The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1911-04-04
GOVERNMENT SuSTAiNS 40
VERSE DECISION IN ALASKA
COAL LANDS CASE.
CONTENTION IS RAISED
Judge Hanford, in United States Dis.
triet Court, overrules Motion to In.
struct Jury to Aeauit, But Says For.
cign Corporations Have No Right to
Acquire Alaska Property.

Seattle. April 3.--Thc government
lost today its first battle in the eff
fort to punish the alleged fraudulent
locators of Alaska coal lands. Judge
Cornelious II. Hanford In the United
States district court In overruing the
motion to Instruct the jury to acau!t
Charles T.. Munday. Earle Scigley,
Archie Schlels. Sustained all the vital
points contended for by the defend
ants.
The ground on which the court re-
fused TO grant the motion to acquit
was not raised by counsel for either
side In the suit. but by the judge him
self. II leaves the government 80 lit
tie room to stand on that 1t is said to
be practically assured that the prose-
cutlon viii be dropped.
The lands in question are the Eng
llsh or Sir Edward Stracey group. They
are the most valuable coal lands In
the world. being richer even than the
Cunningham claims. Estimates OF the
value range from 100000, 900 to a
much larger sum.
Motion to Aequit.
The defendants. together with Al
gernon Stracey. u brother of Sir Ed
ward Stracey. were indicted ut Tacoma
last fall, charged with conspiracy 10
defraud the government. Straccy re-
manned in Vancouver. B. c., and avoid
ed arrest. Trial of the case was be-
gun last Tuesday. After the Jury had
been completed counsel for the defense
moved for instructions to the jury
to acquit the defendants.
The argument of the attorneys for
the defense was based almost entirely
on the contention that tho 1904 law
applied to Alaska coal claims, instead
OF the general law of 1878, while the
attorneys for the government insisted
that the prohibitions of the law Of 1879
should be read into the law of 1904.
Inasmuch as the law of 1904 in terms
permits the assignment of coal claims
the defendants counsel argued that II
was not Illegal for the defendants to
agree to assign their claims. Further
that IL 1t were legal for a locator u
assign his claim, 1t was equally legal
for any person to buy as many of such
assignments as he could pay for, thus
removing the very foundation from
the indictment upon whleh the de-
PENDANTS were Indicted.
The courts decision today sustained
all the contentious of the defendants
but raised new one In the following
words:
New Contention.
"A foreign corporation cannot law
fully acquire or hold a coal claim IN
Alaska, either In its corporate name OF
In the name of any agent or trustee
Therefore, for the reason that the in
dlctment charges IA conspiracy to ac'
quire coal claims or proprietary rights
TO coal claims In Alaska for a for.
eign corporation, 1t must be SUSTAINED
as valid Indictment and the objec'
tion to the introduction of evidenc,
| must be oyerruled.
The court VIII, however, instruct
the jury that to justify a conviction
of the defendants under 1t the evidence
must prove that the object of the con
spiracy, II any, must have been to per
petrate fraud by securing Goa
claims or proprietary rights in Goa
claims IN Alaska for the Pacific
Coal d OH company"
In discussing the arguments thu
| court sad:
Congress intended 10 enact a pra;
ticable, workable law. and ii its sec
ond attempt to do SO be not made fu
/
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