Deseret News from Salt Lake City, Utah • Page 28

4 28 flSR1ET EVEBtttfG AJfiWS EAT UUA fl jp UTAH AGRICULTURAL LAND ALIVE WITH COAL illl 1 ABOVE GROUP PICTURES WITH THEIR GREAT FACES AND VEINS OF COAL SHOW HOWj FAR THE TRUTH WAS STRETCHED WHEN THEILAND UNDER OATH WAS GIVEN AS AGRICULTURAL IN CHARACTER I i OAI everywhere nml not a 1 und II uI COAL sale With IL shortage occurring 1 regularly every fall I la Utah Salt lako and tho nest i greatly Interested In nil atfalis pertaining 1 I to fuel Persons who have followed thcso regular events closely for the pnst i few years and especially close during I tho past few months know that Utah i and Wyoming coal fields are almost entirely i In tho hands of the big rullroad I cni companies i There IB ono great field not owned by I I them however About ono mIle east of 1 I Helper tho Independent Coal Coko IB company has acquired ICO ucrc of land 1 te which Is ono miiBB of tho precious black stuff Pictures showing tho Immcnsn I veins of coal are herewith reproduced If 1i was this tract that agents of tho I Utah Fuel company sworo was agrl I cultural lund 1 I Tho recent Interstate commerce commission I Investigation showed just how the big fuel companies acquired big areas of coal land at werprICU than 1 the governments J20 per aero They I demonstrated clearly how the big fuol ii companies succeeded evading tho law 1 I which prohibited a corporation from acquiring i moro than 040 acres of coal land The results of these Investigations and the ugly facts revealed are things of history EVADED THE LAW it It was much easier the Utah Fuel 1 I olid otlior companies found to file upon land under homes leaders rights paying 1 but a small filing fee and nomo small amount to tho stoolplgeons I dummies employed to lllo upon land than to pay J20 nn acre or 3200 fort every quarter section A dummy filed upon a certain piece ot land swearing that ho had examined It closely and knew positively there was no mineral indications upon It In short ho sworo that was agricultural land The land I offlre then granted him title to tho property and after sulllclont tlma had elapsed tho dummy turned tho posses Jon of his property to those who had paid him for swearing to false affidavits For some amount ranging from 11 to JlOO lie had said black was white 1 sworn that land with coal outcropping I all through It bore no mineral and was I In all respects nothing agricultural Viuul Twau mine tIM theirs and will keep fuel from thouaunds mused the llllng locator an ho pocketed his dummv fees Tho coal companies no ceurvd small girls ns well as men and I rtomcn to file upon lands in this manlier SMALL GIRLS FILE 1 interstate commerce commission Investigations held In this city resulted In I startling disclosures Girls not out of helltcens admitted that they 1 I sivoio to papers they 111 not read confessed thoy had been principals In I transactions they know nothing about Whole famlllua died upon land which I i were promptly turned over to the coal companies when clear title had len seemed tram the governiwnt Fraud aft lei fraud was pcipetratid and no effort VOH made to bring them to nn end An occasional aiilt over title would be Htnrtcd and In ratu cases honest par I tins desirous of acquiring an honest title to coal lands would win such suits SALT LAKER9 WIN OUT The piopcrtleH now owned by the Independent Coni Cokq company and I situated near Helper were taken up Originally by hirelings of tho Utah Fuel company but a successful contest over titles was filed Oiom CN Sire veil rxMuyor Hicham I Morris and other well known Salt Lakors and Utuhiin with frlendB and business pait jicrs now form tile Independent Coal I it Coke company which It It can got anything like fair treatment from tho rallioads promises to furnish Bait Lake fuel at a reasonable price In an Interview with a iNovvH lepicficntatlvo BQinc time ago Mr Blrevcll Bald thn land had nhown every sign of bulnn I coal land and with very little develop mom IIIIH shown wonderful veins of rich coal jet It was nirijeullural lands to II I ngonts of tho Utah Fuel company Ostriches with a stonmch und taste I for lumps of coal might have found tho Helper und other district excellent I grazing ground but just what agents I of the coal company Intended to ralhr on their agricultural lands WAil I I never explained oven dining an Intur Btiito commerce OIIllIIHSlolI invemiKa lion In terse resume oC HIP coal land fraud sltuutlon with allied if I I I I A c0i I Easy to take I Hard to break I I unless you