United States v. North American Oil Consolidated

(sitting by special assignment). This is a suit by the government to oust the defendants from the possession of section 2, township 32 south, range 23 east, M. D. M., oil-bearing lands in the state of California, and require them to account for and pay over to it the value of oil taken therefrom. The legal title to the land is in the United States. It is included within the area described in the presidential withdrawal order of September 27, 1909. No discovery of oil had been made on any part of the premises at the date of such order. The Pioneer Midway Oil Company was in possession thereof at the time, and it is claimed was in diligent prosecution of work leading to discovery of oil; hence it is said that the land was, by the terms of the order, excluded therefrom because it was “a location or claim existing and valid” at its date; but, if this is not so; the oil company and its successors in interest have a right to retain possession and extract the oil under the proviso of the act of Congress of June, 1910, commonly known as the Pickett Act, which reads:

In view of the conclusions I have reached on tire second question, it is not necessary to consider the first. That the…