The Detroit times., 1913-09-22
Representative c. M. Thompson
Charges the Dept. Of Justice
With Favoring Railroads
GOVERNMENT .ROBBED~
OF VALUABLE OIL FIELDS
Attorney, Who Discovered Steal.
Was Dismissed From Service
BY Guggenheim Protege
BY gibson GARDNER.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 22.-(Spe-
ciaU-What may prove to be one OF
the biggest land frauds In the history
OF the United States has just been
uncovered by Representative Charles
NJ. Thompson. OF Illinois.
That the department OF justice has
been mixed up In a bad-looking con-
spiracy. and has conducted a piece OF
litigation involving more than . bill
lion dollars worth Of mineral oil lands
In California, In a manner 30 "as to
be most advantageous to the Southern
Pacific Railroad company rather than
to the government" is the bald
charge contained In resolutions to-
day introduced into the house by the
Illinois congressman.
The case grows out Of land grant
made to the Southern Pacific by cot
OF Congress approved July "a, 1866,
including 126, 900 acres, Of an estlmat-
ed value Of more than billion dol
lars. In the patents issued to the
railroad for this and appeared q
clause specifically excluding in ex.
press terms ''all mineral lands" (ex'
cept iron or coal lands).
In spite Of this fact the Southern
Pacific and it, subsidiary oil com
panies now deny that the Unitet
States has any right or title IN thesa
lands and are drilling wells and u
tracing petroleum In large quantities
An obscure emplOye OF the intarioI
department, one T. ]. Butler, dug uy
the facts from the musty and forgot
ten files of the land once and, after
two years Of effort. finally forced the
case up to the department Of justice
which department on Dec. 30, 1919
filed suit seeking to have the title
to approximately $4,000 acres Of these
oil lands restored to the United
States.
Three years before the flling of the
governments suit certain private par
ties brought suits against the South
ern Pacific seeking to have the OF
lands declared public lands and them.
selves confirmed In the title to some
OF these lands which they had fled
upon. These suits are known AZ
Burke vs. Southern Pacific and Rob
erts vs. Southern Pacific. Both Burke
and Roberts based their plea on the
theory that the title to tho lands had
passsd to the railroad company and
merely sought to have tho origina
grant annufed. The government suit
however. 10 much stronger. since Il
rests its case on the fact that the
Southern Pacific never had any title
to these oil lands at all. In spite o.
tho strength Of the government
case, however. its bill ID languishinl
in the courts waiting for the decision
of the United States supreme court IN
the case Of Burke vs. Southern Pacific
Railroad company. n the court de
cides the private cases adversely Il
will to some extent prejudice the gov
ernment's case, and In tho meantime
also the government 10 losing thou
sands OF dollars for every month ol
delay.
Thompson's resolution recites
whereas, II became generally known
that the government proposed to brine
suit to establish It's title to said min
eral lands. on or about Jan. 1, 1910
and at that time said railroad com
pany had about 40 producing wells on
said lands and Immediately thereafter
the operations Of said company
through the Kern Trading 4 OIL com
pany "a subsidiary were rapidly IN
(OentinuaA .. pags Dight).