Page:Looters of the Public Domain.djvu/422

 When the case of the Cosmos Exploration Co. vs. the Gray Eagle Oil Co., and that of the Pacific Land & Improvement Co. against the Elwood Oil Co. reached the United States Circuit Court of Appeals, two of its members—Judges Hawley and Morrow—sustained the lower Court in its ruling, while judge W'm. B. Gilbert, of Oregon, rated as one of the most able jurists in the Federal service, rendered a strong dissenting opinion. The two cases came up before the United States Supreme Court in 1903, that tribunal handing down a decree that gave neither side any particular advantage, and resulted in sending all the issues back to their original starting point, the local Land Office at Visalia, California, where a fresh hearing was had January 18, 1904. The suits are still pending before the Land Department. Page 416