Los Angeles herald., 1910-10-19
First Assistant Secretary interior
Holds Final Session on
Yard Decision
LEAVES FOR BAKERSFIELD
Nevada Men Defend Government
Position, Which Is Held
Specific Ruling

is specific and not general and cannot
apply to all placer locations; that it is
based on a. fraudulent location in the
forest reserve under the allegation that
the land contained mineral and that 1t
should not prevail when a man had
made a location in good faith and done
his work to the point of discovery, was
the chief argument of the opposition 10
theYard case, the hearing of which was
concluded yesterday by Frank Pierce,
first assistant secretary of the interior.
There We're some who argued that
the Yard decision should be reversed,
some that it should be upheld and some
that the state laws and decisions OF the
supreme court Of the United states
were adequate to govern in placer min
ing and should not, and could not, be
disturbed by decision of the interior
or land departments.
The Yard decision, being based on
case involving fraud, states among
other things that one man is entitled to
only twenty acres, or if there is party
of eight locators that only 160 acres can
be taken up and that these lands can
not be disposed of to an individual
or company For this reason the op-
positi IN has been led by corporation
lawyers, their argument being based
on a decision handed down by the state
supreme court and sustained by the
United States supreme court. 1t is the
case of Miller VS.. Chrisman.
PEOPLE BEING ROBBED
Miller was one of eight locators. The
other seven transferred to him their
right in the claim, and Miller In turn
transferred to an oil company which
e1made the first discovery. In every part
of the decision, the right to construc-
tive possession is upheld, thus acting
in direct opposition to the Yard de-
cision.
The Yard decision, based upon fraud
ulent transactions in the forest reserve,
reused the government to the fact that
the people were being robbed, and it
aims to prevent wholesale fraud in the
future. In cases where work has been
done in good faith it would work a
hardship to enforce the terms of the
decision, and for this reason, 1t is said,
q modification of the decision is likely,
or some legislation favoring possessory
rights where the law has been COM
piled with and a discovery made in
good faith.
On the land grabber who has never
acted in good faith, the Yard case de-
cision falls heaviest, for it is at him
the decision is directed. The sole aim
of the interior department, backed by
the president, in writing this decision
was to eliminate as far as possible
from the public domain the practice of
graft, dummy locations and fraudulent
constructive possession. A cabin here
or a broken down boiler there does not
constitute such a possession, although
many locations have held under such
preteXt.
CAN'T WORK HARM
It is the consensus of opinion among
those who are in favor of letting the
Yard decision stand in its entirety that
it cannot work harm, that it must in
Variably result in good to all the peO-
pie and be a means of saving what IS
left of the public domain from devasta-
ton at the hands of greed.
The Yard decision was stanchly de-
Tended yesterday before Judge Pierce
by c. o. Whittimore, representing c. L.
Lyman and other Nevada men, who
were elected from lands now held by
the Honolulu Consolidated Oil company
in the Elks hills of the Sunset-Midway
field. This is the William Matson COM
pany.
Mr.. Whittimore submitted a petition
to the interior department through
Judge Pierce asking that an inYestiga-
tion be made, claiming that his clients
were elected by gun men who now hold
possession. The Honolulu Consolidated
was the first settler on the disputed
land, but Mr.. WhittimoTe alleges that
some ten square miles we're located by
those back of the Honolulu by dummies
and that in view of recent rulings such
locations are not legal His eight To-
Gators went on 100 acres of this land
and located. He claims that the Homo
lulu gun men forced them off with nei-
ther legal nor equitable right to do so.
ARMY NOT NECESSARY
Judge Pierce interrupted to inquire
what the remedy would be, adding, in
somewhat of a jest, do you think it
will be necessary to order out the Unit |
ed States army?"
mo-" answered Mr. Whittimore. 1T
is a matter to be decided by either the |
interior department or the courts"
'Well," rejoined Judge Pierce, ''you |
might wait long time, for the interior
department is almost as slow as the !
courts"
Mr.. Whittimore cited the federal case
of Hanson VS.. Craig to show where the |
Miller VS.. Crisman case was at error |
and that therefore where Judge Frank |
Short, who argued against the Yard |
decision Monday on the strength Of /
Miller VS.. Crisman, was at fault. The |
Hanson VS.. Craig decision holds that |
man cannot sell what he does not own, |
and Whittimore constructed this to |
mean that the Honolulu people had no |
right to transfer holdings until a dis |
covery had been made thereon.
L. w. Anderson, counsel for the In |
ion Oil company, opposed the Yard de- |
cision, arguing along lines similar to
those Of Judge Short on Monday Both !
being for the corporations, they held |
to the old standards and that the spirit
of the law or an equitable adjustment
Of land matters, should prevail.
2. L. Tolin, the last to appear before
Judge Pierce, also opposed the Yard de-
cision, basing his argument on facts
brought by all who had preceded him.
A summary of mis- argument was that
the miner should be protected in his
constructive possession, and that no
law should interfere with that which |
he, through honest practice, had made |
for himself, a law that was adopted by
congress long after ii had been put into |
practice in mining camps.
At the close of the hearing Judge |
Pierce thanked all present for the great |
service they had rendered him and the |
interior department, and said the sub |
ject would be given most careful con- |
sideration. He thanked especially the |
attorneys who presented the two sides |
and the Los Angeles chamber OF mines |
and oil, which arranged for the meet |
ing, hired the hall, and under whose |
auspices the hearing was held.
Judge Pierce leaves tonight for the |
oil fields, where he win be the guest |
of the California Oil Mems association |
and the boards Of trade Of Coalinga |
and Bakersfield,