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Show I WHO WINS VICTORY I IN UTAHRJEL CASE? I lit Is Now Said That the Govern- ment Did Not Fare So Well . After All. I sUEh COMPANY RETAINS THOUSANDS OP RICH ACRES H 1 'However, Both Sides to the H Celebrated Legal Controversy H Seem to Be Satisfied. Did tho Utah Fuel company bent llio United States government in tlio now 1 famous coal land deal, or did il not? That, is a question to which many an-swers an-swers arc being made, and ench of Iho replies differs iu point of view. Gov-enimcnt Gov-enimcnt officials arc loath to admit that they were beaten, while officials for the Ura.h Fuel companv smilingly pre-1 pre-1 fer to say nothing, although they- look wise and continue to smile. H Sonic of them, however, admit hold- I iug thc opinion that they hud won a HI 1 great victory and that the securing of linwflVfl nf ."?." fl fill nnrna rP Mir line. i'n:ll H land in Utah for $102,000. and losing H j only H40 acres of laud not up to the H I standard of the -others, is a cheap price H I for value- received. As a. matter of H i fact, it is stated, the Utah Fuel com- H j pany paid n price grently in excess of Hj ! the sum stated, in that it lost $14,100 HJ f which if, had paid out, in cold cash for H U the 3440 ncres, making tlio total prb'O H paid, together with Iho $S000 line, a J round $214,000. I It is pointed out that the land in question is worth moro than this money to the Utah Fuel company. Thoso who are in a position to know declare that HI t his sum is only a drop in the bucket Hi compared to the real valuo of the coal HI lands, which they assert, will run tip HI into millions. On the other hand, tho HI government is well satisfied with iho HI settlement. United States officials say, Hj as it. would have cost, it well into the Hj millions had it sought to recover all HJ I the land involved in tho equity pro- Hj I (readings. HI From the standpoint of government HI officials, tho settlement and conipro- HLi luisc effected could not havo been moro Hi satisfactory, conirar- stntmifnts not- Hl withstanding. It is stated by fhent that tlie land in question was secured HB fraudulently by tho Utah Fuel com- pany through dummy entrvmon and Hi dummy outrvwomen, and that aftr HI these dummies had secured tlio land and the patents 'to it, they, acting as Hb agents of the Utah Fuel company, sold HI it, to the company ai $50 :in acre. All HbJ this, it is declared, was known to tho H department of the interior, but ihat dr- j! partment failed to take cngnizaneo of it, Hj and allowed the proceedings to go HI through. Tlifse pa tents were issued by HI 1'ie government several years ago, and HBI tut' big mines of the Utah Fuel com- Hj pany. located at Sunnyside. Winter HJ Quarters and other places, havo been HI allowed to continue their operations HJ without, government interference. Hj Up to the Department. It is also claimed that after govern- HJ mejit officials in this city had called tho HJ attention of the department of the iu- HJ terior to the existing conditions, that HJ department continued to slumber and HJ failed to mako auy response. Suddenly, HJ it is said, the department took on new HJ life and vigor, and decided to ouco and HJ for all put a stop to tho fraudulent HJ grabbing of lands by individuals or HJ corporations and suits' were then itisli- HH HJ George W. Wickcrsham, attorney gen- HJ oral of the United States, had his at- HJ toution nailed to the proceedings, and HJ it is said that after carefully reading HJ the evidence collected, he found such HJ , big loopholes in it that ho hit upon HJ the plan of a compromise. This was HJ carried through after considerable diek- HJ ering, as stated in the public press of HJ Tuesday morning. HJ Having secured the land and begun HJ operations upon it. the Utah Fuel com- HJ pany began tho salo of bends. The HJ Morton Trust company of New York HJ was secured to float this $2,000,000 bond HJ issue, and carried it through successful- HJ ly. Tho government was perfectly HJ aware of what was being done at the HJ time, people sav, but failed to tako ac- HJ lion and thereby forfeited its rights in HJ the case. People all over the world. HJ knowing that the company held gov- HJ ernmcnt patents to the land, purchased HJ the bonds in good faith, and this was HJ the act of some master mind which HJ placed the government iu a deep hole. HJ When suits were brought in equity HJ proceedings, tho Morton Trust company HJ was made a defendant. Then it was HH that the fact that millions of dollars HJ in bonds had been sold, and money bor- HJ rowed, came to light. In order to set HJ aside these patents a grave situation HJ would be created. To accomplish this HJ under equity proceedings it would havo HJ become necessary for the government HJ to reimburse the parties who had HJ loaned money upon the strength of gov- HJ ernmcnt patents and tho people who HJ had purchased tho bonds. Hj What It Would Mean. This would have meant an appropria- HJ (ion and a congressional fight, and the HH government would havo been put. to HJ unlimited expense. The very fact- that HH $2,000,000 worth of bonds had been HJ sold would have meant an expenditure HJ of that sum "by the government, besides HJ tho cost of prosecuting the suits and HH paying over the sums loaned under tho HH patent rights. All this would have HH meant the paying out of vastly more HJ money than tlio coal lands in question HJ could possibly be worth to the govcrn- HJ merit, and. therefore it was decided, it HJ is said, to arrange a compromise and HJ allow tho Utah Fuel company to retain HJ ownership of the lands after paying HH over the mono' for the coal extracted HH from the land involved in tho indict- HH 'ment. regarding which criminal pro- HH ceediugs had been instituted, and pav- HH mg a fine for having conspired to d'e- HH fraud the government of lauds right- HJ fully bclongiug to it. HJ The government could not have set HJ aside the patents, it is declared, after HH permitting the matter to go on for such HH a lengthy period without involviug it- HJ self in a long, wearisome and expensive HH fight. Furthermore, officials state, the HJ government had no desiro to do a 113' iu- HH ji'slice to the purchasers of tho bonds, HJ and therefore agreed to a compromise. HJ Tho Utah Fuel company remains iu HJ nhsolute- possession of the 35,000 acres HJ of good coal lands, escapes all danger HJ of further criminal prosecution so far Hl as these lands arc concerned, and be- HJ copies the rightful owner of them at a HJ price which docs not begin to represent HJ their value. Hence, both the Utah Fuel HJ 1 cpmpaivy and the United States govern- H ment arc vinncrs, and at the snmo time H ' both are losers and both parties arc sat- HJ iifled. |