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Show FRIDAY, DECEMBER THE SUN. PRICE, UTAH EVENT PRID AT. PAGE SIX GENERAL LAND OFFICE REVERSES DECISION IN Copies of the decision of the commissioner of the general land office at Washington. D. C., reversing the Salt Lake City register and receiver in what has come to be known as the Stenacker case," were furnished to various state officials a few days ago by E. W. Senior, who represented the state and its successor in interest, the Utah Fuel company, at the hearings. If the decision is sustained by higher authorities, it is the belief of state officials the state and its schools are to be congratulated as having won an important ruling. The circumstances surrounding the case were that the land involved, forty acres or more in Sec. 36, Twp. 13 South, Range 9 East, in Carbon county would, by reason of the numbering of the section, go to the state school lands, unless found to be mineral within the meaning of the land laws. This would involve the definite knowledge at statehood that the land contained coal. There is no outcrop of coal on the land, but when it was surveyed in 1882 the section as designated on the surveyors plats as all coal. The state in 1902 disposed of the land to T. A. Ketchum, and the Utah Fuel company traces its title to this patent W. H. Stenacker filed on the land in question in the United States land office in 1918, and after somewhat desultory hearing, in which the state entered formal protest the register and receiver decided in his favor on the strength of the surveyor generals description. This decision is reversed by the general land office, in a decision signed by George R. Wickham, an acting commissioner. The general land office holds that the department has repeatedly decided that a mineral return by the surveyor general does not have the effect of establishing the character of the lands as chiefly valuable for mineral. The decision continues in part: IS ATTACHED AT STATEHOOD It is to be borne in mind that the grant to the state of Utah as to lands theretofore surveyed was a grant in in praesenti. Title to lands which are unsurveyed at the date the state was admitted to the union were only vested in the state when such lands were in fact surveyed, and the survey approved by the commissioner of the general land office. The title which congress vested in the state could only be divided upon proof tha(the land was known to be mineral in character at the time the states rights presumptively attached. In the present case the rights of the state attached, if at all, on January 4, 1896, on which date Utah territory became a state. The application to purchase by Stenacker should, in my judgment, have been rejected by the local land office on the ground that the title was prima facie at least, in the state of Utah, and if he desired to contest the right of the state to the land, he should have been the aggressor. The issue to be determined at the hearing ordered by the local land office stands akin to a proceeding in the courts to cancel a patent. This, I think, is properly so, because the title to the land was presumptively vested in the state, and the proceeding sought to divest such title from the state. From the testimony submitted, and that is the only evidence which a decision can be predicated, it is clear that the land upon 'was not known to be valuable for its coal content on January 4, 1896. In fact, there is evidence that it is known to be valuable at this time for its coal contents. It may be said that in deciding this case we should apply a geological deduction, in the sense that if the adjoining lands contained coal, and the dip were toward this land, it would follow that this land was also to be held mineral in character. Be that as it may, it was the practice of the land department, supported by a long line of departmental decisions, that there must be an actual discovery of mineral value within the place limit of the land to prove the mineral character thereof. The rule of geological deduction first came into vogue about the year 1905, when the department deputed from its rule of many years standing requiring actual showing of mineral, and since that time it has been held, in more or less cases, that the department will take into consideration geological evidence concerning the land in controversy or nearby lodes to arrive at its conclusions as to whether the lands are mineral in character. NEW METHOD NOT APPLICABLE If, for the sake of argument only, we should admit that the lands were known to be mienral in character, as now determined from their relation to coal outcroppings on nearby or adjoining lands, yet this could not be received as evidence in this case. The granting of the designated sections of land to Utah was in pursuance of a contract between the United States and the territory about to be admitted as a state. As a part of its contract the state ceded jurisdiction of claims to all unappropriated lands, and in return it was to receive four sections out of each township for the benefit of its common schools. The rule of the department, as heretofore stated, having been changed as to what in the future would constitute evidence, could not legally be operated