Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-11
Maxwell Evarts Excited After
Interview With President.
CLAIM FOR BREAK REPAIRS
Meeting Tonight With Secretary
Garfield and Chief Newell.
LAND GRANTS INVESTIGATED
Northern Pacific Railroad Said to
Have Much That Belong to
Government.

One man went away from the White
House angry today. At least all signs
pointed that way. He gesticulated with
great emphasis to his companion. brought
his right fist down into the palm OF his
left hand with vigor and otherwise indi-
Gated that he was getting some hot
thoughts off his system. Maxwell Evarts.
New York attorney, representing 4. III.
Hartman and the Southern Pacific road,
and L. T. Cory. an engineer of the Cali
fornia Development Company, a subsidiary
to the Southern Pacific, were the two men,
and they do say that it was Mr.. Evarts
who was hammerng the atmosphere.
Presumably it was all caused by the claim
Of $780, 900 by the Southern Pacific road
against the government for the repairs
that were made on the big break in the
Colorado river about year ago. when tho
great Imperial valley and its citizens and
their millions of property were threatened
with determination by the lake that form
ed from the waters of the river
The break had to be repaired as quickly
as possible. Congress was asked To DO
something. but the cumbersome machinery
there could not have been put in shape
for action in time to avoid terrihc destruc-
ton. The President was appealed to. and
he and z. H. Hartman had some corre-
spondence on the subject. resulting In the
Southern Pacific. through the California
Development Company, doing the work
Then claim was filed. and the question OF
settling it has been before the admin
istration on several occasions Senator
Flint Of California. who worked hard to
get the break repaired and personally ar
ranged for it, introduced Messrs. Evarts
and Cory to the President All they
would say was that a conference will be
held at the White House tonight TO try To
reach a settlement. At this conference
there will be present the two men named
the President. Secretary Garfield. Who
has been trying to settle 1t for several
weeks and F. H. Newell. chief of the
reclamation service of the geological sur
Vey.
/ Want Land Grants Investigated.
President Roosevelt was today asked to
have an investigation made as to whether
the Northern Pacific railroad does not
own millions of acres of land between
Puget sound and Lake Superior which II
has no right to. If he finds this is true
he is requested to ask Congress for au-
thority to have the lands returned TO the
government. The case arises over the
grant made to the Northern Pacific OF
eighty miles of government lands on each
side of it's tracks between the two points
named Under the law, however, this
grant did not cover mineral lands all OF
which were reserved to the government
For a long time there was dispute as TO
whether certain lands supposed to be con-
veyed to the Northern Pacific contained
minerals, and in 1895 Congress provided
a commission to segregate the mineral
from the other land. 1t is now alleged
that this commission was so exceedingly
liberal that II classified millions Of acres
of lands as containing no minerals that
should properly belong to the government.
1t is further claimed that 100000 acres
dent told the delegation that called upon
him-a number OF Montana men, intro
duced by Senator Dixcn--that he would
give the matter careful and prompt con-
SderatiOn.
Work of Kansas Leaders for Taft.
Senator Long, whose energetic work for
Secretary Taft in Kansas and other west
ern states has caused much talk of his
selection as temporary chairman of the
republican national convention at Chicago
conferred with the President. Senator
Longs friends say that he would not &C
cept the temporary craftsmanship. pre-
ferring that the honor should go to some
good man from state from which Sec
rotary Taft might benefit, possibly an
eastern or middle western state. Senator
Long merely shook his head when asked
about the talk. Another Kansas man
who is said to be doing quiet but effective
work for Secretary Taft is William T.
Vernon, the negro register of the Treas
ury.
Vernon is not only an orator. but he
is smooth worker of the noiseless. wire
less variety For nearly two months he
has been out west working among the
negro voters there to allay opposition to
Secretary Taft. Negro leaders in Kan
sas, where the coored man has always
had strong friends among the whites.
threatened to make trouble in the county
conventions for Taft, but Vernon took his
the state convention was held not a chirp
was heard from the colored voters. Yer
non is from that state. and as reward
for his work he was elected an alternate
at-large at the recent state convention.
He has reported to the White House his
observations of conditions, and it is un-
derstood that in quiet way he is to
continue missionary work in other states
where the negro voters are in rebellion.
Loeb Holds Secretarial Record.
Secretary Loeb remarked to one of his
visitors this morning that he had been
in the office of secretary to the Presi-
dent longer than any of his rredeces-
sors. Secretary Cortelyou served under
two Presidents. but he did not become
secretary to Mr.. Mckinley until 1900,
and he resigned the Office in 1903 to be-
come Secretary Of Commerce and Labor.
His term of office was. therefore. less
than three years, the date OF his ap-
Z
airy IS, 1903 1t was on the same day
that Mr.. Loeb was sworn in rs secre-
tary to the President, although ne had
been in the White House offices since
September, 1901, as assistant secretary.
Ne rly all the other Presidents secre-
taries have served four years or less.
but Mr.. Loeb passed the five-year mark
on the 18th of last month.
The Presidents Spanish War Days.
An interesting letter of President Roose-
welt in the days when the Spanish war
was about beginning, showing his anxiety
to get to the front. was handed him to-
day by Representative Brumm of Penn
sylvania. E. l.. SINNERS, an old cowboy
friend of the President, now lieutenant
of the Pennsylvania coal and iron police
at Shenandoah Pa. wants favor at
the hands of the President and he sent
along by Mr.. Brumm one of the Presi-
dents letters to him years ago as identi-
fication. The President remembered Mr..
SINNERS well. The letter is. although
not dated, evidently back in the spring OF
$685. 1t was written on Navy Department
paper when the President was assistant