Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1907-10-07
UNITED STATES
FILES SUIT
To Annul Deeds to
7,840 Acres of
Timber Lands
SOLO BY TERRITORY
Alleges That Congressional
Statute Was Not Complied
With.

There was filed in the United states
district court for the Second judicial
district at Albuquerque on Saturday, a
suit entitled the United States of
America versus the Pennsylvania De
velopment company, the New Mexico
Fuel and Iron company and w. S.
Hopewell, who represents these cor
porations as their territorial agent, in
which the United States complains
and sets up the allegations that forty
nine entries of territorial public land9
located in the Manzano mountains. IN
the county Of Valencia, aggregating
7S40 acres, were fraudulent and illeg-
al and petitions for the cancellation
of the deeds of these entrymen; also
for decree restoring the lands in
question to the territory of New Mex
leo and for an injunction restraining
the defendants from cutting timber
on the lands or taking from these
lands in any manner any timber, or
any other valuable thing and for an
accounting of all material taken from
the lands, timber, stone, etc, and Of
the value thereof, and the restora-
tiOn of the latter to the territory of
New Mexico, that the temporary in
junction prayed for in the complaint
might be made perpetual and remain
in force until the final adjudication of
the suit.
1t Is alleged in the complaint that
the defendants fraudulently and illeg-
ally obtained deeds to these lands
from the Board of Public Lands Of the
Territory and that they did SO by evas-
ion of the law and Misrepresentation
to the said board; this transaction is
claimed to have taken place in 1901.
Alleged Law Was Violated.
1t is also averred that the Board of
Public Lands of the territory had no
legal right and valid power to dispose
OF the lands in question in the man
ner in which it was done In this case
and that this action was in contraven.
tion and in disregard of the act of
Congress Of 1898, making donations of
the lands in question to the Territory
of New Mexico for the benefit of GER
tain of it's educational institutions;
that these donations. when granted to
the Territory, were in trust and that
the Board of Public Lands could not
dispose Of them in any manner except
in strict accordance with the provis-
ions Of the law and subsequent acts in
relation thereto.
The attorneys for the United States
are Ormsby McHarg and E. Peyton
Gordon, special assistants to the Attor-
ney General of the United States, who
have been in the Territory for several
months engaged in Investigating the
disposition and sale of the $4,000 acres
of public lands out. of the 100000
acres granted and donated to the Ter
rtory by the United States during the
past six years
In accordance with the prayer of the
complaint, Judge Abbott issued order
directing the defendants to appear in
court tomorrow, Tuesday, October 8.
to show cause why the injunction
prayed for should not issue and why
they should not be restrained from in
terfering with the timber on the lands
in question, from cutting the same, or
from disposing of timber already cut
in any manner hereafter and during
the pendency of the case.
How Lands Were Acquired.
The first application for the pur-
chase of these lands was made No
vember 4, 1901, by w. S. Hopewell as
agent for the corporations named.
Three dollars per acre were offered
for the land by the applicant. It was
found that the lands could not be sold
to the defendants in a bulk as under
the provisions Of the statute governing
their disposition but 100 acres in
each case could be sold to each appli-
cant. Thereupon 1t is alleged that the
defendants procured 49 applicants to
execute the necessary papers for the
purchase of 100 acres in each case
and the sales were effected by the
Board of Public Lands of the Territory
to these applicants and as the COM
plant AYERS, for the benefit of the de-
PENDANTS. 1t is also averred that the
price of $3 per acre was entirely mad
equate, the lands heing worth then
and there $SO,OOO; that the interests
Of the territory were not duly guard
ed; that the Board Of Public Lands
had not appeared to act in the premis-
es; that when the trust reposed in the
Territory of New Mexico In the ad-
ministration and disposition of these
lands were not properly carried out,
the United States could assume con-
troll and undo any and all wrongs and