OCR Text |
Show SUPREME COURT ON CLYDE CASE Opinion Holds Secretary of Interior Had Right to Lease Withdrawn Lands. ' j In an opinion handed down Monday by the supreme court, it is held that the secretary of the Interior has a 31, 1907. The plaintiffs bid $10,408 and tho defendants a trill oyer $5,000. Under the'-plaintiffs' lease the defendants defend-ants grazed -several thousand head or sheep at 10 cents per head. When the plaintiffs sought to collect tue amount the defendants refused to pay. In appealing the case to the supreme court they declared that the secretary of , the interior had no right to lease the land after It had -been withdrawn. Tho opinion was written by Justice McCarty and concurred In by Chief Justice Straup and Justice Frlck. right to lease land for grazing purposes pur-poses which has been withdrawn from entry while improvements are being made. This decision affirms the lower low-er court In the case or James W. Clyde, et al., respondents, against John J. Cummlngs, et al., which gave a verdict of 5711.60 in favor of the plaintiffs. The action was brought to recover $1,164.75 for grazing privileges which they claimed were enjoyed by the defendants de-fendants upon land leased by the plaintiffs from the United States. The land Involved constituted the Strawberry Straw-berry valley and its drainage area. The secretary of the interior withdrew the land from entry on March 13, 1907. under the reclamation act In order to bfgin construction of the Strawberry valley irrigation project. j Later, sealed bids were asked for, ' stating that tho land was to b. leased lor grazing from June 1 to December |