Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1913-05-01
RATLROADLANDS
REVERT TO U. S.
GOVERNMENT WINS AGAINST S.
p, IN FAMOUS CASE.
SUBMITTED WITHOUT ARGUMENT
Case Involves 100000 Acres of
Land in Western and Southern
OregOn-Win be Appealed to Su-
preme Court.


Portland, Ore, April 29.-"The
court orders that decree he entered,
forfeiting these lands to the United
States government and that the gov
ernment recover its costs and dis
bursements in this case"
By this simple statement of Judge
C. E. Wolverton, of the federal dis
trict court, today, and in the pres
ence of a few attorneys, lands stipu-
lated to be worth $30,OO0,OO0 and
estimated by experts to have value
of $40,000,0O0 to $60,000,O00 were
taken from the Southern Pacific
Company and returned to the federal
government.
There were nc spectacular or inn
pressive arguments. In quiet mon
otone, as if deciding some unimpor-
tant affair, Judge Wolverton ended
in the lower courts the greatest land
case the federal government has yet
prosecuted. An acreage aggregating
slightly more than 100000, for
which the people of Oregon have
been clamoring insistently the past
decade, was declared the property of
the federal government, to be opened
if congress so desires.
While the decree finishes the fam
Gus Oregon and California land grant
case in the lower courts, it will be
Immediately appealed to the circuit
court of appeals in San Francisco
1t seems propable that the case may
be brought up for a hearing there
by October of this year, or possibly
earlier. From there, no matter what
is the decision, the case will go on
to the supreme court of the United
States for final adjudication.
elimination of the famous contro.
versy in the lower courts came unex.
pectedly. B. D. Townsend, the spe,
ciial district attorney of the federal
government, who instituted the for.
feiture suit and has handled it ever
since its inception, was on hand pre-.
pared for ten to. fifteen days oi
strenuous argument. w. ]. Herrin
general counsel for the Southern Pa
cific Company, and P. F, Dunno, gen
eral counsel for the Hartman sys
TEN, reached Portland yesterday tt
appear with w. D. Fenton, chic
counsel for the Southern Pacific, il
the struggle.
Yesterday Afternoon the attorney
for the railway got into touch will
Mr.. Townsend, and they went befor,
Judge Wolverton. 1t was soon re
Vealed that no new matter adduce(
in the testimony taken. the past yeal
altered the view of Judge WolvertoI
when deciding the demurrer. Thi
prompted the railway attorneys t.
submit their case without argument
and it was so clear to the govern
ment counsel that the interests o
the people were safe that the cour
was informed that the government
would not argue.
This case, which was instituted il
1908, has been one of the most force
fully contested ever brought in loca
courts. The Oregon legislature peti
toned congress to take action, ant
a resolution was passed to that effec
by the national legislature. B. d
Townsend was at once assigned t.
the case. After he started his in
quiry into the facts, A. w. Laffert!
filed about 60 private suits for mel
induced to locate on the lands
Townsend then filed the main case
demanding forfeiture of the 1900,
600 acres remaining unsold. TIL,
court ordered the Lafferty cases con
solidated, and later 1000 or 5000