The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-07-06
Noted Coal Lands Case Is
Decided by Local Land
Office for the De-
PENDANTS.
PARTIES TO ACTION
FULLY EXONERATED
Property Is Situated in Car
bon County, and the Gov
ernment's Valuation
Is $3,OO0,000.


~ including Investigations which
~ extended into Washington and
California, decision long
looked for and one or the most impor-
tani which has been rendered in Salt
Lake. because it affects more than a
dozen prominent local people. was Civ
en- Yesterday by +. D. Il. Thompson,
register. and NJ NJ. Kaghn, receiver
of the United States land Office at Salt
Lake, sitting as board of examiners,
when the case of the United States Us.
Rilla Snyder, also known as the
Freed Goa entries case was decid'
ed in favor OF the defendants.
Yesterday S decision involves 5000
acres OF coal lands in Huntington can
yon. Emery county. which are valued
by the government at about S3,0O0,OO0.
Twenty-six entries of l60 acres each
were made upon this land. 1t was
charged that these entries had been
fraudulently made with dummy entry
men for the purpose of conveying them
to Walter G.. Filler in violation of fed
ersl statute.
The decision OF the examiners is TO
the effect that there was no fraud in
the proceeding and that there was no
agreement TO convey the land TO any
party OF parties before the money in
payment for the lands had been CON
veyed 10 the government and before
the entries had been completed. The
defendants were exonerated from all
fraud and all fraudulent intention.
Government to Appeal.
T. 4. MAYNARD. special agent Of the
government in examining titles 10 coal
lands in Utah, and who prosecuted the
- ,n,txt
that the decision would be Immediately
appealed from to the general land of
flce at Washington and TO the secre.
tary of the interior. He said that if
the secretary of the interior upheld the
decision. il was possible that the Unit
ed States attorney general might bring
suit in equitv against the defendants
in the United States district court of
Utah.
Claud W Freed. one of the twenty.
six defendants in the ease. said last
night that he considered the decision
to be Just and gave detailed history
of the case.
The defendants are: Rilla SNYDER.
Brigham Y. SNYDER Raw S. Bowman.
Harvey G. Fisher. Mary A. Ellingwood,
Jennie SNYDER, Bismarck SNYDER, Mur.
ray Shepherd. Lillian Levy. Ruth
Freed Rose Levy. Carrie Levy, Louise
Freed, William X. Murdock, Ernest
Bowman, Crayton C. Snyder. Thomas
F. Riley. Hvman A. Leipsiger, Emma
Leipsiger, Ellis c. Freed, Claud W.
Freed, Samuel NJ. Levy. Emil J. Rad.
datz, Lester D. Freed, Dave F. Block,
+. 6. Schramm and the estate of
Charles NJ. Freed. deceased
Following are the salient points in
the case gathered from the evidence
and from the decision:
The entrymen IN the case paid SO
ard $50 an acre for the land After
the entries were made the government
appraised adjoining land at $500 an
acre OF the twenty-six entries, six
teen were made by Bismarck SNYDER.
relatives and business associates.
Money Is Borrowed.
In all entries. the money was Dor.
rowed by the entrymen from Walter
u. Filler, each eDtryman giving note
Tor the amount Of the purchase price
Of the lands with 10 per cent interest,
payable in one year. Each gave a
mortgage on his individual tract of
land TO secure the payment OF the
borrowed money
II was charged that these entries
were fraudulent and taken ont for the
sole purpose of conveying them to Mr..
Filler. Some time after the entries
were made all were sold 10 Charles NJ.
Freed. during the years 1905 and 1906
at an average profit to the entrymen
of $3.50 The evidence showed that
there had been no fraud in this.
In the Freed eases. the entries had
been made by c. NJ. Freed, sons, rela-
fives and by one employee Of the Freed
Furniture & Carpet company. No
fraud was found in any of these cases.
In some of the entries, however, it was
round that they embraced lands that
were not coal lands and the land of
nee recommended that these entries be
Cancelled: The non-coal lands include
about 800 acres.
Prior to 1907 Special Agents W. S.
Wade and j. Il. Lamoreaux investieat.
rd entries aud interviewed entrymcn.
MI. Lamoreaux testified that he found