The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-03-20
SALT CLAIMANTS
INCREASE CAPITAL
Amendment of Incorporation
Gives New Phase to Con-
test for Millions.
MAY BE RICH UNIVERSITY
If SCHOOL GETS LANDS 1T WILL
BE TREMENDOUSLY WEALTHY.

In the face of an appeal to the SUI
preme court of the United States,
wherein its right to the salt lands of
Utah is challenged by this state, the
Montello Salt company of Ogden yes
terday filed an amendment to It's arti-
cles of Incorporation in the secretary
Of states office yesterday, increasing
its capital stock from Sl,000,000 to ST.
500, 900, in dollar shares. S. T. Corn is
president of the company, and Thomp-
son Corn is secretary.
The fight for the salt lands Of Utah
furnishes one Of the most interesting
chapters of the states legal history.
During the incumbency of NJ. A. Bree-
den as attorney general action was
brought against the Montello Salt
company, challenging the claim Of the
company to any of the salt lands in
the state The Montello company had
filed upon hundreds of acres Of salt
lands in Tooele county, which contain
hundreds of thousands, or perhaps
millions, of tons of salt, practically as
pure as the refined article. The salt
is covered with a thin layer of sand
and fine gravel, varying from few
inches to a foot deep, under which lies
the vast beds of salt deposits, believed
to have been formed many years ago
by Great Salt lake.
The discovery of the salt deposits
was of comparative recent date, and
few years ago the Montello company
was organized and started to work
mining or digging the salt. Thousands
of dollars have been spent in ma
chinery and equipment, and the COM
pany was working on a large scale
when the suit of the state was brought
to Gust the corporation.
Contest for Millions.
Under the enabling act of Utah, It is
claimed, all of the saline lands in the
state are given to the state by the
government for the maintenance of the
University of Utah. The suit of the
state was successful in the district
courts and was then appealed by the
salt company to the supreme court of
the state. Here the state was again
successful, the supreme court of Utah
holding that this saline land, under the
enabling act, belonged to the state, for
the University of Utah. The contention
of attorneys for the salt company is
that the government gave only such
saline lands as were then known to
exist, and did not include all of the
lands of the state.
When the supreme court of the state
ruled in favor of the state and against
the MOntello company, the suit was ap-
pealed to the supreme court of the
United States, where it was argued
more than a year ago. The action of
the highest court in the land is still
withheld, and it is a mere matter of
conjecture when this will be handed
down.
If the state is successful in the SUI
preme court of the United States, it
will mean an endowment of millions of
dollars to the University of Utah. A
conservative estimate has been placed
at $1,000 900, but there is no man who
knows the exact or approximate value
of these lands. The deposits of salt
cover hundreds and hundreds Of acres,
varying in depth from three or four
feet to nearly twenty feet in some
places. There may be deposits deeper
than this. But If the lands are given
to the state, then it means a perma-
nent fund for the University of Utah,
and one which will take the university
off the hands Of the state, so far as
legislative appropriations of any size
are concerned, and will make this one
of the richest universities in the coun-
try.
The increase in the capital stock of
the Montello company yesterday came
as a surprise to the state officials. as
the action in the supreme court of the
United States is still pending.