The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-06-09
NO CAUSE FOR ACTION.
This Was TIE Verdict of Jury in the
Johnson-Nielsen Mining
Case.

Manti. June S.-During the week Judge
Ferdinand Erickson and jury have had
In hand one of the most racy cases that
has possibly been heard i'm the Seventh jul
dicial district. The case was that of
former Judge Jacob Johnson vs.. Niels 7.
Nielsen, of Mt Pleasant, an old gentle
man about 80 years of age. The case Is a
mining swindle worked up, supposedly, by
Alex. Justese1, of Spring City, who, by
the way, has been mixed up in mining
deals upon numerous occasions. to the
certain knowledge of quite a number of
individuals in Sanpete county. Nielsen,
the defendant, went to Nevada to see to
some assessment work on some mining
property owned by Spring City parties.
and the testimony was that Alex. Juste-
sen was in the vicinity and induced Mel
sen to purchase an interest in some min
ing property near Osceola, Nevada. JUS
tesen told Nielsen that a man named Bliss
had offered to purchase a two-thirds in
terest in the property If a purchaser could
be found to take the other third; that
Bliss would pay $4,000 for the two-thirdS
interest and Nielsen could give his note
for 5000 for the remainder. In the mean
time, so the testimony showed, Nielsen
told Bliss that he must make the purchase
on his own responsibility; that he (Niel-
SEM was not a mining man. The deal
was supposedly made, Nielsen giving his
note with the understanding that after all
had been closed up Justesen was to tear
up the notes, as they were only given I'M
til the sale could be made. Immediately
teSen tore up some paper which Nielsen
thought were the notes. 1t was also
stated in the testimony that the deeds to
the supposed property were not made up
in legal form and were absolutely void.
After this JTstesen told Nielsen that he
was going to Ely. where he would meet
Bliss, and asked Nielsen to write to Bliss.
authorizing Bliss to dispose of his one
third interest in the property, as it had
been represented to Nielsen that Bliss was
making deal in Ely to dispose of the
property. Nelson, the old gentleman,
20. from what was told on the witness
stand, appeared to have considerable con-
fidence in Justesen, wrote the letter au-
thOrizing his stock for sale. Alex. JuSte-
sen then took this letter to Mt. Pleasant
together with the original notes and at
tempted to negotiate them at the Mt
Pleasant bank. The bank officials told
JuStesen that they preferred talking with
Nielsen before making any deal. Rasmus
Anderson, one of the bank directors, tele-
phoned to Judge Johnson. who was coun-
sci for the bank, about the matter and
Johnson answered to The effect that he
would have nothing to do with them, and
that he had not seen them. This was the
substance of the testimony of RasmuS
Anderson, director, and o. Z. Wall,
cashier of the Mt. Pleasant bank. During
the time Justesen was in Mt. Pleasant on
this errand Nielsen, the plaintiff, was in
Salt Lake City, and in some way the wife
of the plaintiff heard from some source
what Justesen was attempting in Mt.
HledSanI- nielsen Cnen wrote q letter to
the bank in which he stated that the af-
fair was fraudulent and not to honor the
notes. Nielsen also telephoned to JUS
tesen about the matter, using some harsh
language, according to testimony, and
JusteSen promised to come up on the
train the following day, where Nielsen
met JuSteSen at the depot. In the mean
time the bank people notified Johnson by
telephone of the word received from Mel
sen, and, according to the testimony
Johnson answered that the notes were in
his safe that they belonged to other par
ties and that be had not purchased them.
Justesen left for Salt Yake City and met
Nielsen at the depot and, curiously
enough, Judge Johnson was on the same
train, according to the testimony There
was some loud talking between Justesen
and Nielsen going up town. On their way
they met a Spring City boy, whom Jus
tesen represented to Nielsen as Bliss, who
afterwards advised Nielsen who he was
and gave him the information that he was
the son of James Christensen, of Spring
City, and not Bliss at all. The following
day Nielsen met Judge johnson at the
Cullen hotel to counsel about the matter
and Johnson informed Nielsen that he
(Johnson) had purchased the notes from
Justesen. and that Nielsen would have
to pay them. The testimony went on that
Johnson asked $3.50 to call the deal off
and receive his notes Judge Johns Dr.
testified that he purchased the notes for
so and some mining property located 10
Wayne county, and THAT the property he
knew very little about for the past five
years.
About the time the testimony was con-