The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-04-04
Judge HanfOrd Cuts Ground
From Under Governments
Feet in Coal Land Cases.
SYNDICATE GETS AWAY
WITH THE STRACEY GROUP
Value of Alaska Claims Over
Which Action Was Brought
Is Over $100,000,000.

SEATTLE. April 3.--The government
lost today in its first battle in the ef
fort to punish the alleged fraudulent To-
Gators OF Alaska coal lands. Judge Cor
nelius II. Hanford. In the United States
district court in overrulinG the motion
to instruct the jury TO acquit Charles 2.
Munday. Earl f. siegley and Archie
Schiels. sustained all the vital points
contended for by the defendants.
The ground on which the court re-
fused 10 grant the motion to acquit was
not raised by counsel for either side In
tho sut but by The judge himself. II
leaves the government SO little room u
stand on that II is said 10 be pracu-
cally assured that the prosecution Will
be dropped.
The lands in question are the English
OF Sir Edward Slraccy group. They are
tho most valuable coal lands IN the world,
being richer even than the cunningham
claims. Estimates OF the value range
from 500, 600. 900 TO a much larger sum.
The defendants. together With AISernon
Stracey. n u-Gthcr OF Sir Edward Stra-
cey, were indeed at Tacoma last fall
charged with conspiracy 20 defraud the
government. Stracey remained in Van
couver, b c., and avoided arrest Trial
OF the case was, begun last Tuesday.
After the jury had been completed c0un-
sci for the defense moved for instruc-
tions TO the jury TO acquit the defend
ants.
Points Raised by Defense.
The argument Of the attorneys for the
defense was based almost entirely on the
contention that the 1904 law appleo 10
Alaska coal claims. ,nstead OF the gen
eral land law of 1873, while the attorneys
for the government Insisted that the pro-
thibitions OF the law OF 1873 should be
read into the law Of 1904.
Inasnuch as the law OF 1908 in terms
permits the assignment OF coal claims.
the defendants counsel argued that IL
was not Illegal for The defendants to
agree TO assign their coal claims
contended. that II IL were legal for a
elocator to assign his claim, II was equal
l1y legal for any person to buy as many
OF such assignments as he could pay for,
thus removing the very foundation from
fthe indictment upon which the defend
Nants were indicted.
all the contentious OF the defendants, but
raised new one in the following words:
Indictment Is Valid.
"A foreign corporation cannot lawfully
! acquire or hold q coal claim In Alaska,
eame IL or rhers IT e
! fore for the reason that the indictment
/ charges conspiracy 10 acquire coal
claims or proprietary rights TO coal claims
, In Alaska for a foreign corporation, IL
must be sustained as valid indictment
and the objection to the Introduction OF
evidence must be overruled.
The court will. however. instruct the
! jury that TO justify conviction OF the
defendants under II the evidence must
prove that the object of the conspiracy.
II any, must have been 10 perpetrate
fraud by securing coal claims or pro-
prietary rights in coal claims liz Alaska
for the Pacific Coal and OIL company"
In discussing the arguments. the court
said;
Congress intended to enact a practi-
cable. workable law. and If its second
attempt TO do SO be not made futile by
misconstruction. we have such law.
1t Is not a law made to serve the pur-
pose of monopoists who would keep the
coal OF Alaska locked UP within her
mountain walls. nor IL is based upon any
fantastic notion that trusts can be ami
hllated by giving coal rights to no one
except the man who by personal toll may
dig the coal and carry u 10 market upon
his back or upon his head. II is the
duty OF the court not TO misconstrue the
enacted 1t and the president who APP
proved and signed. Il. by imputing to
them a lack of either sense or honesty"
No Appeal From Decision.
The points raised In the motion to
acqult were the same as those made in
indictment in the Doughton case at Spo-
kane. United States Judge Rudkin took
the argument under consideration there,
and has not yet rendered a decision \
demurrer may be appealed from, but
Judge Hanford's decision sets the de-
PENDANTS In the Stracey group free II
the one ground left. for there is no ap-
peal from today's decision.
The government counsel. Is; d. Town
send and s. II. Rush. say that todays
ruling is not final and that the other
cases will be prosecuted and the Alaskan
coal claims forfeited The estimated
value OF the land covered by all the
claims Is more than one billion dollars
AS soon as Judge Hanford had read
his decision. counsel for the defense
asked that an exception be noted TO that
portion ovcrrui!ng the motion for the
instruction OF the jury to bring in a YER
dict of acquittal. The defense declared
also that the Indictment did not charge
the Pacific Coal G. oil company with be-
ing foreign corporation. but merely as
serted that II was reputed TO be one.
Governments Exceptions.
y. d. Townsend. assistant 10 the at
torney general. also took exceptions TO
the decision TO protect his right in case
he should decide 10 attempt to appeal
The governments exceptions were based
on that part OF the decision which held
that the only charge in the indictment
that could stand was the one relating
TO the foreign character OF the Pacific
Coal OIL company.
AZ the request OF Mr.. Townsend court
took recess until tomorrow to permit
The government to rearrange its evidence
to proceed with the trial in accordance
with the ruling OF the court that the
foreign corporation conspiracy was the
only clause In the indictment upon which
the trail could proceed.