The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-05-02
MORE ABOUT Utah
COAL LAND FRAUDS
Additional Facts Regarding the
Recent Disastrous Failure
of Prosecution.
GOVERNMENT DID MAKE
PRESENT TO COAL COMPANY
Gave the Corporation Lands
Worth Millions, and Dis
missed All Proceedings.

patch from Washington was printed IN
the Smoot "mouth' on Saturday,
which declared that an investigation
had been mado by the Department of
Justice in compliance with request OF
the Interior Department regarding
complaints made against 'kinky'
Booth, United States district attorney
for Utah, and that this Investigation
had disclosed that thore was no ground
for tho complaint and generating
Booth, and that .'ho was absolutely
blamclcss in his transactions with the
government
Tho Tribune having made no com
plaint against the United States at
torney for the district of Utah, there
could, therefore, have been no inycsti"
CATION had there been any complaint,
had there been any inquiry mado as
the mouth alleges, certainly The
Tribune would have been asked to pre-,
sent its side Of the case. Nothing of
this kind having been done, it need
necessarily follow that the organ of
Kinky' Booth and the federal bunch
has resorted to willful and deliberate
falschood TO keep the United States at
torncy IN the public eye.
On April 15 The Tribune printed Il
story giving some facts about coal land
frauds in Utah, in which it was shown
that the government did not win
victory in tho action brought against
the Utah Fuel company, but that the
prosecution was a disastrous failure;
that tho Utah Fuel company paid to
the government 100000 in return for
n gift of land worth millions of dollars
and all proceedings Of whatsoever kind
against tho Utah Fuel company was
dismissed. This was done in compli-
ance with letter from the attorney
general of the United States to the
United States attorney for Utah. That
letter read as follows:
Order to Dismiss Case.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.
Washington. March Is. 1909
ney, Salt Lake city. Utah.
Sir-Gn equity case No S62, wherein
the United States Of America is COM
plainaut and tho Utah Fuel company and
PENDANTS. and in equity cases, Nos: s67:
sos. $50 and $40, wherein tho United
named companies and the Morton Trust
company OF New York are defendants.
pending In the United States circuit court
Tor the district of Utah. you are author
lied and directed TO dismiss such suits.
In the event that there shall be deposited
by snid defendants. or any of them, with
the clerk OF said court, TO the credit OF
the United States. In cash or It's equiva-
lent, such a sum as shall, with the
amount OF the finc imposed by the court
In the case No. 1910. aggregate two hun
dred thousand ($200.0 dollars; each
party to pay It's own costs. Respectfully,
GEORGE w. WICKERSHAM,
Attorney-Generdl,
The public generally appears to have
an impression that in the settlement of
the Utah Fuel company cases the gov
,n,,r
to some of the holdings Of the Utah
Fuel company and that some of the
lands embraced in the suits brought by
the government against the Utah Fuel
company were recovered or returned
to the government. This is erroneous.
The facts are that no part Of the lands
described in the civil suits brought by
the government were recovered, but on
the contrary all of said suits were dis
missed in accord with the order of the
attorney general and the lands involved
therein remained in the Fuel company
as before the commencement of such
suits.
The .lands-that is the 1910 acres
which the government claimed to have
had returned-are not located in Car
bon county, but in Salina canyon, in
individuals were paid fifty dollars each
to enter 100 acres Of land and al |
though the title To these lands never
found its way, so far as the records |
show, into the hands of the Utah Fuel
company, yet it was claimed by the |
government that the eight entrymen
referred to were III fact paid as dunn |
mics for said company, and d Grim
inal suit was commenced charging tho |
company with conspiracy in connection
with the eight entries mentioned, but no !
suit was ever brought to recover pos. |
session of the lands iu Salina canyon. |
and in fact no suit was necessary be |
cause the government had not vet is |
sued its patents to these lands, and |
hence the interior department held iuris. |
diction and could cancel the entries |
Whenever it deemed proper without the |
necessity of the government bringing
an action in the federal court So that |
The case is simply this:
What Government Said
The government practically said to
the Utah Fuel company: "You may
retain all of the lands where You are
operating your mines in Carbon coun-
ty and be IN the Same position that
You were before the government com.
meneed its action, but we have you on
those eight dummy cutrIcs that were
made over IN Salina canyon. The en-.
trymcn have all turned state Is cvi-
dence and we can send some of your
officers to prison. Now, if YOU will
pay us 100000 we will agreo no one
shall go to prison and, of course. VIC
will not issue any patents TO the eight
dummy entries in Salina canyon. These
You must give up
In other words, the suit brought
against the lands IN Carbon county was
an absolute waste of energy and money
This must be so, because the govern
mcnt gained absolutely nothing by rea-
son Of said suits Entirely eliminating
the lands in Carbon county and leav-
ing only the criminal sut pending
against the officers Of the company,
as it is unreasonable 10 suppose that
the company would not have gladly
paid the 100000 to have had the erin
inal action dismissed against itself and
six or more Of It's trusted officers aud
employees.
Expense Accrued Enormous
Another thing that has pot been in
cluded In the expense to which the poyJ