The Evening standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1910-1913, 1910-10-15
LAND CLAIMANTS
ARE INFECTED

WASHINGTON Oct. 14-After
months OF secret effort and patient
waiting. officials OF the general land
Office were able to announce Today
the indictment OF q number OF claim
ants to valuable lands in Alaska
The entries involved number 1o}
and cover almostA2 900 acres OF land.
all OF which Hes in the Bering Strait
district. In which the Cunningham
claims are located They are what
are known as the English or Suacey
and thy Christopher Simmonds groups.
the former containing so and the lat
ter n claims OF 160 acres each. TBe
deposits covered by these claims are
believed TO be as rich as those OF
the Cunningham claims, which cut
conspicuous figure In the BalliDger-
Pipchot controversy.
indictments in v. S. Court.
The indictments were handed down
In the United States district court sit
ting at Tacoma, Wash, and the in
formation that they had been return
ed was conveyed In two kilograms re-
ceIyed today by Commissioner Den
nett from Special Agent Christensen,
In charge OF Alaskan matters TO
whose efforts the findings are cspec-
tally due. The first telegram contain
ed the announcement OF the action
against the English group and stated
that indictments had been returned
against c. F Munday, a II. Stracey,
Archie w Shields and Il. e. Siegley.
Many Canadians Interested.
a few minutes later came the sec
ond telegram, telling OF the indict-
ment OF Cornelius Christopher. George
Simmonds and Mortimer C. Sweeney
Of the second group. Mr. bennett add
ed that warrants would be issued as
s9on as the indicted could be appre'
hended
The first group of defendants takes
its name from the fact a number Of
people In western Canada are sup
posed to be interested in the claims
taken up by this party
Stracey Is resident of Vancouver
and is charged with being instrumen.
tai in making some of the locations.
Munday is a prominent attorney OF
Seattle.
Made Names of Dummies"
Tho charge against the indicted men
is that the entries were made in the
names of dummies" Most OF the
entrymen were residents OF Washing
ton and their claims are said to have
been located with an agreement chat
the claims should be assigned or
decided TO third parties as soon as
persons willing to become interested
could be found by the locator There
Is said to have been further under
standing that the locator should re-
ceIye large percentage of the sale
prices
Differ From Cunningham Charges.
The charges differ from the char
ges in the Cunningham claims, in
which there was no allegation that
the entrymen took the claims for per
sons other than themselves, but rath-
er that they had a previous agree
ment to work or dispose OF their
claims as a unit
1t is said that few claimants in the
new cases ever saw the land on
which the claims were used for loca.
tlons.
Both groups OF claims figured to Il
considerable extent in connection with
the Ball!nger-PinchOt inquiry. Char
Ges OF fraud in connection with the
entries were made TWO years ago,
and it was asserted that investiga-
ton had been stayed by the land Of |
flee, supposedly for sinister purposes
Federal Grand Jury at Spokane.
Meeting the allegation with the |
statement chat the service of the land !
office force was needed elsewhere. and !,
that there was no statute Ql limita- |
tlons to run against these Gases, It
was conceded that they were not J
pressed for period Since last May,
however, Mr. Christensen has been
giving the major portion of his time
To them, with result over which the
land office and the entire interior de.
partment processes itself much graft
fed
1t is known that another federal
grand jury sitting at Spokane. is con +
sidering other charges of fraudulent
coal entries i'll Alaska, and that re.
suits arc expected from the inycstlCa-
ton similar to those obtained at Ta.