The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1912-04-09

without cost to themselves. except
| fGT the expense OF development. Re
Gently il was decided by the school
land commission that the bed be-
longed to the state, which therefore
was entitled to royalty on the
products taken from the bed.
Two leases were made, one for
the sand and gravel to the Builders
Sand and Gravel company, and the
other to the Pollard-Iiaean Oil com
pany Litigation at once arose to
prevent further operations OF other
sand and gravel companies and suits
are now pending in Pawnee ard
Tulsa counties in the state courts ami
in the federal courts at Guthrie
and Muskosee.
History Of Kansas Case.
In the Kansas case, the litigation
first arose between two riparian
owners of land on opposite sides OF
,hc river, over possession of an island
in the bed of the river between
their tracts of land. The state inter
vened in the action. claiming own
ership, and the question of whether
the river was nayigable was consider
ed The jury decided against In"
state, an appeal was taken, and the
supreme court reversed the ruling
of the court below, and held that
the Arkansas river now is and al
ways has been navlgable as a mat
ter OF law, and that the state is the
owner of the bed of the stream
This decision. it was conceded,
was in line with the rulings OF the
supreme court, but an exception was
attempted in the Kansas case on the
elOund mat the river flows through
a portion of the state where boats
cannot pass and it is not used tor
commercial purposes. However, the
court held this was not material
and decided that the title to riparian
owners extends only TO the high
water mark, the state owning al.
the other portion.
The first litigation in Oklahoma
started a year ago. involving the Get
ebrated Turkey island, near Cleve
land. Oil operators had gone on the
island and We're drilling upon il when
suit was brought by the state
through attorneys A p. Crockett, G..
b. Stuart and ". \. ieupetter, IN.
Joining them from appropriatins the
land All along the river in its DR.,
bed, oil wells have been drilled ana
oil and gas worth hundreds of thou
sands Of dollars have been removed.
according to the attorneys. At Tulsa,
a receiver was appointed over par,
of the river bed where there arr
wells, and from 200 to l.0oO barrels
OF oil daily are produced, II is said
The state and its leSsees are push
Ing this litigation, claiming. in line
with tho Kansas decision, that Okla
homa owns the bed of the river and
the oil and gas deposits
Company Paying Expense.
The oil and gas comHanles oper-
atins these holdings have united in
opposing the cllm of the state and
Crockett, Stunrt and Ledbetter are
representing the llard-ildgan on
company and the state, the company
hearlng the expense OF the litigation
me lease q ms company calls toI
a royalty of one-eighth of tie p-r-
duction TO be paid to the state. Other
leases also have been made aloua
the river
Th' claim of the oil companies IN
these cases is that the state owns
only that portion of the river bed
below low water mark. while tue
stat" claims possession up 10 high
water mark. The suits also involve
indian affairs, is It is the claim of
The interior department. that In this
state the bed Of the river boloncet
To The Five Civilized rrbes. lnst
as the allotments on either side were
their property. However, in a recent
opinion Of the attorney general OF
the United States to Commissioners
Wright. it was held that the govern
ment merely held the river in trust
for the state while governing indian
Territory.
rha sand and gravel situation IS
much the same. Before statehood
Ihe companies taking the sand ana