Licking Valley courier. [volume] (West Liberty, Ky.) 19??-current, 1913-10-16
JUDGE CISCO'S GREAT SPEECH
Delivered at the Citizens Mass
Meeting at West Liberty
October 4. 1913

At the mass meeting of the
citizens Of Morgan county, held
at West Liberty Oct. 4, to pro-
test against the .Sewell claims,
Judge Allan N. Cisco said:
Mr.. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen;
The motives causing this vast multi
tude of people to assemble here on
this occasion are essentially different
from any we have heretofore known.
We are here assembled to soberly and
seriously consider lawful and proper
ways and means for the protection of
our homes against invasion at the
hands of men who would rob us of our
all, were it possible for them to do so.
But before proceeding further | want
to admonish you, one and all, to per-
NIT reason to rule, and that no man
lence We are a law-abiding people,
and Morgan county now, and for years
past has stood in the very forefront Of
all the counties Of this Commonwealth
as a county that believes IN the en-
forcement CT law and order Let no
act of ours on this occasion stigmatize
her fair name or the name Of her cit
izenship. She is one of the few coun-
ties in this State on whose criminal
docket there is not single murder
case, and there has only been one such
case in the courts of this county in
the last five years. These things are
to your credit and strongly empha-
size your good citizenship. Let us,
beseech you, by no act of ours do any
Of those things calculated to bring
shame or reproach upon our good
name. l have an abiding faith in The
intelligence and sober judgment Of
our people that they can be depended
upon at all times, and under all cir.
cumstances, to demean themselves as
becomes gentlemen of the highest
order.
That which concerns you, and caus
ed you to come here to-day grows out
of the execution of large number o
deeds and leases for oil and gas anC
other mineral privileges granted t,
John. W. Sewell in the years of 1856
and 1865, which deeds and leases GOV
er and include large sections Of lant
in this county as well as a number
of adjoining counties. At this time
am unable to say how many or who's,
lands are affected by these leases o
deeds, but the humber Of farms ant
the quantity of land is great Sew
ell and those claiming unde
or through him have held thes
leases and deeds now for almost hal
century without any effort to exer
else any rights because of then
while in the meantime most of tn
old citizens who made these grants {
, sewell have passed away, carryin
I with them perhaps, whatever evideu
ces Of fraud Sewell resorted to in oil
tainin g them. In fact am informed
and | believe the facts will be jud
cially established little later on, this
, in most, If not all, the cases i'm whic
Sewell secured deeds for the oil an
4 gas and other mineral privileges, /
+ did so by fraud and by representa-
a aud pretending to the land owner thi
I the instrument drawn up ready tC
! signing, and which the landown,
= was induced to sign, was only lea'
and that the men who executed tho'
o grants never knew that they we,
L deeds but believed them to be leasl
/. only After obtaining these oil, 81
l. and mineral privileges Sewell wei
g away from this county and never r
. turned. He never took any steps
= develop the resources of the count
but merely had his instruments
n writing recorded and then left q
e country, doubtless seeking a mark
Ie where he could barter, sell and traf
10 on the rights of you people and I
Te rights Of your ancestors, who UNIV
~ tingly allowed themselves to becor
10 the dupes and victims of Sewel
nt sharp bargains.
Id During the great length of tn
Or the Sewells have held these leases a
es deeds, Ihev have never listed them
ie any of them for taxation or paid O
- cent of taxes on them, or any of In,
70 so far as the public records sho
ID but on the contrary, they have
Il. their silence lulled you people into
Ia. sense of security by allowing
lie lands affected by the leases and dee
ID to pass from father to son, fr,
VI grantor to grantee without obiecti
'n Of u word of protest, until now
mn whole of them is in the hands of
lie nocent purchasers, men who were a
of are total strangers TO the Sewell trI
actions, You men having acquil
these affected lands by honest ende
or, have by your thrift and indus
gone on and fitted them for homes 4
- habltatlons, and many of YOU no do
W hnvn r,nrn1 ,,,,, ,hua,,,, go, L.,