The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-01-14
BoNApARr AND TlLLmAN
Attorney General Takes Exception to
Senator's Statements.

Washington, Jan. 13.-AttOmey Gen
eral Bonaparte last night issued a
statement replying to two of Senator
Tnlman's declarations in the senate
The attorney generals statement is
in part as follows;
There are TWO passages in the re-
marks of Senator Tillman, published
/ in tOdays Congressional Record which
demand notice. He says;
II might be well TO inquire wheth
er or not the attorney general has been
ordered not TO obey the law OF Con-
gress passed last April-which | will
call the "Tillman-BOnaparte law
ordering suit to be instituted for the
recovery of these lands.
The man who announces to Con-
gress that he, Theodore Roosevelt, as
sumed the right to permit the steel
trust to absorb its greatest rival con-
uary to law. would doubtless not hest
tate TO help his dear friend Hartman
in holding 100000 acres of the public
domain simply because Ben Tillman
has contemplated and wanted to buy
l440 acres
"On Sept 4. 1908, suit was brought
by the United States of America in
the Circuit court of the United States
for the district of Oregon against the
Oregon and California Railroad com
pany the Southern Pacific company,
the Union Trust company individually
and as trustee, Stephen T. Gage, indi-
yidually and as trustee. and large
number of individual defendants. The
purpose of this suit is in substance, to
declare and enforce a forfeiture of the
public lands claimed by the railroads
under Mr. Harriman's control by vir-
tue of the original grant to the Oregon
and California railroad. IL has been
brought in accordance with the diTec-
tons of the joint resolution to which
Senator Tillman refers; was institu-
ted as soon as practicable after the
passage of the said resolution, and the
fact of it's institution has been publish
ed and could have been verified by
any one, through inquiry at this de-
partment for more than four months
Senator Tillman says in another
part of his speech: In my cOnversa-
tion with the attorney general | dis
tinctly remember telling him that my
interest in the matter had been first
aroused by my desire to purchase
some of the timber land, and that my
coming to him was due to the fact
that | discovered upon investigation
I that | could not buy II through any
agency whatsoever even by lawsuit,
because | was advised by very able
lawyers in the west that in attacking
the holders of these land grants no
one would have any standing in court
except the grantor, the government
itself
Senator Tilman called upon me at
the department of justice few days
before the introduction of his resolu'
! tion of Jan. 81, 1908. Our interview oc
Cured therefore a little less than
4 three weeks previous to his letter Of
S Feb. II to Messrs. Reeder & Watkins
q in which he requested them to hold
= in reserve for him eight of the best
quarter sections, and probably little
more than three weeks before his
statement in the Senate that he haC
not bought any land anywhere in the
.. west or undertaken to buy any He
= never told me word of any connec
ton on his part with an arrangement
# to acquire some part of these lands
e nor that he intended, expected. Of
d even desired at that time to make any
O such purchase. AS stated by him the
d reason for his inquiry was that hi
s might better discharge his public du
5 ties"
n Senator Tillman late last night. af
p ter seeing the statement given out b!
Attorney Gen. Bonaparte. made reply
r thereto, declaring that the difference
a. between his explanation of the inter
k view between the attorney genera
r and himself in regard to the Oregon
= land grants and the explanation giver
J. by Mr. Bonaparte is one of memory
e not of veracity.
II Senator Tillman asserted that he IL
l. willing to place his oath alongside tina
of the attorney general as to what he
S said at that time. He declared that h
n told Mr.. Bonaparte he desired TO sc
@ cure some of the land for himself, 1
It possible. He said that it was his pub
II lie duty to attempt to secure a can
It collation. of the land patents If posi-
# BILE: his private right thereafter t
d secure some of the land, II he chose
In his reply, Senator Tillman says
2 The attorney general in the opening
(. part of his statement gives the list o
It parties and corporations against whom
e suit has been brought, but fail to SEE
II anything about any suit being institu
" ted to recover the land granted to thu
y state of Oregon to aid in the constTuc
e tion of a military wagon road from tn,
navigable waters of Coos bay to Rose
- burg. These lands were the ones il
which | was interested, and abou
which / spoke to the attorney general
and they were incorporated both in tn
resolution he drew and in the join
resolution which became the law. Ha
or has not the attorney general obeye
the act of Congress, as | inquired Il
my speech. and if not, why not? TIL
attorney general mentions the suit
against various companies and ind
viduals to recover the railroad land
which are subject to entry by actua
settlers only; the military road gran
permitted and directed the sale t
purchasers | have never conten
plated the purchase of any railroa
land because | had no idea OF becon
ing an actual settler in Oregon, or G
attempting to have any bogus trans
actions such as have brought so man
people into trouble. If the attorne
general is ready to swear that I neve
told him of my interest and the info
nation | had sought was due to m