The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-06-23
Supreme Court Confirms
Southern Pacific's Title
to Disputed Grants
VALUE INVOLVED MAY
BE $5O0,OOO,OOO
Government May Still Sue,
but Private Attacks
Are Barred

Washington, June -Transcontinen-
tai railways won their fight for title to
some S700,000,000 worth of oil lands
when the supreme court yesterday held
void the clause in the patents making
the land revert to the government If
found to contain minerals.
The court decided one point, that oil
! is mineral, in the governments favor.
The court held that the patents were
irregular, but that they could not be
attacked collateraly-by other claim
ants-but could only be set aside by
direct attack by the government.
Justice Vandevanter, for the court, in
cidentally emphasized the claim that the
time in which the government could
attack the patent had expired in 1900 or
1901
"In every case before this court"
said Justice Vandevanter, "we have held
that where the law says that only min
eral or homestead lands are to be grant
ed by the land officials, the officials
must do their duty of ascertaining
whether that land came within the law
and that they could not perform their
duty by inserting exceptions that the
land should not pass if found later not
to be within the law"
This was precisely the contention of
the attorneys for the railroads.
Justice Vandevanter pointed out that
all the land patents granted to railroads
since 1856 contained clause declaring
the land should not pass from the gov
eminent if later it was found to con-
tain minerals.
Jet us see what this would mean in
the case of the Northern Pacific" said
he. The Northern Pacific got every al
Tentative 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 so long ago purchased from the
railroad and created farms. ranches. and
towns upon them had any rights"
The company eontended that evidence
could not be presented at this day to
show that the lands were mineral, and
that the issuance of the patents was
conclusive proof that they were not.
II also argued that the exception was
void
Justice Vandevanter held that gen
eral 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
The justice said it had been uniform
practice to decide whether the land was
within the limits of the application
when the application was made and be-
fore issuing the patent.
The government has separate suit
from the case yesterday,
to conceal the patents to oil lands held
by the rans-continental carriers.
Yesterdays decision was in case
brought by Edmund Burke of Califor-
mia, who claimed the right to lands now
held by the Southern Pacific, on the
ground that they should revert to the
government because oil had been found
after the issue of the patent 20 the
railroad.
lnasmuch as all the trans continental
lines have similar lands they came into
The proceedings. The court decided prac-
tieally only one point in favor of the
governments contentions-thato oil lands
we're mineral lands.
The recovery, however, OF lands ex-
,eeding in value seven times all the gold
,oin in the United States and more than
Ill the personal property and real es- |
tate taxed in Louisiana, Rhode Island, |
Virginia, North Carolina, or Nebraska, !
was involved.