed that the older locations
would take the entire vein on its dip
outside the limits of their claims,
even though part of it was in the
Wall claims which had the older
patent: in other words, that date of
location, not date of patent, controll-
ed as to extra lateral rights.
The case was tried before Judge
Rines of the Wyoming district, Judge
Marshall having been disqualified.
Judge Rines rendered decree in ia
vor OF Wall and against the United
States company, from which decision
appeal was taken by the mining COM
pany to the circuit court of appeals
for the eighth district. That court
reversed Judge Rines' decision, hold
ing in favor of the United States
company's contentious, namely, that
the vein consisted of belt of broken,
shattered and mineralized limestone
lying between walls of quartzite, and
that the so-called Kempton vein was
an ore body lying within the lime
stone lode and was not separate and
distinct vein that the Old Jordan
and Mountain Gem claims were To-
Gated on part of the width of this
broad lode; that tl.ey were older loca-
lions, and therefore took the entire
lode on its dip outside their vertical
boundaries.
The case was then carried to the
supreme court of the United States on
a writ of certiorari, where 1t was ar
gued and submitted to the court
about one year ago. That court has
Just handed down unanimous opin-
ion affirming the decision of the cir
cult court of appeals and sustaining
the contentious of the United States
Mining company in every particular.
The case was carried through the
entire long legal battle by Senator
Sutherland and Judge w. Fl. Dickson
as attorneys for the mining company
while Colonel Wall and associates
were represented by Judge c. c. .Dey,
Ogden Hiles and Charles ]. Hughes.