Lapas attēli
PDF
ePub

the question of discovery is not particularly discussed in there. There are five or six other questions discussed.

Senator WALSH of Montana. This does not discuss the question of discovery at all, apparently.

Mr. FINNEY. No, sir; I said I thought it did not. I did not take any part in this for some reason. It did not come through my office. I was solicitor.

Senator WALSH of Montana. This is dated January 31, 1930, I see. Mr. FINNEY. Do you care to have that put in?

Senator WALSH of Montana. No; it does not discuss the question of discovery at all.

Mr. FINNEY. No.

Senator WALSH of Montana. The motion apparently was based on other grounds.

Mr. FINNEY. Yes; four or five.

Senator WALSH of Montana. And simply discusses, among other things, failure to do assessment work.

Mr. FINNEY. Yes.

Senator WALSH of Montana. And that was taken care of by the Krushnic case?

Mr. FINNEY. Yes; and it discussed the question of whether they had to file a notice with regard to assessment work, and things like that.

Senator WALSH of Montana. That is all I care to inquire about with respect to the Freeman-Summers case.

Mr. FINNEY. Just one other word. I thought Kelley was unduly excited about the effect of the hearing and I still think he was unduly excited. In other words, as you will recall, I stated during the hearing that each case was to be determined on its own facts. It is true, however, that when you refer to geology and to exposures on near-by lands, what would apply to A's case would apply to B, but I thought Kelley was unduly excited and that he thought the department was just going to shovel out a lot of mining patents to everybody. There was no intention on my part of doing anything of that kind, so I did not give very great weight to the oral statements he made to me when he was there. I felt the department had decided this case after two hearings and that decision had been made, and that it was not advisable for the department, on that nature of a report, based on a statigraph made 15 miles away-I saw no particular reason for reopening it. We could not have taken adverse action just on the report itself because we do not cancel or deny claims on agents' reports. We order a hearing.

Senator WALSH of Montana. I want to find out from you now just what effect, if any, the Freeman-Summers case had upon subsequent cases coming before the department.

Mr. FINNEY. Well, we had an examination made of the records. by the General Land Office, and they tell me that there have only been three claims that have passed to patent which may be said to have gone on a doctrine analogous to the Freeman-Summers case, and that the aggregate area is about 2,000 acres. In other words, the Land Office, or the department, apparently found the same state of affairs on the three claims, including 2,000 acres, as was found in the Freeman-Summers case. Does that answer your question? Senator WALSH of Montana. Yes; I think so.

Mr. FINNEY. I think we referred to the Alturas case earlier in the hearing; did we not?

Senator WALSH of Montana. I don't remember that.

Mr. FINNEY. That came up before Secretary Wilbur, involving the question of discovery, and the statement was made in there that the Freeman-Summers decision was not one that controlled other cases, that each case was to be decided upon its own facts, and I believe he called for further evidence. Is that right?

Mr. ELY. That is correct.

Mr. FINNEY. I only know of the three, after a search made by the Land Office.

Senator WALSH of Montana. Let me inquire; that is, reference was made in three cases, as I understand you, to the Freeman-Summers case in the opinions filed?

Mr. FINNEY. The Land Office has classified them as the cases that were acted on by the Land Office following the Freeman-Summers case as a precedent.

Senator WALSH of Montana. Let me see that.

Mr. FINNEY. That is the Alturas decision. That is a case where action was not taken. Additional evidence was called for, if I remember rightly.

Senator WALSH of Montana. This is along the line concerning which I was inquiring.

The opinion says:

The weight and preponderance of evidence is that no oil shale was disclosed on Hope 10. There is nothing in the decision in Freeman v. Summers (52 L. D. 201) that justifies the deduction that on locations made for oil shale on the Green River formation, the locators are relieved from the wellsettled requirement of the mining law, that actual discovery of mineral must be made within the boundaries of the claim.

Mr. FINNEY. Mr. Ely has just handed me a summary from the Land Office giving the numbers of the claims and the acres patented, as they say, following the Freeman-Summers decision.

Senator WALSH of Montana. Covering questions controlled by the Freeman-Summers decision.

