The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1908-01-04
COLORADO JUDGE FREES EIGHT
ZEN DEFENDANTS IN COAL
LAND FRAUD CASES.
Lands Were Acquired by the Dummy
Entry System-Assistant Attorney
General Declares An Appeal Will
Soon Be Taken, to the United States
Supreme Court on Writ of Error.


in the United States district court
yesterday freed eighteen defendants
/ of the charge of illegally acquiring
coal lands in Colorado under the dunn
my entrymen system, and said that
the whole theory on which the govern
ment has worked in the prosecution
is wrong.
All the indictments in land cases
found by the federal grand jury last
summer except one have now been
quashed by Judge Lewis. The indicted
persons released from prosecution by
Judge Lewis decision yesterday are:
Charles w. Haberbeck, Magdalena
Haberbeck, Gustave Haberbeck,
Charles H. Dodge, Anna Dodge, Louis
M. Rumsey, Frank P. Fay, William
Baer, Arie Keitel, of st. Louis; F. w.
Keitel and Otis B. Spencer, of Den
yer; Charles E. Herr, Robert Forces
ter, William Morrison, James Morri-
son, Frank Eldredge, George Coe
Franklin and Benjamin N. Freeman,
of Durango, and Walter S. Rice, Routt
county, Colo.
Counts Questioned.
The opinion of the court was found
ed on the case of the st. Louis peO-
pie, who were members of a company
known as the Yampa Coal Company,
and were charged with obtaining 5000
acres of land in Routt county valued
at 100000.
Judge Lewis held that there is no
law which makes it criminal for a
citizen to agree in advance of an entry
of coal land to sell to others, whether
individuals or corporations, the land
that he might acquire by purchase. He
said that section $40, relating to con-
spiracy, was inapplicable to these
cases, as it dealt only with pension
matters and not with land transac-
lions. The rules and regulations of
the land office cannot be made the
basis of crime, Judge Lewis said.
AS to the coal land act the court
says:
when it was passed little was
known of the locality and extent of
coal measures in this Western country,
and if we were permitted in this case
to seek for a policy in that act, we
would say that the predominant one
was to induce the discovery and de-
velopment of such deposits"
Investigation Continues.
The court held that the first count
in the indictments did not state an
offense, and quashed the second count
also, holding that the affidavits, etc.,
alleged to be part of the conspiracy
were not required by statute.
Ernest Knaebel, assistant attorney
general, said that the cases would all
be taken to the United States supreme
court by writ of error and would be
entered on the docket there within
thirty days.
"The decision of Judge Lewis" said
Mr.. Knaebel, will have no bearing on
the equity suits already filed by the
government or those which will here
after be filed to vacate patents to coal
or timber lands obtained by corpora
tons and others through process of
having dummies to make entries, ap-
parently in their own names, but really
for the benefit of the corporations or
other persons buying them. Judge
Lewis holds that it is not a criminal
fraud. but his decision acknowledges
the force of the holding of the supreme
court to the effect that it is an equit-
able fraud"
Government agents will continue in
vestigating the land frauds, it was Of
lficially announced, until orders are re-
ceived from Washington calling halt.
Over 10000 acres of land are involved
| in the various cases under investiga-
ton and their value runs into the mil
| lions.
The single indictment that remains
undecided is case against Robert
Forester, Benjamin N. Freeman, Will
lam Morrison and James Morrison
They were indicted on two charges
and Judge Lewis has reversed his de-
cision in this case because it involves
a different principle than the others
He is yet in doubt as to what kind oil
land can lawfully be selected under
the soldiers additional homestead en-
try.