Los Angeles herald., 1909-09-12
WILL BATTLE
FOR MILLIONS
BIG FEDERAL SUIT AGAINST
SOUTHERN PACIFIC
VAST, TRACT OF OIL LAND AT
coALINGA INVOLVED
Claim Is Made That Railroad Has
WronsfulIy Appropriated Min
eral Lands from Uncle
Sam

BY suit filed in the United States
circuit court yesterday by T, s. Minot,
a Ss~A Francisco attorney, the federal
government is asked to confirm the
titles of forty-three persons to val
liable oil and mineral lands in the
Coalinga district, valued at about $685.
000,00O which it is alleged the South
ern Pacific, with its usual greed, has
gobbled in defiance of a special act
of congress.
| The land in question contains about
1000 acres and the forty-three persons
who have Joined in the suit have lo-
Gated on the land.
1t has been stated, and Attorney
Minot has practically confirmed the
rumor, that James j. Hill Is the force
actually behind the suits and that his
! object is to force concessions from the
Southern Pacific in order to give the
Hill railroads an entrance into South
ern California. On the result of the
suit may hinge the probability of Los
Angeles having another transconti-
mental line that will be in real COM
petition with the Southern Pacific
Based on Act of 1855
The case is based on an act of con-
gress passed July 27, 1866, in which
certain lands are granted to the South
ern Pacific, subject to certain mineral
reservations.
By joint resolution by the house
and senate, passed June 2S, 1870, the
Southern Pacific was given patents TO
the land granted it by the act Of con-
gress, but again all mineral lands IN
| these grants were excepted.
| An affidavit made by Jerome Mad
den, land agent for the Southern Pa
| cific, figures in the case. This ann
dayit describes the land alleged to
have been given the Southern Pacific,
and it declares none of this land is
mineral or reserved land. This affida-
Wit was filed in 1892 and the complain
! ants allege it is false because the land
in question was partly mineral and
reserved land, as 1t has since proved
to be.
But even after this alleged false af-
! fdavit was filed the commissioner OF
the general land office and the seore-
| tary of the interior, who was then
Hoise smith. issued the final decree
| that granted the patents to the South
ern Pacific, but this clause was in
| cluded, Excluding, however, from the
approval and from the transfer in the
patent that may issue all mineral
| lands, should any such be found in the
tracts aforesaid
! Cleveland Ordered Reservation
This order of Hoke Smith was drawn
under the express directions OF Grover
Cleveland, who was then president
Anticipating that the railroad Will
plead the statute of limitations in its
! defense. the complaint asserts that 1T
would be inequitable, unconscionable
and unjust to apply the statute of linz
| itation. because of the act of congress,
| the ioint resolution and the other fea-
| lures that make it plain that the lands
in question were not to have been Sc
4 cured by the Southern Pacific with the
i grant.
The land is rich in oil and mineral
| deposits and the compliments declare
! that they actually have located on the
land, which is wild, uninclosed, un-
occupied land, or at least should be so
| by right of law and that they dis
covered rich mineral deposits on every
quarter section of the land embraced
in the suit before they made their
Wells Already Sunk
The Kern Trading & Oil company
has sunk wells on some of this land
and is developing it to considerable
extent The complaint alleges that
| this company is but confederate
Of the Southern Pacific company and
is Differed and controlled by dunn
lmies of the Southern Pacific.
It is believed the United States gov
ernment will send a special attorney
to represent it in the case involving
the oil lands, and a decision in this
case may involve the right of the
Southern Pacific to half a million acres
of mineral lands that it holds through
grants from the federal government.