Mr. FINNEY. I have not examined those records personally, so I do not know.

Senator WALSH of Montana. Well, were opinions filed in these cases?

Mr. FINNEY. I can tell you later on. I don't know.

Mr. Ely just called my attention to the fact that Richardson referred to the Alturas case in this report on page 151.

Senator WALSH of Montana. What was the result in that case? Were patents ordered or denied?

Mr. FINNEY. The Alturas case?

Senator WALSH of Montana. Yes.

Mr. FINNEY. My recollection is that part of them were denied. There were a number of claims in the group, and I think it was denied as to certain locations on which insufficient discovery was shown and approved as to certain other claims.

Senator WALSH of Montana. We will suspend here until Thursday morning at 10 o'clock.

(Whereupon, at 12.10 o'clock p. m., the committee recessed until Thursday, February 12, 1931, at 10 o'clock a. m.)

OIL SHALE LANDS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1931

UNITED STATES SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC LANDS AND SURVEYS,

Washington, D. C.

The committee met, pursuant to the recess, at 10 o'clock a. m., in the committee room of the Committee on Interstate Commerce, Capitol, Senator Thomas J. Walsh, of Montana, presiding.

Present: Senator Walsh of Montana.

Present also: Hon. Ray Lyman Wilbur, Secretary, Department of the Interior; Hon. Edward C. Finney, Solicitor, Department of the Interior; Northcutt Ely, Executive Assistant to the Secretary of the Interior; U. E. Goerner, Esq., Assistant Law Examiner, General Land Office: Mr. Ralph S. Kelley.

Senator WALSH of Montana. Mr. Finney, I think we will proceed. STATEMENT OF HON. EDWARD C. FINNEY, SOLICITOR, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR-Continued

Mr. FINNEY. You asked me to get the map showing the locus of the 88 claims that had been located by Hubbard and his people, or by Dow and associates, and these are the claims, on the margin are the numbers given, the dates of location, and the names of the original locators.

The land involved in the Freeman-Summers contest was in parts of sections 1 and 2 and cropping over into 3, and I have checked in red the locations, parts of which were involved in that proceeding.

May I add this, Senator, that I find that a patent issued on four of these claims and covering section 27, November 8, 1928. May 4, 1930-I don't know what that means-there were two patents possibly.

The report, the Land Office advises me, of July 6, 1926, was on the charge that they had failed to perform assessment work and that the patent expenditures were insufficient. There is no charge of no discovery in that particular section, involving four of the locations.

The south half of 22 is embraced in a pending entry on which patent has not been issued, and the field report, made July 6, 1926, does allege nondiscovery. Then it appears that a subsequent field report was made February 21, 1930, recommending dismissal of proceedings relative to discovery in view of the Freeman-Summers decision, but as I say, the patent has not been issued. The entry is still pending in the Land Office.

Senator WALSH of Montana. Mark the chart presented by Mr. Finney in order to identify it.

(Whereupon, the reporter marked the chart presented by Mr. Finney, "Finney, Exhibit A, February 12, 1931.")

Senator WALSH of Montana. Then, as I understand, only section 27 has been patented.

Mr. FINNEY. Yes, sir, and there was no charge of nondiscovery there.

Senator WALSH of Montana. Yes.

Mr. FINNEY. As to all these other claims, no patents have been issued or entries have been made, but charges are pending against them, and against a number of other claims, making 124 in all brought by the field division, alleging that assessment work has not been done for certain years on any of them and it has not been resumed.

Senator WALSH of Montana. So this one section is all of the claims patented.

Mr. FINNEY. Yes, sir.

Senator WALSH of Montana. The locations are all made then by congressional subdivisions.

Mr. FINNEY. Yes, sir; this is a surveyed township and the locations were made by subdivisions, some in squares, and some as you see. That one, for instance, Triumph No. 24, was apparently a mile long.

Senator WALSH of Montana. Well, all the Triumphs are a mile long, are they not?

Mr. FINNEY. Yes, sir, apparently; the series on the east side of the township Triumph claims are made a mile long.

Senator WALSH of Montana. These are the names of the locators of the claims, are they?