use I Chamberlains I Cough Relnedy a1i 25c and 50c at All Druyylsls i fairs William Ugliton mentlona i Col 3 Sowers na one ot the land olllco ngtnts vho worked hard and diligently in spite of transfers and obstnClds placed In his vay while attempting furnish his superiors with Information on the gigantic frauds I This article appeared In tho Boston Evening Transcript of last Saturday and excerpts follow TAUT OF VAST FKAUD8 The coal land frauds In Wyoming Colorado and Utah recently forced upon public attention by tho Investigations of tho Interstate commerce commission are grave enough In themselves yet are but fractional part of thr vast system of corruption and dishonor which has prevailed for many years In tho administration ot tho public land laws with tho connivance and active aid ot tho general land office There In nothing In tho circumstanced attending these coal land stealings that distinguishes them In principle from plundering of the agricultural and grazing lands the timber lamlq antI tho mineral lands of tho west The methods employed have boon ci sentlally alike In all cases The unusual Interest which seems to attach to these latest disclosures simply grows out of the fact that tho avcrago citizen can concoct them a little more directly with his own personal Intel cats than In tho other cases Not tho stealing of tlio lands but the effect upon the citizens private coal blll appears to bo the iiulchcnlng fact Those public land thofths have all been cut oft the sanio cloth MOm INDICTMENTS DUE Editorial discussion In many American newspapers over this matter indicates belief on tho part of the wrlt I ellI that tho recent Indictments found In Utah against tho harriman and Gould railway companies with their officers and agents wens all based upon tlics0 land frauds That Is not tho cane The Utah Fuel company a concern subsidiary in the Gould roan was together with some of Its officer Indicted for complicity In the land frauds Tho other IndlctmcntH wave based upon Illegal combinations In restraint of trade In coal So far as the Union Pacific Is concerned action by tho department of justice with 1 refer ence to tho land frauds Is still to come This confusion of the facts doubtless arises from the clrcumntanco that the Interstate commerce commissions ln Itilry while primarily directed to the point of the tratllo evils led almost Incidentally to tho discovery of the mealing of the lands How this happened will be told later No Indictments have yet been returned against the Union Pacific nail ay company or the Union Pacific Coul company for tho land frauds That vigorous action will bo laIqun at once to this end cannot bo doubted by anyone who knows the present temper of tho pitsldont and the heads of the derailments of Juatloo and the Interior Indeed the potfer has already 1Ctm turned on and tho machinery Is giving forth tho premonitory groinlnlg and grumbling ot ponderous movement INVQIWnS LAND OFFICE This far the Investigations the coal lund matters differ from tho other land fraud Investigations only In this They have furnished moro direct evidence than had boon developed In the other cases associating tho general land office under Its present organization wllh tIm fraud Somo of thu juoofa wqro made public nt the last session nf tho commission some are hold In abeyance pending direct Instead of collateral Investigation There Is more than enough evidence now In hand fully to justify tho assertion that tho general land nfHco hau been not only constructively but actually Implicated In furthering und protecting these plundering operations CORRUPTION DOMINATES To this day the general lain om coIn nominated by Inlluontlal Iliterants do oliliiff tho continuation of the old fiaud uUnt jnucUsta Thin In notably tine In ho caSe or these coal land matters With full knowledge of all tho farts the general land ufllco lias been prostituted Mir after year to the furtherance of UiU plgunllc fiuid Ttio officials of tho duuitriiont have gout out of thou nay to under tho preliminary stops oisy Illd sate for the thIeves buy have gono far out of their way to hinder and de lay alt Investigation tending to pub licity they have gamin nut of their way to advance these fraudulent coal land claims to patent and men very IrCIIIt ly POIIIO of them have put thttim1 vs I In tim st range position nf cliiunrlnnlim nit defending tho thlovcn In tho pub Id press evqn aft lint 11oK of in fraud were conclusively duveloped nXTBNT OF FRAUDS The full oxtunt of the fraudulent coal land