The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-02-01

The senate decided Tuesday by a
vote of ii to 4 that the people of Utah
were not entitled to an investigation
into the manner in which entrymen III
the Tooele land opening last Saturday
obtained "inside information relative
to the time of the opening of the land
The question came up on the kuchler
resolution asking that the Utah con.
gressional delegation conduct an imme
diate investigation into the question
and ascertain if possible how the in
formation concerning the opening was
received by certain entrymen in ad-
vance of any public announcement. As
a substitute, Senator Benner X. Smith
introduced a resolution asking the con
gressional delegation to request the in
terror department to make a rule per
mitting the advertising of an opening
twenty days in advance Of the date
fixed for the distribution of the land.
Most of the senators took the posi-
ton that those who had the "inside'
information of an opening were en-
titled to ii and that the general public
was not entitled to know when such
An opening was to be made. Senators
Marks and Stookey. in particular In
sisted that the knowledge Of such open
ings be kept from the public in order
that the persons who had originally
selected the land should have the op-
portunity to get the first chance at IT.
They thought that the knowledge of
the opening should be kept from the
general public.
Guarantee Given Register.
In giving his explanation of the ad
vance knowledge of the entrymen rela~
tive to the land opening, Senator Stock
ey said that there were certain people
who looked over the proposed land and
who asked that it might be opened for
settlement. The register of the land
office. he said had told them that 1T
would be opened if they would guar
antee that all the land would be taken
up, The promoters of this plan, he
said, made this guarantee and secured
Il party to take up the land. This was
done quietly, he said in order to pre-
vent others from profiting by their eN-
penditure of time and money He was
assailed with numerous questions by
Kuchler. Kelly and Smith, but main
tained the position that there was moth
ing illegitimate in such procedure.
Senator Booth suggested that If the
senate were going to investigate all
newspaper reports it would be busy
most of the time. Senator kuchler
replied by saying that In a personal
conversation with T.. D. R. Thompson,
register of the United States land of
fee, all of the facts in the newspapers
had been verified.
Certainly Had Information.
''From the records of the United
States land office, - said Senator kuch,
Ter, ~ find that the secretary of the
land referred to for entry under the
Smoot additional homestead act. On
January "a a letter was sent from
Washington to Salt Lake directing that
on receipt of the letter, or as soon
afterwards as the plats could be pre-
pared the register declare the land open
for entry. On January 27 at 4 o. CLOCK
in the afternoon this letter was re-
ceived This was too late to give any
notice Of the opening on that day. too
late even, the register informs me, TO
announce it in the papers of the next
morning
''Despite the fact that there had been
no public announcement of the opening
on the morning of January 2s the cor"
ister of the land Office were filed with
men waiting to file on this land. The
register tells me that these people must
have received word from Washington
as to when the land should be opened
for entry
Stookey Calls Action Public.
Senator Stookey asked if the order
of the secretary of the interior issued
on January lS, designating this land
for entry was not public property, SEN
at2r Kuchler replied that the order of
the secretary of the interior made on
that date was undoubtedly public prop
erty, but that il was not made public
by advertising or in any other manner.
Furthermore. he declared that the let
ter in which the opening of the land
was ordered was not public property un
til after it had been received here and
that the person in Washington who fur
nished the information must have
known of the sending of the letter in
order that he might give the informa-
ton il contained to the favored few In
Salt Lake by telegraph in advance OF
its arrival by mail.
In supporting the substitute resolu-
tion. Senator Smith said that in the
opening Of Saturday he believed that
no rule Of the interior department had
been violated. Under the rules of the