The Ronan pioneer., 1917-01-26
TROUBLE BREWING
OVER STATE LAND

I
Senator A. j. Brewer, prominent
banker, stockgrower and land owner
of Roman. is charged with having
made fraudulent entry upon state
lands, violated promises made to the
state land board exacted exhorbi-
tant rentals in sub-leasing, and beat
IA neighbor out of priority rights to
state land near Roman.
Bernard Liebel, living four or five
miles west of Roman is the plaintiff,
while A. j. Brewer, Mrs. Mary
Brewer, who is said in the complaint
to have been used by her husband as
a dummy" in securing leases on the
land, and Sidney Miller. register Of
the state land board are made de-
| PENDANTS in the action.
Liebel alleges that through an ar
rangemcnt with the state land board
Brewer previously commissioned by
the paintiff) leased and thus secured
priority rights to land which Liebel
had Occupied and improved in good
faith. He further charges that Brow
er in sub-letting the land to him.
violated a promise to the state board
that no profit would be made in sub
rentals to previous applicants for
leases.
The plaintiff asks that Brower's
lease be cancelled; that the suitcase
be annulled that Sidney Miller, as
register of state lands, be directed to
issue a lease to Liebel, giving him
and that Liebel be decreed to be the
owner of all improvements on the
land.
Liebcl's tract is 80 acres in area.
Brower's leases, issued to his wife,
his partner, his cashier and his part
ner's wife, so the complaint alleges.
cover $3.50 acres.
Upon reading the report as printed
in Missoula paper concerning the
suit filed against him, Senator Brewer
issued the following statement from
Helena:
II trust that my friends in Mis-
soula county will at least withhold
judgment regarding the somewhat
sensational suit filed against me yes
terday until the facts are ascer-
tanned.
"This suit is well timed on ac-
count of my position taken here in
the senate on important Legislation
affecting the welfare of the people
of the state. Regardless of any pos
sible effect resulting therefrom, !
will still pursue the course ] am
now attempting to carry out in mat
ters relating to the people regardless
of price.
II will continue to vote upon the
important matters coming daily be-
fore the senate, that vitality affect
the interests of the people of tne
state, as I see them, regardless ct
Nov as to the facts: have never
had a foot of land leased from the
state of Montana, in my life.
my partner, w. S. Hollingsworth
of Roman, holds an assignment )f
lease from the state for section Of
mountain grazing land on the Little
ant,
which was assigned to him some time
in 1914 or 1915, from Hon. James
GLADDEN. of Perma, Montana.
MARY Brewer has less than 500
acres of land leased in the state of
Montana, part of which has been re-
leased to ranchcrs adjoining. This
is all the agricultural land or graz
ing land which has ever been leased
by my wife or my partner.
"The records of the state land Of
flee will bear out these facts
In second suit filed against Mr..
Brower,t wherein the complain
charges practically the same as in
the Liebel suit, Thomas McKenna
and Thomas O'Reilley, both rancch-
ers and homesteaders living near
D'Aste, are plaintiffs. The plaintiffs
charge that Mr.. Brewer, in addition
to other things, represented agricul-
tural land to be grazing land, Sc
curing the leases at grazing land
rentals. and that the governor and
register altered a department rule at
Brower's request. The cases will be
watched with interest by the resi-
dents of the reservation, not only on
account of the prominence OF those
connected with the suit, but because
of the fact that the leasing OF state
lands in this locality has always
been a mystery unsolved. The pres
ent case may have tendency to
s, rd n n