OCR Text |
Show COAL OASES OBSTRUCTED. The announcement from Washington that tho Genoral Land Offico.haa invalidated inval-idated tho Freod coal land entries in this Stnto, conies as a surprise. The local land office had passed thoso entries en-tries as valid, and tho attorney consulted con-sulted on the law of tho case, who is now the U. S. Attorney of this Federal Judicial District, assured tho holders of theso claims that tho entries were perfectly legal and valid. Wo did not suppose that thcro could bo any question ques-tion about it. In this connection, wo may cite the decision of the Federal Court of tho Ninth Judicial Circuit recently in San Francisco, concerning tho timbor land ontries upon which ther hag been bo mnch dispute in Idaho and Oregon. That decision sottlcd tho Idaho contested con-tested timber entries, and also the ontries on-tries hold by Mr. David Ecclcs at Og-den. Og-den. Tho entry of tho timber lands and the Rale of tho claims of tho entry-men entry-men wero fully validated by that decision. de-cision. By parity of reasoning, those who enter coaj lands are entitled also to sell their claims, and investors may lawfully buy them. At tho time that tho entries purchased by Mx. Freed wore made, thcro had been no withdrawals with-drawals of coal land, and tho law was fully complied with in the caso of thoso entries. This was so clearly shown, that tho local U. S. Land Offico passed the entries as lawful and correct. The Genoral Land Office, however, appears to have got the idea that thcro was something wrong about the transaction, and has reversed the local Land Office ruling. If tho samo reasoning would apply in the case of theso coal land entries that tho 2"Tinth. Judicial Circuit Court applied in the case of timber entries, and thoro "would appear to bo no reason rea-son why tho same reasoning should not applv to both, the coal land entries referred re-ferred to are lawful, and should have been passed. It is singular that the officialdom of tho Government should bo at odds with itself in regard to a matter of this kind. When tho Federal Circuit Court passes on any question of this kind, it would seem as thouh the departments ought to bo governed by the court decision and the principles stated. Eventually, they must be governed b" it, and the effect of tho decision of tho General Land Office in these cases is therefore likely to amount merely to this, that it will cost tho holders of thoso lands some moro money to affirm their title' in tho courts, although the samo principle has already boon adjudicated adjudi-cated and decided in favor of the contention con-tention -which, they -will make. It would soom as though, tho Genoral Land Offico. Of-fico. therefore, might havo cither conformed con-formed to the decision of tho Circuit Court, or have waited until tho Supremo Su-premo Court of the United States had finallv passed upon tho principles involved, in-volved, and then those principles wo.uld have been settled for all timo, not only in tho matter of timber entries, but of coal land and other cntrios as woll. |