New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-06-23
Their Right to Mineral
Holdings Upheld by
Highest Court.
PATENTS VALUED
UP TO S700,000,0O0
Decision Kills Clause Making
Land Revert if Found to
Contain Minerals.

Washington. June %. Transconti
mental railways won their fight fol
title to oil lands valued at from $500,
100000 to S700,000,000, when the Su-
preme Court to-day held void the
clause in the patents making the land
revert to the government If found tc
contain minerals.
The court held that the patents were
irregular, but that they could not be
attacked collaterally by other claim
ants, but could onlv br srt "-. hv Cd
direct attack by the Gc-cI0u .t
Justice Van Devnn,sy. itr .h- ,.urt
incidentally empk. i,vd .he cia, tia
the governments tm2 no which
could attack the patents had cXri,cc
in 1900 or 1901.
an every case before this court
said Justice Van Devautcr, eve have
held that where the law says that only
mineral or homestead lands are TO be
granted by the land officials, the Of
ticials must do their duty of ascer-
tanning whether that land came within
the law, and that they could not per-
form their duty by inserting eXcep-
tions that the land should not pass il
found later not to be within the law
Agrees with the Railroads.
This was precisely the contention of
the attorneys for the railroads.
Justice Van Devanter pointed out
that all the land patents granted to
railroads since 1866 contained a clause
declaring the land should not pass
from the government if later it was
found to contain minerals.
LET us see what this would mean
in the case of the Northern Pacific" he
continued. "The Northern Pacific got
every alternate section of land in a
forty -mile-wide strip from Duluth to
the Pacific. Should these clauses be
held valid, the question would arise
as to whether those who long ago pur-
chased from the railroad and created
farms, ranches and towns upon them
The company contended that evil
dence could not be presented at this
day to show that the lands were MN
eral, and that the issuance Of the
patents was conclusive proof that they
were not. 1t also argued that the eX-
ception was void.
Justice Van Devanter held that a
general statute made it the duty Of the
Secretary Of the Interior to inquire
whether the lands were of the class
for which a patent could be issued.
Must Decide on Application.
Referring to the practice of the Land
Office, Justice Van Devanter said 1t
had been the uniform practice TO de-
eide whether the land was within the
limits of the application when the ar-
plication was made and before the IS
suing of the patent.
The government has a separate SUIT
distinguished from the case to-day to
cancel the patents to oil lands held by
the transcontinental carriers.
To-day's decision was in case
brought by Edmund Burke, of Califor-
MIA. who claimed the right to lands now
held by the Southern Pacific, on ;he
ground that they should revert TO the
government because oil had been found
after the issue of the patents to the
railroad.
As all the transcontinental lines
have similar lands they came into the
proceeding. The court decided pracr-
cally only one point IN favor OF me
governments contentious That OIL
lands were mineral lands.
The recovery. however, Of lands OK
ceedng IN va'1e seven MES All the
gold coin i'm ,h' Ur'. states and
more than all the Jual property
and real estate taxed IN Louisiana
Rhode Island. Virginia, North Carolina
or Nebraska was involved.
In commenting on the Supreme Court
decision in favor of the title claims
of the Southern Pacific Railroad Com
pany to California oil lands, julius
Kruttschmitt, chairman of the com
pany's board, said yesterday:
"While the case was one brought by
an individual and not by the United
States, we believe, if the Geographic
reports of what the court decided arc
correct. that the decision covers sub
stantially all the suits brought OF
which may be brought by the United
States government to recover lands
patented to the Southern Pacific and
Subsequently proved to be oil producing
lands. The only ground on which the
government itself can successfully
void such patents is to show that they
were fraudulently obtained.
"The Southern Pacific company S
officials know that there was no fraud,
and therefore they feel that the effect
Of this decision is to confirm all the
commands now outstanding patents"