snurugatlona cannot be xtutcd ar I cumtaly at this lime Wyoming han bean tho center of thin Industry in that stale and In Utah and rniorudn 3iiy thoiJBaiulH of uoua of iliem lands i of lnt stlin lblo mine have been pnttiod tRoll till govern in lJt to prhnte oniiir 1 ship by uponly llugruntly fiuiuluieni I mctlioua So far aw hall bcon iliMini I he chloe olTomIjr are tlio Uiuh Fuel I 011I pH fly a lou Id eoncein with hold I lngn I Dint eta ti and thu Union Pieino i Coal company nn Institution uulistdlury I to tho Union Paclllo Itnlhuiy rornpnny I whoso principal lioldlnui nio nt Hock 1 flIrlnl Hannn Cumberland mind i UoUoThlct Calmer Tho output of limo Jtuok flirliiK8 mines five In number uteinKCk about 6000 or 7000 Ions per day tho tliuut ininoH lit lluniiu imvc a dally QUI 11t nf 1000 tow hurt Hutu mlncu at Cunibcilund IHI the Oregon Hiiorl Line produce nn average of 4000 tons per day tho lorfeTh Canyon ia ji filieu lUll now antI have not yoi 1 figured no commercial producers Their capacity Is as yet largely conjectural but they are accounted as amongst tile mo valuable of all These properties have been acquired by the coal companies through violations of tho federal coal land laws USED HOMESTEAD LAW At Dlamondvllle the Rockefeller Interests have other producing Properties supplying tho smelting plants ot the Amalgamated Copper concerns at Anaconda and Butte Mont Theso properties were acquired through fraudulent entries under the homestead law Tho homestead law was largely used too by the Utah Fuel company In acquiring Us extensive holdings four developed mines III Carbon county Utah these entries being Identical In character with those procured by tho cattlemen and the lumbermen deliberate frauds In brief the circumstances ot the exposuio ut tile frauds wcic these MADE DISCOVERY Two sessions of Inquliy relating to coal matters wero held In the west by members of tho Interstate commorco commission The first ultli Commlv stammer A Prouty presiding occurred In September last when testimony was taken at Omaha Denver and imlt Luke The primary purpose of this Ilrst inquiry was understood to bo tho dlsonv oil of tho rclutlpna existing between the coalcarrying railroads and the coalproducing companies and acta done by tieso Interest In rcstinlnt of trade In the course of their invesUsa llon5hiowever the attorneys for time commission Marchund of Washington and Elmer Thomas pms 1m unearthed evidence showing the I commission ot frauds III acquiring tho lands from which tlio coal Is mined This evidence was offered to bo submitted to Commissioner Prouty but was nt that time refused by the commissioner Inasmuch as It lellectod tie rloiisly upon the conduct of the cin oral land ofllco Mr Prouty holding that tim Interstate commerce commls Hlon might not be justified In vhit would fceem to be nn attack upon co ordinate department the gOIcrnl1lon rite record ot tho flist cession tluic fore contained nothing more than a btotemcnt In general terms of the fact that the frauds existed CREATED QRIAT STilt Whim the report was submitted to Vashlntton linmedliitolv thu general lund office was up In aims In Its own defonco Ahst Commissioner Pollock mailo occasion to submit to a news havoc Interview In which he uliamc lorlred the Intoratate commissions tentntlvit hint us a piece of Impor llnence saying further that tho mat Lois pertaining to tho alleged fiunds hail been thoroughly liivuEtlgatPd by the general land office and that tho frauds did not exist except In such uses as wen bat red by tho statute of limitation Neither itt these Important fclutomontH Is sujtalncd bv the facts aw will appear hervuftir No Investlga lion doEurvIng tho numo has been made by the general land office Kpo dill agents in tln5 field who Mitnvid a disposition activity In uncovcilnp and icpnrtlng those matters to Washington have been dlscouiagcd in their work by tho dcpaitment sldetrakod or tiansferrcd to other fields And lurthcimotc the moat flagrant of all tho ofTunccs against tho land laws olTcnccs well known to the general limit offlro foil well within flu stat uto of limitation tu that there Is nil bar ylther to etini inn I piosfcntlons ort civil ults for HID recovery of till fiaudulontly iirqulred lands THI METHODS EMPLOYED As has lieoii staled the Ilali Fuel company acquired most of Its per hem In Canyon county by meaiii if pro niil vi ilutlon of th national home I loni net Tho oftolisiys lnti InU KOV crnl yeim for their bcslnnlni In tblx icglnn thoro wrn Unrwn to be Immense amis of land