restrospec-tivelAs a general rule, statutes changing the mode of procedure do not come within the prohibition of the constitution against retrospective construction, but there is an important exception, and that is in cases where such retrospection construction would impair the obligations of contracts or destroy vested rights. A grant of school lands to a state is a contract between the United States and the state, and, obviously, any legislation on the put of congress seeking to divest the state of its rights to such school lands w'ould be unconstitutional, as impairing the obligation of contracts. As heretofore pointed out, the land department in its long line of decisions on what constituted mineral land, did not recognize scientific or geological deductions until many years after the rights of the state attached to this land in controversy, and I am of the opinion that such long and uninterrupted line of decisions establishes a rule of property upon which all people had a right to tely. The settled construction at the date of rights of the state to this land attached, January 4. 1896, was that the determination of character of the land depended solely the mineral or upon the actual discovery of the mineral. To apply now a changed or new rule of evidence, which, for the first time, became effective nine years after the states rights had been fixed, is unconstitutional. as impairing the obligation of contracts, and destructive of vested rights. It follows, therefore, that judgment must be for the state of Utah; first, because the evidence adduced fails to show that the land was known to be mineral in character at the date of the vesting of rights to the state, on January 4, 1896 ; and, second, because the evidence adduced fails to show that the land is, in fact, mineral at an. FRANDSEN A Bdlar Utah Coal Brick of AD Kinds FRICR UTAH PROFESSIONAL DR. R X. JONES Physician and Surgeon Obstetrics and Diseases of Children. Office Sllvagnl Block, Price, Utah. DR J. A JUDY Physician and Burgeon Telephone 1IIW Office Price Commercial and Savings Bank Bldg., Price. Utah. DR G. W. GREEN Physician and Surgeon Office, the New Redd Building. Utah lllll PRICE, UTAH L 8. EVANS Denttot Office, Room 10, Sllvagnl Building PRICE, UTAH DR K. B. GOETZMAN Denttot Work and Extraction. Price Bank Bldg., Price, Utah. X-R- ay Commercial DR SANFORD BALLINGER Denttot Work and Extraction. Office, the New Redd Building. PRICE, UTAH X-R- ay STEWART. ALEXANDER A PRATT Attorneys At Lav Office Second Floor Sllvagnl Building PRICE, UTAH GEORGE CHRISTENSEN Attorney At Law . Office, tha Sllvagnl Building, Formerly Occupied by Judge F. E. Woods. Telephone ISO, Price, Utah. L. A McGEE Attorney At Law Mined By LIBERTY FUEL COMPANY Kearns Bldg. 809 SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH Rooms I and I. Sllvagnl Bldg. PRICE, UTAH FERDINAND ERICKSEN Attorney At Law 717 Office rClfMMlISMM as Mina K. OLAY At Law Sllvagnl Building. UTAH. Attorney At Office IN Administered 1621 to New England Observers of Day. Young Men Who Had Arrlvad on Llttls Ship Fortune Reprimanded for Foetlvltleoi Five Coffee Supetstitions ! . - Do they affect Joit ? a rebuke to Borne of the young men of the New England colony who had Just coma over on the little ship Fortune, Embnbner Telephone SO. PRICE, UTAH. and who wanted to celebrato the holiday, the Detroit Newe recalls. Puritanr ism brought over with It in the the feeling, and when tha group1 of lusty youngsters attempted to observe the day they were sharply criticised by the colony. The men were called out to work that day aa on other days, but the newcomers declared It against their al consciences to work on Christmas day. Tha governor left them and lad away lha rest of the workers. But when he returned at noon, the young men were In the street at play some pitching tha bar and soma playing stool ball, lie took away their Implements and told them It waa against his conscience that they should ploy while others worked, and that they could observe the day within doors, but there should bo no reveling In the streets. On the day In question a tree waa chopped down and dragged Into one of the protection of surrounding states, the rough cabins where It wee POTATO WART DISEASE IN CONTROL IN THIS INDUSTRY no domestic federal quarantine on ac- trimmed with cranberries and popcount of the disease has been proinul- - corn, while the young people feasted od by the department. Very im- their eyes on Its beauties. These revExtensive surveys conducted during the last fiscal year have pretty well portant results have been obtained elries" were frowned upon by the maeliminated the chance of countrywide jfroin the dejmrtinent a studies, nota-- , jority of tbo colonists and In 1850 tha infestation at this time liy the potato lily the immunity to the disease deters general court of Massachusetts enacted wart disease, according to the United mined for certain important classes of a law that made any person observing States depanuent of agriculture. It potatoes and the possibilities of local Christmas day liable to a line of flva seems to be pretty clearly established control by limiting plantings to anrh shillings." The law was repealed la that the disease is now limited to com- immune