Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1907-06-04
MUCH VALUABLE
TIMBER AT STAKE
Very Interesting Point Of Law in Case
of Maxwell Land Grant Company
VS.. w. n. Bartlett.

In the case OF the MaxWell Ldnu
Grant Company and the Continental
Tie and Lumber Company of Colfax
County VS.. W. H. Bartlett. which has
been on hearing in this city for sew
eral days and in which Hon. Charles
A. Spiess, of East Las Vegas, repre-
sented the plaintiffs and w. H. Mer-
rick, of Chicago r. E. Twitchell and
"A. A. Jones, of Las Vegas, the defend
ant, W. f. Gortner, of East Las Vegas,
has been appointed examiner Mr..
Gortner will take testimony in the
case which Is expected to be rather
voluminous. A great amount of very
valuable timber is in controversy and
as several wrong statements concern
ing the case have appeared in the Ter
ritorial press and as the case has at
tracted much attention. the New Mex
lean gives the following version:
This case came on for hearing be-
fore Judge McFie sitting as judge OF
the district court of Colfax County,
on an application of the plaintiffs for
rule upon the defendant to show
cause why defendant should not be
enjoined from cutting timber on the
tract of land pending the hearing of
the case
At the hearing last Saturday W. Fl.
Bartlett in his answer denied that he
was cutting any timber on the 10000
acres tract of land and denied that
he had threatened to cut any timber
therefrom. The plaintiffs, therefore,
| waived a restraining order against the
defendant, the question of whether OF
not Bartlett should be enjoined not
coming before the court. The case is
now at issue and within the next six
months the evidence will be taken be-
fore Mr.. Gortner by both sides to the
controversy.
The history of this case is as fol-
lows: j. c. Osgood of Red Rock, Colo,
RADIO, entered into contract with the
Maxwell Land Grant Company where
by Osgood was granted the right tc
cut all of the merchantable timber
from all that portion Of the Beaubian
and Miranda Land Grant, otherwise
known as the Maxwell Grant for per
iod of twenty years from the date OF
the contract. This contract provided
among other things that as a consider
alton for the granting Of this right tC
Oseood he would construct or cailst
to be constructed a railroad from {
point on the Colorado and Wyoming
Railroad in Colorado across the Max
we'll Land Grant to a point known as
Beatty Lake within the land grant
BY the terms of the contract he wa!
required to build this road within 81,
years from the date of his contrac
and in default of so constructing tht
road the Maxwell Land Grant reserved
the power to forfeit the timber con
tract it had made with Osgood.
/ Afterwards in July, 1902, the Max
well Land Grant Company sold 40.O0
| acres of land to w. H. Bartlett, Chi
cago millionaire, reserving from tn
operation of the deed in perpetuity al
of the coal underlying the land AM
reserving from the operations of tn
deed all of the timber on the 10000
acre tract of land for period Q
twenty years that being the duratio
of the Osgood contract Osgood faile
to construct the railroad provided TO
in the terms of the contract within tn
time specified.
Bartlett ..cving purchased the 0,0Ol
acres tract of land assumes in this lit
CATION that he has been subregated t
the rights of the Maxwell Compan
G and therefore, has the right to declar
forfeited the Osgood contract to tn
! extent that that contract operates o
the 40,000-acre tract purchased by hil
and that he may become invested wit
1.-The title to the timber by reason {
his declaration of forfeiture.