Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1919-05-29
RIAL


Some one has said That eternal vigilance is the ~rr.or ibery
or something to this effect. This may be parphraS"d INTO remark
ing that eternal vigilance is the price Of public honesty. ,.
Attention is called 10 an article appearing c@e"her" IN TINS
edition concerning the Sjoker" that Il California prosecuting oulecr
has discovered in the mineral lands leasing bill which barely missed
passing through congress.
Under the pretext Of protecting the interests Of the innocent
purchaser, a clause in this bill proposes that there shall be 10 qHes
ton of title in one who is innocent of the fraud rractlccd by the
original entryman.
From the day when the late Colonel Roosevelt sounded a note
of warning with reference to the giving away OF on" natural re
sources down to the present moment the land gr&fters and money
changers have been preying upon the public ever seeking to gam
control af the coal fields and oil lands and other mineral deposits
upon the prcense that their primary purpose IS the developing o
the country's resources whereas the fact of Che matter is that the
most ofathis reaching out for the untold riches which lie beneath
the snffate is nothing more nor less than PLAIN grab.
This proposed bill which escaped passage by a mere MANS
breadth, provides that the "mnocent' holder of a lease shall be
protected in the graft or bribery, or whatever it was by which the
original party to the contract affected to secure control Of a tract or
a privilege, shall be protected IN his assumed right the same as II the
original contract We're valid.
This is based upon the same theory as that a promissory note
is held to be good in the hands of an innocent purchaser, whereas
the underlying principle is markedly different. A promissory note
Is essential to stabilize business and financial affairs. Destroy tins
credit or confidence in negotiable instruments, and the whole credit
fabric is undermined. and as a resulttbusincss conditions. at one" be
come chaotic.
But it is not decreed that personal property, for instance, shall
be beyond recovery in the hands Of an innocent purchaser-not at
all When the sheriff Of Lawrence county .waltzed into Watertown
d Few years ago and found a span of blacks that had been stolen
from a Deadwood party III the possession of Otto Eau was the in
nocent purchaser protected. Not at all. Mr., Rau walked over to
y. W .YanS, of whom he bought The horses, and got his money re-
funded. Was Ed. yarx also an innocent purchaser, protected? Ger
tainly not; he went over TO Aberdeen and demanded and got his
money back from the party from whom he purchased the span. The
Aberdeen man happened to be the one who purchased them from the
thief and was the loser in the transaction because the money couldn't
be recovered frem the man who stole. the horses from the Deadwood
owner
If somebody comes along some dark night and steals one of the
Daily News lnotypes, the property may be recovered if found any
where from Halifax to Texas, no matter how many innocent pnr-
chasers may have bought it on the way.
# Away back n the pioneer days OF Dakota IA man known as Cam
eron concesiea 4 scheme whereby filings were made On various tracts
of4land through means Of dummies tie plan contemplating the
coatralizng Of the ownership in one MAJ. or corporation. The gov
eminent eventually cancelled all these entries, notwithstanding q
few Of them had been carried forward to the point Of proving up
and IN some eases the LAM. had passed to innocent purchasers.
Were it otherWse.the party who is ndiffefend6Sa@H=fe few Years
sentence to the penitentiasy could amass a sufficient fortune through
the repatriation OF fraud IN connection with land entries to support
himself ia ease and even luxury for the balance of his life.
tis proposed in this proposed bill 10 do away with what IN ths
parlance Ct the lawyer known as careat eraptor Get the buyer be
Ware3, which would give absolute protection to an innocent pur
chaser and thereby afford abundant opportunity for the rankest ser
of fraudulent speculation.
H Is scontended that suell i stringent regulation as putting TIL
prospective buyer onEhis guard would have q tendency to discourage
81 legitimate prospecting and to hinder development, but it is time 20
#t he appieahons of# the automobilst's motto ofsSsafety first to th
reaaanln9 public lands There's not such i shortage Of OIL and Goa
Sor2other minerals as IL threaten the existence of tho nation Or even I
bring discomfort - amy class of citizens excepting the wouldb
sN@Agrablers mud The ruthless gamblers.
Nss rheeongressan o. senator Who votes tosmake ii easier for til
.nraetlse ST fnnthers frauds pertaining fl the resources % the sountf
s @@sz~T - tbs pulls u 5neS next election, aregarTifessEoff HI
RsPeaHasa1 parfyt o which as PROCESSES aaksganees
a@ssaRa FHE LEAGUE "a THE RiaaEsr NAVY.
SsafAssFsesa NM IL l no AahtfuHays grotsus asdaFeds seeFetary Eof Il
a8ANxK5SA 2anaas mum interyieN Fa7day o. ao agoass sllherswe mast has
a aAMASaeaene tossaA eg1arat heA interests Of every naion,p pr HE bigges
EBssREsaEaEstssas aplsaasIssIssH sIgAt Il asssInIsa II IL DAILY 81
zssa5ssHMa assfh sssIasE n RaEagHfsa isagisN 81 aatIons 81 sol