Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1910-03-17

territory where the ldnd IS located. I
it might defeat the object congress
had in view"
All of the courts have held that
II was no crime TO obtain title to ;
government lands unless in obtaining
such title the entryman violates some
provision of the statute by which
such lands are disposed of by the
government; they all hold that
violation Of rule of the department
does not amount to a fraud or
crime.
In the presentation of his case, Mr..
Wolfe showed very careful re-
search of the authorities touching the
question, and presented to the Judge
a very elaborate brief covering and
sustaining all of the points which he
raised and showing the rulings Of the
various courts upon the different
questions involved.
E. ]. Dockery presented the ques-
ton of the statute of limitation very
fully and ably and also reinforced |
the argument presented by Mr.. Wolfe
on the merits of the case.
c. H. Lingenfelter. United States
District Attorney, ably presented his
side of the case, contending that the
question of the statute of limitation
had been settled by the various courts
and that it was beyond dispute. He
contended that even although the de-
PENDANTS were not successful in secur-
ing title TO any of the government
lands. nevertheless they secured
possession of large body of land
around Mountain Home, and that
their combination was Illegal and in
violation of the policy of the govern
ment and that they should be prose
cuted for the offense.
He contended that it was a crime
for persons to conspire to get entry
men to file upon desert land having
made contracts that when the entry
was procured that they would assign
them to the defendants, thereby en-
abling the defendants to control
large bodies of public land
Several heated tits took place be-
tween the district attorney and vari-
Gus counsel for the defendants, in
which Judge Dietrict occasionally
took staying hand. The Judge took
the case under Amusement and an
nounced that he would render his
decision at a very early date.
In talking the matter over with
Mr.. Wolfe this morning on his re-
turn from Boise. he assured the re-
porter of this paper that he felt quite
hopeful that some, at least of their
contentious would be sustained in
any event. The record in this case
, shows that none of these defendants
have ever secuerd an acre of govern
ment land around Mountain Home,
and that their only purpose was to
r. secure persons with money TO buy
water rights for the actual reclama-
ton of the lands in this vicinity;
that their purpose was at no time
criminal and that they have done
nothing more than has been done and
. is being done all over arid regions
( That is, to get men who live in arid
state to file upon desert lands and
: to get non-residents who have the
means to come in and secure assign
!. ments of these entries and reclaim
: the land which the local man was
unable to do on account of his fin
anciai condition. This plan has beer
adopted necessarily by all of tbs
large irrigation schemes Throughout
the West AS announced by Secre
tary Smith, these irrigation enter
= terprises involve the expenditure o
vast sums of money. and these ex
penditures viii not be made unles
= the man who puts up the money ca
~ see some way by which he vii
" eventually reap a fair profit on hi
investment.
III Mountain Home and the vicinity !
s' unfortunate in only one thing, an
Oh that is the inability of the Grea
y Western Beet Sugar company to CON
~ plete its irrigation system so that tn
H. lands might be reclaimed as conten
g plated by the promoter of the entei
u prise Every man who was intereste
40 in the promotion of the scheme
- now poor man. and no one ca
OF truthfully say that any one of thel
IN profted by their work in this con