vnlwiblf only for their cop Not by iht furthest sir iih of fact could tiny lie wop eilv told tom fat mine land Yet tlvf compnti liirillngs entered them us hameMinds and made proof ami so eured lanls upon thin entirely llctl ilmlH bantu Tho fraud was tvmlerod possible and cotnpainllvelj kale by ala I a pctfcct food 09 wholesome a sit Is delicious highly nouriahlnp easily dl grated fitted to repair I 4 wasted strength pro nerve health and prolonG life Be sure that you 4 get the genuine Iilr bearing our trademark ltttlrsi on every can UIjIuit 4 II I HIGHEST J1Wmwr IN I I EUROPE and AM ERICA Walior Holier Co Ltd Eli L1 lorcblfllJf Muss It ruling of the general land office to the effect that no lands were to bo designated oftlclally as coal lands unless there was an actual surface out uiop of coal or unions the coal deposits had actually been developed by mining operations on a particular quartersection Tho fact of mining opeiatlons In the neighborhood or even upon a tract Immediately adjoining was not permitted to Influence the rating of a tract dcslrod tobo tutored us agricultural under this ruling Tho fact that the entire orea hud been designated by experts und isurveiors as coat lands was equally a Ullle Thu fact that officials of tho general land office had actual par 5onal knowledge of the real character of tiu lands WITS apparently nn unimportant circumstance If tho valuable coAl deposits actually known to exist on a given tract did not show a turfaco outcrop tho tract was agricultural and might bo entered as such Piotests baed upon the fact of the coal deposits wero uniformly unavailing Undqr such friendly rul ing1 the couI company found It very much cheaper to acquire Its properties I by menus ot homestead filings than II by purchase coal lands Tho homo plead fHIng cost but a merely nominal lund office fee besides the bonus paid to the hired entrynian whereas tho purchase of a coal land quartersection from tlio federal government costs 3200 This was apparently the motive too for tho homestead frauds at Dlamondvllle above referred mUSED STATES QUANT The Utah plundering was effected through a flagrant abuse of the provision of the states enabling act which ceded to tho state a Purge slice of the public domain within Its border 5 Only agricultural lands were to be Included In the grant and these were trt lip Melded to the state from tlmo to time ns stato olllclnls might Jsnutelheh choice of tract being subject to approval by the general land ofllce UH fulling with In the legal requirement I The Utah Fuel company having de teimliicd upon those tracts to which It dchhed title proceeded to have these lands entered by hired homesteaders whereupon they vvero set apart to the state us a part of tho grant of farming land and the coal company got Its title on tho strength tho perjured show lag made by Its hirelings through patents fiom the state HOW COL SOW nS WORKED The frauds became a matter of common knowledge In Utah Nor was there any lack of knowledge of the facts at Washington One of tho special agents of time land ofllco In that Hold was Colonel Percy Sowers who like the others of the special agents corps was charged by law with the duty of Investigating and reporting to the commissioner whatever evidences of violations of the land laws might be discovered Cplonel Sowers had a very literal understanding of this duty apparently for at intervals in tho years following 1900 ho made mrtriy detailed reports of tho frauds then being practised by the Utah Fuel company In connection with theSe state land selection Tho legister the local land qlllce at Salt Lake Major Hobbs possessed of an equally oldtfashloncd sense of duty likewise made reports upon these matters to the commissioner corroborating Colonel Sowers findings In many particulars besides offering much additional information Tho attorneys for the Interstate commerce commission secuied eveldenco that twenty flvo or thirty of these official communications nil bearing upon these mat tern had been addressed to tho general land ofllce presenting tho facts nn asking Instructions AGENTS TRANSFERRED So far as has yet appeared these communications elicited absolutely no otllclal action by the gepcral land of lice looking toward the redress of past evils or the prevention of like abuses in the future Two or three times while ho was following his Investigations Colonel Sewers was taken from his work and transferred to other territory a practise all too common In the conduct of the general land office toward