Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-02-19
CONGRESS PLANS
LIVELY CONTEST.
Secretary Of Mining Organization
Says Corporations Are
Going Too Far.
CHARGES NORTHERN PACIFIC
says Methods Used by Tits Railroad
In Obtaining Land should.
BE Investigated.

That there is large scandal now in
the making In connection with govern
ment land grants to the Northern Pa
cifie railroad. is the charge which j. f.
Callbreath. secretary of the American
mining congress. makes in an Inter-
view in Salt Lake this morning.
MIR Callbreath was visitor at the
Commercial club today, He has been
attending the conference OF Northwest
ern mining men held at Helena this
week He left the city this afternoon,
but before leaving outlined the policies
Of the Helena convention in fighting the
smelter trust and trying to get charges
OF fraud and collision between govern
ment officials and the North9rn Pacific
railroad investigated.
HOW IT WAS DONE.
I'VE named a delegation to go to
Washington" he said. ''and take up
this matter of land frauds. They have
been gross and glazing. The govern
ment grant consisted of non-inineral
lands. In a commission gent out to
classify lands as non mineral, or graz
ing lands, the railroad succeeded in
getting a lot OF members who knew
nothing about minerals or mineral
lands, associated with one man who
knew IL ALL and who certainly. de-
livered the goods to the railroad. All
lands not worth a cent We're ciassed as
mineral lands and rejected by the
railroad, OF course. while lands of any
value to prospectors were classified as
non mineral lands and gathered In by
the railroad.
FILING SWITCHED.
Worse than this by a system of
transfer, lands thrown out az mineral
lands In the belt OF first choice were
substituted by non-mineral land In an
other section The result was that In
this secondary belt the best mineral
lands were gobbled up under classif-
cation that they were on-mineral In
nature.
WAT we want Is for the govern
ment to take notice Of these gross
frauds and to re-cIassify lands grant
ed 10 the railroad, correcting the mis-
takes of the first commission, whether
committed In stupidity or with intelli-
gence We want the mineral bearing
land returned to the government and
opened TO the prospector"
PLAN OWN SHELTER.
On the subject of the so called smelt-
err trust MI Callbreath was even moro
positive that trouble is coming to this
concern from united action Of mine
owners. He said that subscriptions
were thrown open for independent
smeltermen to Join In the building of a
smeltcr In Montana.
w. l.. Hewitt was the first man to
respond and his offering was $4,000.
In a very few minutes enough support
was pledged to guarantee the building
OF a smelter, and the mine owners
threw their influence bodily behind Mr..
Hewitt In promise to see him safely
through the proposition to the end.
WANT uTAH'S HELP.
ut Is the purpose of the Montana
association to incorporate said Mr.
Callbreath. "and TO get into close work.
ing harmony with the American Mining
congress. and we hope that the Utah
mine owners viii come into the same
relationship with the national organ
ization.
George w. Ritter OF Salt Lake is now
on the congress committee on smelter
rates. as is also Harry S. Joseph of Salt
Lake. or the committee on the vertical
side line law. Thomas w Kearns is
member.