Daily Gazette-Martinez from Martinez, California • 1

SUCCESSOR TO DAILY vokxvn DAILY GAZETTE MARTINEZ CAL WEDNESD December 30th 1908 No fl CHINESE SHOOTING SCRAPE ON THE PALM TRACT have ever since lived upon occupied cultivated and Improved said lands therefore in or about the year 1885 ou attorney New inan of Ban Francisco proceeded to Washington to present our case to the Hon A Lamar then Secretary of the Interior of the United 'States and the Hon Jas Montgom- SETTLERS ON SOBRANTE RANCHO SEND APPEAL to HEsTwosEvar be finally located Between it and the SUPPOSED TONG WAR ery of California who was Assistant Attorney-General for the Interior Department that our case was duly presented and argu id before the Honorable Secretary of the Interior and the Honorable Assistant Attor-ney-General Montgomery sitting to-' gether that Assistant Attorney-General Montgomery being long a resident of California and knowing the history of the said grant thoroughly and being well acquainted with all the facts In the case did write a decision In favor of the settlers and presented the juune to Secretary Lamar for his approval and signature which the late secretary for reasons of his own refused to sign and after repeated assurances and promises to our attorney by the Honorable Secretary to render a personal decision in the case and not allow any of his under or acting secretaries to decide the same (as this matter was of too great Importance) and after waiting for mbre than a year and a half the Honorable Secretary found it convenient to go to New York and Appoint one of his clerks In his department his acting secretary who then decided the case against the settlers and in favor of the railroad corporations to-wlt: the Western Pacific Railroad and Its successor the Central Pacific Railroad and their Allies and assigns among whom Is John A Benson and Hyde who have since times Indicted for land frauds in different parts of the United States and are now awaiting trial since then many of our lands have been illegally and fraudulently patented to the Western Pacific Railroad or Its successor the Central Pacific Railroad and their allies FOB PROTECTION FROM THE RA PAC1TY OF LAND SPECULATORS AND CORPORATIONS Resident! on lands known as part of the El Bobrante Rancho In the northern pert of Alameda county and in Contra Costa county some of them having occupied their homes there for thirty or forty years have appealed to President Roosevelt to protect them from the rapacity of land-grabbers and railroad corpora-: tlons who are alleged tq be securing patents to their ranches Nineteen settlers and representatives of estates who find their holdings in jeopardy' have signed the petition which has been placed in the hands of the President The circumstances of their tenure of the land and the assumption of the titles by the railroad corporations are set forth together with an appeal to the chief executive to make an Investigation of the matter and bring about the granting of the land to those who have occupied it for so long and to whom the petitioners believe it Rightfully belongs El Sobrante Rancho was granted 'originally In 1841 by Governor Alvarado to Juan Jose Castro and was to consist of eleven square leagues For many years it lay unsurveyed and in fact has never been perfectly surveyed to this day although Its exterior boundaries were supposed to have been fixed several years ago means or In the Spanish language and as applied to this rancho It meant that Castro was to have eleven square leagues of land lying between the ranchos of Peralta Moraga Amador and William Castro But 1 there were considerably more than eleven square leagues In that territory and for years It was not known just where El Sobrante would adjacent grants to other Span lsh grantees was a considerable quantity of land which early settlers supposed would be declared "government open for settlement by homestead seekers It was on this land that many persons settled forty to fifty years ago and some of these parcels are those now In dispute between them or their descendants and the corporations The old Western Pacific Railroad Company the Central Pacific Railroad Company and Hyde and Johp A Benson who are -under Indictment for land frauds are mentioned as being parties who have gained and are gaining titles to the property which the settlers have occupied for forty or fifty years The petition Is as follows: the President The Honorable Theodore Roosevelt: The undersigned your petitioners residents dtlsens and taxpayers of Alameda and Contra Costa counties California beg leave to present this petition for your study and earnest consideration and In support thereof do most respectfully represent that Jn or about the year 1878 the Hon Carl Schurs then Secretary of the Interior of the United States did as such Secretary render his decision defining and describing the boundaries of a certain confirmed Mexican land grant to-wlt El Sobrante situ ated and being In the counties and 8tate before mentioned and thereupon the residue or remainder 1 the land lying between the Interior and exterior boundaries of said grant became part of the public domain subject to pre-emption and homestead entry under the United States land laws therefore your petitioners entered upon the said land In good faith many ef us buying the possessory right title Interest and Improvements of the prevluos settlers at a great sacrifice to ourselves That we New Year Latest reports from the scene of the terrible earthquake In the south-and assigns also aided and abetted orn part of Italy and the Island of by Binger Herman as Commissioner Sicily are to tbe effect that the death for tbe General Land Office who Is list Is constantly Increasing and the Jones clerk A Selby escort Beard watchman Keene sentry Hayden manager At the conclusion of the business of the camp the members adjourned to the banquet prepared for the occasion by a committee composed of John Dablstrom Harold Finch A Whitman George Iliurlchaen and Jones After the banquet sociability and cards completed a most enjoyable meet NO SPECIAL TRAIN Word bas been received by the local agent from railroad headquarters that there will be no special train from San Francisco or Oakland for