Weekly journal-miner., 1911-09-13

WASHINGTON. D. C, sept. ' The action of the department Of justice in dismissing the eases against lIovnl 4. smith and his nssociates of Bisbco. Arizona. IS wonderful wee tory. not only Co the principals m the action. but is rather an onginai precedent in view of its bearing mp on the mining industry of the south west, particularly as relating to those districts wherein the formation are limestone. The department of justice cites the following three cases
 United state. VI. Warren Realty X
 Development Cgmhany and llovaI
 A. smith;
 United iatcs vs. Warren Realty X
 Development Company and iloval
 A. Smith. Della Williams and !.
 W. Wallace;
 United states vs. Warren Ranch
 Company. IIoyal A. smith and
 Henry lIovlnnd.
 The charge of grossly, fraudulent misrepresentation of material facts " having been thoroughly investigated, the department concludes that such n contention is absolutely without foundation and in manner truly be- fitting the great head of the govern ment which has been mislcd, the At. torney General has directed the spec. ial representative of the department, MT. <. <. Kingan, to withdraw the suits. The attorney generals letter Co Mir. Kingan clears up all matters of controversy and leave. clear and undisputcd victory for Mir Smith and his associates. The following is q portion of the attorney generals E letter:
 "At the earnest insistence of Nr. IIoval \. smith and his counsel, this department gave them an extended hearing at which evidence was pro. duced amounting, apparently, to n demonstration of their scontcntion that all of the facts concerning the mining claims, and the objects and purposes of Mir Smith and his asso. ciatcs in urging them for patent were laid before the land department be fore the patents were issued fully and frankly and without any msre. presentation or concealment whatso. ever; and that the department, with the entire evidence thus before it, deliberately and without being mis. led or mistaken ns 10 the facts in any particular, decided that the ap. plieants were entitled 10 the patents and issued them accordingly.
 "As the situation thus revealed was unwholly incompatible with the existence of any cause of action in the government based upon fraud and misrepresentation, l referred the entire matter to the secretary of the interior with the suggestion that, m. less the showing made here should turn out 10 he at variance with the true facts as revealed by the records and known Q the officials of his department, there would be nothing for 1t but to dismiss the suits. After due investigation and consideration the secretary, by his letter of August 23, 1911, copy of which send herewith for your future informa. tion, advises in effect that no fur. fher effort can consistently or prop. erly be made to maintain the li,ipa. ton.
 "There seems to have been no req son whatever 10 question the good faith and veracity of MT. Smith and his associates in these transactions. They appear to have expended large sums of money in the acquisition of the land, in the belief that it was valuable mineral land, and for the purpose of developing and exploiting 1t as such. It Is true that they re. lied largely, if not entirely, upon geo. logic evidence ns assuring the exist. ence of mineral below the surface. but their confidence in this regard was substantially in accord with the concensus of opinion among those most competent to judge, includin, prominent mining experts of the Geo. logical Survey. That the occurrence, of mineral at or near the surface were insignificant and bore little. if any, geologic relation to the peculiar deposits which tho applicants hoped and expected to encounter below were facts well known to the land department at the time when the patents were issued, as were also tho plans looking to the use of portion of the surface for townsite purposes The charge that the land was in par,