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Re: The Fight for Truth, Justice & the American Way, in Monahans!

In a message dated 5/30/98 4:44:01 AM Central Daylight Time,
Phil@ticetboo.demon.co.uk writes:

<< 
 > I do see the similarity here, but there seems to be a big difference here
too!
 > Did the judge rule that since the meteorite fell in Canada but was carried
 > down on a ice glacier and deposited onto the Oregon Iron and Steel
Companies
 > land roughly 100,000 years earlier that Huges had no right to go over on
his
 > neighbors land and steal it from them?  Was this a case about theft, or was
it
 > about who previous to the stealing of it owned it?  
 
 I think you are going off on a tangent here. Firstly, the glacial theory -
and 
 it is only a theory - is fairly new and, at the time of the court case
(c.1903) 
 it was assumed the meteorite lay where it fell. 
  >>


Hi Phil and list,

I don't know if that constitutes being off on a tangent, but yes, it probably
was.  My whole point was simply that the Williamette case seemed to be one
about theft and absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it was a
meteorite, as far as the law was concerned. 

Whether it would have been a horse, a buggy, a bottle of whiskey, a piece of
iron or steel from their plant or even a suitcase full of $500,000 in cash
waiting for a Wells Fargo pick up, the issue was theft.  Hughes went over on
to private property and stole something that belonged to his neighbor.  The
Oregon Iron and Steel Company wanted their stolen private property back, so
they filed suit for it.  It was Hughes defense that it was a discarded Indian
Relic free for the taking.  The Judge agreed with the plaintiff that it was
stolen and not with the defendant that it was an Indian relic. 

I guess my statements in the other post, were a poor attempt to humorously
point out that HOW it got there has nothing to do with theft.  Yet now we are
ARE saying it belongs to the owner of the land WHERE IT FELL.  And if you have
ever tried to deal with the Canadian Government regarding exporting of
meteorites from Canada, you would have seen the humor in referring to them
making a claim on the Williamette, if in fact it was transported, no doubt
illegally, by the glacier without an export permit.

OOppps!  I slipped into one of those humor tangents again!  Sorry!

Steve