Mr. FINNEY. Yes.

Senator WALSH of Montana. Triumphs 1 to 44, inclusive, located April 5, 1918, by E. A. Dow, Charles E. Hubbard, C. L. Hubbard, H. T. Hubbard, E. E. Hubbard, Ruby Hubbard, Edna Hubbard, Mary Hubbard, Josephine Hubbard, and Sadie Dow, Sadie Dow probably being the wife of E. A. Dow.

Mr. FINNEY. I imagine that these women are wives, daughters, or relatives of Hubbard or Dow, as the case may be. Here are the others.

Senator WALSII of Montana. I do not recall what the testimony shows concerning the Dow-Hubbard group as contrasted with the J. D., T. D., F. D., C. D., C. C. D., and A. D. groups.

Mr. FINNEY. Now, you will recall, Senator, that in the FreemanSummers case, there was involved not only some of these Triumph claims, but here are the J. D.'s, J. D. 1, 2, 3, part of 5 and part of 7. Now, you will find them in this group that was located by M. L. West and others.

Senator WALSH of Montana. That is what I wanted to know. What relation is there between the Dow-Hubbard group and the groups marked "D"?

Mr. FINNEY. Well, apparently some of the claims, at least including the ones that I have just mentioned, were acquired by Freeman and by the Standard Shale Products Co., who were the protestants against the Summers entry, acquired by purchase, I presume.

Senator WALSH of Montana. Yes, but that is not what I mean. The Triumph claims were all located by Dow and Hubbard. Mr. FINNEY. Yes.

Senator WALSH of Montana. And by whom were the claims marked "D"

Mr. FINNEY (interposing). The J. D., Nos. 1 to 8, are said to have been located April 1, 1918, and were located by R. B. Bouldin, M. L. West, L. Morgan West, F. M. West, W. J. Wigton, M. Boyle, L. W. Leininger, and J. W. Woodstock.

Senator WALSH of Montana. What relation, if any, was there between these two groups?

Mr. FINNEY. Well, I don't know, except that evidently the titles had been acquired in some way by these men who protested the homestead.

Senator WALSH of Montana. The Triumph claims 1 to 44 were located, or purport to have been located, on April 5, 1918.

Mr. FINNEY. Yes.

Senator WALSH of Montana. The J. D. claims and the other "D" claims purport to have been located on the first day of April, 1918. Mr. FINNEY. Now, Mr. Ely has just handed me one of the transcriptions of the testimony of one of the hearings, showing the crossexamination by Mr. Delaney of Hubbard.

Q. How many claims did you locate while out there on that trip?

A. Eighty-eight, as I remember.

Q. How long did it take you to locate and survey these claims?

A. I was there myself 11 days. Dow was there 21 days. The balance of them I can't say.

Q. When did you start?

A. I went up there I believe the 30th of March, Dow had been there before. In another part of the transcription of the testimony occurs the following:

Q. What particular group of claims?

A. The Triumph group, the J. D., the P. D., and C. D.

Senator, I think that probably answers your question. Evidently this same outfit located the J. D., P. D., and C. D.

Senator WALSH of Montana. Well, there appear to be two groups of locators here, Mr. Finney.

Mr. FINNEY. Yes, sir.

Senator WALSH of Montana. One group locating the Triumph claims.

Mr. FINNEY. Yes, sir.

Senator WALSH of Montana. And the other locating a group of claims designated J. D., P. D., E. D., C. D., C. C. D., and A. D. Mr. FINNEY. Yes, sir.

Senator WALSH of Montana. Does the record show whether two groups of locators were acting in conjunction or under any understanding between them?

Mr. FINNEY. What I have read, indicates that these men, Dow and Hubbard, and the people that were with them, located them all. Senator WALSH of Montana. That is, Dow and Hubbard located them all?

Mr. FINNEY. Yes, they, with their assistants, did the actual locating. That is what this testimony says.

Another question was asked by this lawyer on cross examination:

Q. What other persons assisted in the location of these claims?

A. Well, there was Joe Jewhan, he ran a transit, Dow ran a transit. They had two transits going. I am telling you who were there

« iepriekšējāTurpināt »