Silas Gilson v. United States

• Decision Date: 08 June 1914
• Docket Number: No. 207,207
• Citation: 234 U.S. 380,34 S.Ct. 778,58 L.Ed. 1361
• Parties: SILAS A. GILSON, Appt., v. UNITED STATES
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

234 U.S. 380

34 S.Ct. 778

58 L.Ed. 1361

SILAS A. GILSON, Appt.,

v UNITED STATES.

No. 207.

Submitted May 6, 1914.

Decided June 8, 1914.

Messrs. Wade H. Ellis, Ira P. Englehart, Allen S. Davis, and George B. Holden for appellant.

Assistant Attorney General Knaebel and Mr. S. W. Williams for appellee.

Mr. Justice Pitney delivered the opinion of the court:

This is an equity action brought by the United States against appellant to cancel a patent issued to one Daniel Landis for a tract of 120 acres of land in Yakima county, in the state of Washington, afterwards conveyed by Landis to appellant. Landis made a homestead entry in November, 1899, under § 2289 of the Revised Statutes as amended by act of March 3, 1891 (26 Stat. at L. 1098, chap. 561, U. S. Comp. Stat. 1901, p. 1388); in November, 1902, he commuted the entry and purchased the land under § 2301 (U. S. Comp. Stat. 1901, p. 1406), as amended by the same act; and in July, 1903, he received a patent. Upon the day on which he made the commutation entry he gave a mortgage upon the land to appellant, and from that date ceased to live upon it, and as soon as the patent was issued he made the conveyance to appellant. The grounds of the action were: that Landis did not enter the land in good faith, but for the purpose and with the intent of acquiring title to it for appellant and at his instigation; that the residence and improvements were not sufficient; that the affidavit upon which Landis's original application was allowed was false and fraudulent, in that he did not make the application in good faith for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, but made it for the benefit of appellant, with whom the entryman was then acting in collusion for the purpose of giving to appellant the benefit of the entry; that the proof of settlement and cultivation offered in support of the commutation entry was false and fraudulent, in that the entryman had not made settlement in November, 1899, or at any other time; had not built a house, except a partially completed shanty; had not resided on the land, and had not broken 13 acres and cultivated 3 acres, as alleged in his final proofs; and that the statement made in his affidavit that he had not alienated any part of the land was also false, in that he had alienated or agreed to alienate it to appellant.

The trial court found that Landis made the homestead entry at appellant's instigation and for his benefit; that the evidence on which the register and receiver allowed the commutation entry included sworn statements by Landis and two witnesses to the effect that the claimant had lived continuously on the land and made improvements, including a corral and chicken house, and that he had cultivated 3 acres for three seasons; that this was a false statement, there having been no plowing or cultivation except during the third year; that the land was dry sage-brush land, not productive without irrigation; that Landis made only a pretense of settlement and a show of improving the land, in order to satisfy the scruples of the witnesses upon whom he depended to make final proof; and further, that appellant was cognizant of every detail of the transaction from its inception to the issuance of patent, and, indeed, directed the proceedings at every step, and therefore could not claim to be a bona fide purchaser.

The circuit court of appeals concurred in this view of the...