Martlnex after midnight of January 1st 1909 as there Is not business enough to Justify the same A train will leave San Francisco and Oakland on the evening of January 1st the same as ou Sunday nights to take home' anybody who may desire to go 1IUEF SENTENCED Fourteen years In San Quentin was the sentence pronounced yesterday against Abraham Rpef convicted of offering a bribe to former Supervisor John Furey of San Francisco The sentence given Superior Judge William Lawlor Is the maximum penalty for the crime of which Ruef was found guilty and Is the culmination of battle of more than two years to bring about the defeat of Justice THE EARTHQUAKE DISASTER total loss of property will never be known Thousands perished In the fraction of a minute and It Is now estimated that over 100000 persons perished and It Is feared that a pestilence will follow the destruction of the towns as on account of the vast havoc wrought bodies will lie unbur-Jed for days and weeks Aid Is being sent from all parts of Europe and the United States will also send Supplies as fast as possible SUPERIOR COURT NOTES People vs Henry Anspack Continued to Jan 4 1909 People vs Frank Smith Plead guilty: sentence continued to Jsn 4 1909 Joseph MacDonough vs Stow et al Continued to Jan 2nd J909 People vs Salvatore Davl Continued to Jan 9 1909 Lnclnda Mallby Moor vs Joseph Axevedo Continued to Jan 11 1909 Anna Nelson vs John Nelson Plaintiff granted Interlocutory decree of divorce on grounds of desertion Celbke vs Oleese Continued to Dec 29 1908 Rhody Ring rose etc vs Josephine Demurrer sustained and 15 days allowed to amend The Paclffo Telephone and Telegraph Co vi County of Contra Coats Judgment for plaintiff Frost vs Mabel Frost-On trial Barlow va Laura Bull et al Judgment for plaintiff Every middle-aged woman is set In her ways and opinions hut you can't Induce her to admit It ONE MAN BADLY BEATEN AND ANOTHER RECEIVES GUNSHOT WOUND WITHOUT FATAL RE sSULTS The Don Yip camp of Chinese laborers on the Palm tract near Or-wood In Eastern Contra Costa waa the scene of a small Chinese war tor a short time last night At the point namra Grab-man has a tract of 400 acres of tnle land which la planted to potatoes and he has a large number of Chinese employed to help him Laat night about 9 o'clock he heard firing shouts and screams Issuing from-the' bunkhousfl where the coolies make their residence and learning thkt murder was being committed phoded Jnto Antioch for Constablb Whellhan to come and help him put an end to the row and arrest the fighters statement was of such an alarming nature that Constable Whellhan telephoned to the Sheriff's office for assistance and Sheriff Veale and Deputy Sheriff Veale jumped Into an automobile hurried to Muir Station and arrived just in time to catch the 8:58 train for Antioch Upon arrival there they were joiued by Constable Whellhan Town Marshal Frank Bell and Deputy Sheriff Ed Kdenborough and Immediately started for tbe scene of the disturbance arriving on tbe spot about 11 By this time the fighting hud ceased and the officers bad no difficulty In arresting the culprits Tbe cause of the trouble was aa follows aa near as could be learned from tbe pigeon English of the Chinks: Ah Jake Is the cook for the 1 camp and he belongs to the Yung Yuen company or tong while quite a number of the others belonged to the Yung Wo tong and of course there was an undercurrent of hostility prevailing at all times which culminated in the shooting scrape last night Ah Juke says that some of the men have been In the habit of finding fanlt with him and hurling opprobrious epithets at bis head charging him with being a poor cook and neglecting to provide suitable for their consumption Last night they were unusually strenuous In their manner and talk and Jake declares that one of them Lee Wing by name pulled a pistol and shot at him This aroused hla warlike spirit and securing a Remington revolver he commenced firing Into the crowd of Chinese sitting around a coal oil can filled with coke from which they were extracting warmth One of the shots struck a table went through It and landed la rubber boot where it was afterward found by the Sheriff The next shot bit Lee Wing In the forehead and glunced rff and fell Into one of the beds In the bunkbouse and could not be found Lee Wing ducked bla head anil made a Jump for bis would-be destroyer as he fired another shot and grappled with him The other In- mates of the house gave him their assistance and soon had Ah Jake tied up and beat him most itnmerd-fully It being bis screams that alarmed Mr Grohman The Sheriff arrested Ab Jake and Lee Wing and also Ah Wan aa a (Continued on Page 2 HI 1 1 I'M mil II HI 1 11 1 I II 1 1 11H ItoursdayI Big Sale of Shirtwaists 50c Each pow awaiting trial and undpr Indictment for complicity In land frauds now Mr President1 we having lived upon these lands for years and many of our children having been born here and having cultivated And the same and having paid taxes thereon amid many hardships and unceasing toll find ourselves In our old age deprived of the fruits of our long years of labor our pieans exhausted and no longer able Jo contend against the corporations and their allies and assigns In defense of our rights and having full confidence In and believing In your great good common sense of Justice And equal rights to all citizens alike we appeal to you from our inmost hearts as our only savior from these tyrannical oppressions and that you will save our homes for us and our children have the utmost confidence In you and know you will find a way to help us bring the guilty to Justice for this we your petitioners will ever pray John McCoy Riley JJanuel Monteno estate Joseph Hodgkins May Ludwig Louis May Henry Broomero Mrs John Baxter Michael Conlff Thomas Johnson Martha McLaughlin James Rockett Mrs Msry Anderson Michael Kilgore estate Mamfel Vehltado Thomas Kelly Stotts Daniel hfcGInnes WOODMEN ELECT OFFICERS At the regular meeting of Laurel Camp No 145 0 laat Monday evening the following officers were elected for the ensuing term: James Iloey consul commander Joseph Brlare advisory lieutenant Stewart banker FRIDAY i I A Happy i U' i i ini i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 n4.