The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-04-05
BIG GOVERNMENT VICTORY
Decision Against Fuel Company in
Utah Courts

Washington, April 3.-Attorney
General Wickersham announces the
first big victory of his administration
of the department of justice Tuesday
in the Utah Fuel company case, in
which the government RECEIVERS 5000
900 for lands fraudulently procured,
and 1440 acres of land A statement
given out by the attorney general
is in part as follows:
This action Is the result of an adj
justment Of the suit had pursuant TO
a conference between the attorney
general and the representatives of the
departmnt of justice and the secretary
of the interior and representatives OF
the interior department on the one
hand, and j. Z. Vale of Denver, the
general counsel of the Denver & Rio
Grande, and the Western Pacific rail-
road on the other hand. The Utah
Fuel company is a subsidiary corpor-
alton of the Denver & Rio Grande rail
road. AS a result of this adjustment
1t has paid the largest amount of mon
ey ever collected by the United States
In any of the land cases in addition
to pleading guilty to an indictment
charging it with conspiracy to fraud
ulently obtain coal lands from the
United States.
1T also appeared that unlawful acts
charged against the corporation con-
sisted in its having violated the law
forbidding the taking of more than
| 100 acres~by any one person or $40
acres by any one corporation. Ger
tain portions OF the land had been
granted by the government to the
state of Utah as agricultural land and
then sold to parties said.to have been
acting in the interest of the company
| in obtaining same, and it was claimed
that a part OF these lands contained
valuable deposits Of coal and should
not have been granted as agricultural
land. The additional payments
agreed upon will net TO the United
States about $50 per acre which is a
4 higher price than that placed upon
the same property by the land de-
partment after examination by the
geological bureau under the recent re-
classification and repricing of the pub
| lie coal lands.
THE individuals who were indicted
with the Utah Fuel Co., did not appear
to have been guilty of any intentional
fraud, nor to have in any respect ben
Gifted individually by the acts which
led to the procurement of title to
these lands by the predecessor of the
Utah Fuel company Moreover. the
specific acts for which they were in
dicted had not resulted in the actual
transfer OF title by the unsuccessful
attempt to do so. In view of all the
circumstances, as the company plead
ed guilty to the charge of conspiracy
and submitted to whatever the court
might see ut to impose. II was deem
ed proper to dismiss the indictments
against the individuals, none of whom
had sought personally to profit nor
had in any manner profited in the
transaction, but who had merely act
ed in the interests of the company
which pleaded guilty to the offence.
The return OF these lands to the
government, together with the recon
veyance by the Union Pacific Railroad
company of coal lands of great value
in the Horse Thief Canon in WyOm-
ing, following a similar reconveyance
by the same parties at an earlier date
OF the same character of lands in the
Cumberland coal field of Wyoming to-
gether with many reconveyances by
smaller interests which have been Sc
cured by this department. serves to
demonstrate that Notwithstanding all
adverse conditions the government is
slowly but surely asserting and main
tanning its supremacy and authority
over the public domain in the West"