The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1915-05-04
N DONALDS
NEVER HAD
DAY IN COURT
JUDGE BOWLES HAND 5
DOWN DECISION IN PONCA
CITY PATENT CASE
Special to Daily Leader.


United States patent issued many
years ago on quarter section now
embraced in the heart Of Ponca City. |
Several months ago the heirs of W. X.
Mcdonald filed voluminous petition
reyiving the already famous land con-
test known as the McDonald-Stiles
contest. About two hundred business
men and property owners OF Ponca
City were made co-defendants. These
property owners filed demurrer to
the petition declaring that all the
matters therein had previously been
heard and adjudcated, and that there
was nothing to the case to be revived.
This demurrer was argued early
last week, Milton Brown, OF Guthrie,
and b. T.. Burwell, of Oklahoma City,
appearing for the Mcdonald heirs and
about dozen good lawyers contend
ing for the defendants. The register
Of the Guthrie land office, was present
in court with trunkful of documents,
from his office and the general land
office at Washington City Many OF
these documents were the originals
which the petition alleges were either
forgeries or were fraudulently with
held from the files of the land office
| at Perry. or were never reported to the
land department at Washington. Al
ter hearing all arguments and exam
lining the documents, Judge Bowles
decided that the McDonalds had
never had their day in court and
ordered the demurrer overruled and
the defendants were allowed go days
in which to plead to the charges as set
forth in the petition.
Cant. stiles died long ago, Nc
Donald fell dead from his chair q lew
weeks ago, the night before he was TO
have visited his lawyer in Guthrie TO
make his final examination OF ana
sign the new petition. A large num-
her of the people who were orlglnal
: purchasers from Stiles nave also died
and the renewed battle for these val
luahle property interests will have TO
be waged by the heirs and assigns oi
1.-The originals. Most OF the local land
officials. who seem to have played
very important parts in the many
hearings and decisions in the past
twenty years have also been gathered
to their fathers. But IL some OF the
newly discovered evidence should
now develope in this new hearing as
promised by this petition, some OF the
people very prominent in former
stages of the case would be subjects
of very severe court DEGREES ana
sentences if they were yet within the
jurisdiction of earthly courts.
= Kansas was noted third Of cen
fury agone for its desperate and tragic
county seat fights, but Oklahoma mas
history of long fought, desperate and
costly land contests unequalled any
: where. Part of the valuable site ol
the new state capitol at Oklahoma
| City was the subject OF hard lought
5 legal battles for more that a quarter
of a century while the famous Nc
Masters contest for land in the very
heart of that city was settled but a
year ago. Almost every city in Okla
Ihoma has had a mountain OF trouble
lover contests covering valuable prop
= Ierty in the townsites. In many oil
6 these historic cases the battles were
not always confined to the forensic
- bombardment of a legal tribunal
many real battles with certain and
fatal casualties are among the record
ed results of these land contests. IN
several now important cities OF Okla
homa there was Boot Hill' bury
ing ground started as the result OF ar
early effort to settle contest over
some NdlutDle Cldin outoANS '4'
! courts. Ponca City has certainly SUI
; fered her full share of contests, as
{ two out of the three quarter sections
y which were embraced in that townsit'
q have been numerously tried in all th'
{ courts and before all the interior de
partment officials of high and low de
II gree. The courts and land offices il
n Oklahoma and in Washington, ar
y filled with tons of records, documents
files and exhibits bearing on the proI
, erty within that city. and court OF
g ficials declare that there has been
i great amount of the most viciou
J, perjury and false swearing and shar
r practice in these cases that was eve
y known to any form of so-called lega
q procedure.
ls The newly filed petition sets fort
and which has never been denied