varieties and by direct ror-- ; 186L paratively small areas in (lie states of recti ve work. This outcome has large-Sl- y LAUNDERING TEETH eliminated the fear that the wart Pennsylvania, West Virginia and in For a husband to require his wife to Maryland. The only new infestations disease might follow the same destnir-jtiv- e course in this country that it has launder his false teeth does not necesare those determined in three villages near Frost burg in Western Maryland, in parts of Europe. sarily constitute a sufficient basis for which lie practically between Western a divorce action on ground of cruelty, West the and a Virginia Pennsylvania Why cant some genius produce T infested districts, and are similarly, car that will run on kerosene oil Per- according to Judge Albert E. Barnes mining sections. Some thousand indi- haps then the trust would produce real of the Third District court at Salt Lake vidual garden plots in these three gas in order to put the oilmen out of City. Testimony was introduced durstates have been determined as infest- business. ing the trial last Saturday of the divorce suit brought by Marie Bottcher ed, but the total areas of these pMs Incidentally we might remark that against Arthur Bottcher to show that aggregate less than a hundred acres. The three invaded states are enforcing there are two kinda of foola those Mrs. Bottcher had to scrub her huseffective quarantine measures, it is who think they are wise men and those bands artificial means of mastication. Although the judge ruled that this was .said, and, as these seem adequate for who don t know they are fools. llsy-flowe- now. the nn, coffee has been nbject to many false alarms. BLUE PINE COFFEE is different ttere is no harsh aridity and youll find it nothing, comforting, sustaining Yovir nourishing and HEALTHFUL. preference will grow with each succeed, ing cup. Ask your grocer far 1 non-miner- That coffee to not healthful. But sdanttots proclaim It a vitalising beverage that nourishes and sustains. ? ? from tlng perfection comas only afar. But tha and rare taste that results from BLUE FIVE oow EOASHNO fee this superstition. -u t. ?. super-flav- tSKtataa- moUSSoTtad 4 ISdKeES That constant ass of a cartaln cof. fssfonns tha basis of safe Judg- - But your taste gets into a rut beooinw accustomed to inferior grades and as a result lect coffee-beca- SSi use the most?? It a different gjjifea.V- "- OLIVER J. E. FLYNN Licensed Undertaker end uzrigfated by an eclipse of the nn. They thought it meant the end of the world! Of course we all know differ-e- ai PRICE, UTAH. Office Eko Theater Building. PRICE, UTAH Itiae was when many good people wee And even at the County Courthouse. R W. DALTON Attorney At Law nt 1621 that Governor Brad IT WA8wasIn called upon to adinlulater law G. DALBY Attorney At Law Office, the New Redd Building. PRICE, UTAH. - Rebuke OLIVER Attorney Room 0. PRICE, HENRY RUGGERI Mm MM hm cm mi w npjuvTV npnvvn JMatosStefiewar IDMMaSMMKtM JtonM Sms sal as MM Ml as sasass. CHRISTMAS Judge Building BALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. Oristatt 1i mki y. , Tarda adjoining the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad tracks an the south, three blocks eeat of depot. Office at the yard. Er ttmatas given and prices quoted on application. Postoffloe Boa M. Telephone IUL Manufacturer of Mine Located At LATUDA Carbon County , -- BRICK COMPANY HI Specified Where Greatest and Most Economical Heat Is Required 18, 1921 DR J. R HENDERSON Chiropractor. At Price, First Door Weet of The Sun, 10 to II noon I till t p. m. At Helper. over Helper State Bank. 0 till Other hours p. m.t except Sundays. at home. Calls hr appointment BEN BEAN General Painting Contractor First --Clsee Work. All Estimates Free Phone 1IIM. PRICE, UTAH. O. JACOBSEN Carpenter and General Contractor At J. C. Wester Lumber Co. PRICE, UTAH KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS Price Lodge No. II. Meets every third and fourth Tuesday In onto Hall. Visiting members always me-on- d. welcome. P. E. Trim, C. C.; Fred B. Wheat K. R. 8. PRICE LODGE No. 52 L 0. 0. F. PRICE, UTAn Meets each Wednesday evening et oclock. W. F. Myers, N. G.: W. B. Hampton, V. Q.; L. A. Illlla. Secy for beet results and MACHINES mesa not now, but many yearn. J. E. Jameson will see that your machine is taken ears of.Ili-w-Cor. ner Fifth and J streets. Phone SINGER ITAMMOXD. LICENSED ABSTRACTER OF TITLES Abstracts of titles furnished to anf piece or tract In Eastern Utah. Fire insurance written In tha best companies. Rea estate, bonds, etc. Becono floor 8ilvsgnl Bldg., Price, Utah. J. W. BLUE PINE OFFEE Scowcroft Made it AUTOMOBILE TRANSFER AND DRAY LINE. Give us your hauling of freight and other work and it will receive prompt attention. No Job too large or to small for ua to handle. Freight given our special attention. Welter Christensen. Phone IIWI. Price. Utah. not cruelty, he granted a divorce when No doubt the average preacher would Some doctors, we suspect, are in a be Mrs. Bottcher said that her husband class quite indignant if we were to refer by themselves. Thev are .1,1. to him as an invaluable aid to the dihad nagged her and had threatened to take her life. vorce courts. And vet without mar- - |