Its field men who show a disPosition to pernicious activity In certain neighborhoods In the early stage of the Nebraska investigations John Mosby was transferred Sowers was transferred Mcyendprft and many otheis hiyvo been transferred from ollllnll1hls has always been am easy but scandalous method ofabort Ing Investigations by competent men LAW OFFICE IDLE Colonel Sowers repeated transfers camo at times when his activity on tho Utah Fuel company cases was gicntcst Notwithstanding his reports and the evidence ho submitted no action was taken until a few weeks ago when the Interstate commerce commls Mon that impertinent coordinate branch med up and placed In the liandH of tho district attorney for Utah nlllIssot evidence which enabled a grand Juiy to return criminal Indictments for come ot these very frauds Meanwhile Inaction on the part of the general land office and easy Indulgence of the methods whereby the state selections were made has rc Milted In pablng to the Utah Fuel company title to approximately 20000 ncies of the most valuable coal lands of the west By mere lapse of time with no steps for recovery some of II ir i Good 3 I Zv4thlIIj rrr CIAUGHLINS i XXXX COFFEE Tastes good alwaysbecause its always good Always the same because its always blended and roasted just right Extra good quality because Its handled entirely I by us from Plantation to Package Thats why McLaughlins XXXX Coffee is so much better than any other coffee at the same price The handy airtight package and the glazing of pure sugar keeps this coffee clean and fresh protected from dust dirt and foul odors Always one pound full weAdh McLaughlins XXXX Coffee is sold by All Good Dealers 1 1 i 1 these lumli have been Irrevocably lost to the government by the statute of limitations Generous Customer What Fifty cents for that chicken Dont you take anything off Butcher No sir no sir not oven a leg tom willing yon should have It nil TraiifU lated for Thnnwitlnntlc Tales from Mfcgendorfer Ulatter TlnCnii Making MarcclHc ConsulQaneral It Skinner reports that there arc a number of manufac turers ot tin boxes and nih cans In SQllle the demand being consldpnkl consld Conuideni among French oil and fruit pack nlj I anil other Most of these factoring 1 small atralra doing tho work byK and the flclcl Is not unlnvltlns rAnj I erlcan manufacturers of machinery American machinery this kind Is ryN very highly icBartg Marseille although not In general ti One Important oil manufacturer ha tit cehfly purchased the most modern itii i erlcan machinery and Is highly pioS with the results obtained Thetlim litci I and cork factories at Marseille are 11 ed at the bureau of manufactures Perfect Womanhood Tho greatest menace to womans permanent happiness Su life is the suffering that comes from homo derangement of the feminine organs Many thousands of women hare realized this too late to save their health barely In time to save their 11 ITo lives livesTo be a successful wife to retain the love admiration of her husband should bo womans constant study If a woman finds that her cnor glesare flagging that she gets easily i tired dark shadows appear under her eyes she has backache headache bearingdown sensations nervousness irregularities or the blues she should start at onceto build up her system by a tonic with specific powers such as Lydia Pinkhams Vegetable Compound the great womans remedy for womans ills made only of roots and herb It cures Female Complaints such as Dragging Sensations Weal Back Falling and Displacements Inflammation and Ulcenition and all Organic Diseases and invaluable in tho Change of Life It dissolves and Expels Tumors at an early stage Subdues Faintness Nervous Prostration Exhaustionand strengthens tones the Stomach Cures Headache General Debility Indigestion and invigorates the whole female sysemlt is an excellent remedy for derangements of the Kidneys in cither sex GREEN FANCY IMPORTED STAPLE GROCERIES FISH CURED MEATS POULTRY ETC 1 Telephone Ncs 9G49659G6 Menders 268269271 South Main St SALT LAKE CITY UTAH Wholesale Wholesale Trade Retail Especially Solicited i Ask Your Grocer For the Bread vj Made in a 4P 1 Clean Bakery RA i A The Above Label I On Every Loar ip ITT ISSOAP a You cannot npprcciatc how nice is a liquid soap lihl 1 spap has been tried Conies in bottles pure of fine quality sanitary tlw O3P that hospitals use Keeps the hands soHfi for shampooing because it lathers Well THE BUSY CORNER 4 Hmtl Drue Co puce njl nigh Xroo luxury till midnight or4t IOll11i 43QO I I I 4.