European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 17, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 2 the stars and stripes monday october 17, 1977 some holdings called illegal speculators tied to uranium Sites Washington is congressional investigators say they have uncovered a Law of the Jungle which has permitted speculators to hold millions of acres of potential uranium deposits on Public lands in the West often forcing legitimate exploration companies to look elsewhere. Under questioning one Speculator who admitted he had staked uranium claims on 600 Square Miles in Wyoming resorted to the fifth amendment 14 times to avoid an swering a series of questions posed to de Termine whether he had complied with Federal Law in filing his claims. The Speculator Phillip e. Flanagan a geologist from Riverton Wyo., told the oversight subcommittee of the House interstate and foreign Commerce commit tee that he had filed court papers for More than 20,000 mining claims but he refused to disclose whether any of them had been properly staked or drilled or whether $100 Worth of assessment work had been con ducted on each claim each year As required by the Federal mining act of 1872. Subcommittee investigators said Flana Gan had filed affidavits with seven Wyom ing county courts asserting that he had done $2 million Worth of the required assessment work last year. According to the subcommittee one Block of 386 claims was filed by Flanagan on land owned by another witness Daniel m. Burke the prosecutor of Natrona county Wyo., who owns a ranch 20 Miles North of Casper Wyo. Burke testified that he first Learned of Flanagan s holdings when Burke permitted explorers from Exxon corp. To Hunt for uranium on the ranch. I noticed that a Large area of land in the Center of where they were supposed to stake had not been staked and inquired about the reasons and was advised that those lands had already been staked he said. Exxon he said told him that they had no interest in claiming the land because papers had already been filed in court by Flanagan s company general nuclear. Under Wyoming Law the Mineral rights on the ranch land were owned by the Public but Flanagan told Exxon he was certain no one had Ever staked or dug the required As bolivian tin heiress 5-year-old Grazier la Ortiz Patino embraces her Mother mrs. Jorge Ortiz Patino at Geneva Fol Happy family reunion lowing her release by kidnappers. Patino right would not confirm that he paid a $2.5 million Ransom for return of the child. Swiss police sunday arrested two foreigners in connection with the oct. 3 kidnapping. A photo a a clubs plan neighbor program focusing on . Service personnel by Clint Swift staff writer Heidelberg is americans living in Germany were recognized As a Central concern of the federation of German american clubs Over the week end As the organization plotted a course into its fourth decade. We re going to expand our meet the germans program into a meet your neighbors program aimed mostly at american service personnel federation vice president Rolf d. Sautter of Stuttgart said sunday As the group s 30th annual meeting Drew to a close. " meet the germans used to mean introducing tourists to germans. When the first German american clubs were formed the emphasis was on meeting for Eigners As foreigners and on charitable activities born out of the need of the time said Sautter who was chairman of a convention forum looking  the delegates Felt that today the federation should concentrate on ways we can help our two Peoples live better together in our communities he said. The forum also determined to try to raise the percentage of cos among american club members to about that of the . Service population in Germany. Form More clubs especially in the Bremerhaven area where new . Troops Are moving in. Form an association of former federation Exchange students in the . To Aid new German Exchange students and per haps eventually to form an american Branch of the federation. Sautter said a Large number of delegates voiced a deep concern Over the unusually Small number of nonwhite americans at the convention this year. He said they re solved to Start at the club level to deter mine whether the representation resulted accidentally or from member attitudes. Mrs. Gisela c. Kyrios of the Karlsruhe German american women club and editor of the federation s quarterly publication Gazette was elected president of the federation. She succeeds Robert c. Larson of Stuttgart. The new vice president is col. Frederic c. Schleusing Usa eur Deputy chief of staff for Host nation activities. Ses sment holes on the claims. Nevertheless according to records obtained by the subcommittee Exxon agreed to lease 255 of the claims from Flanagan. Burke said both county and state commissioners Are investigating the matter. Another witness John Macguire presi Dent of a Wyoming company that stakes uranium claims for clients under contract estimated that As much As 25 per cent of the claims on uranium lands in the West Are illegal. Macguire said there is an unwritten law1 among major Oil companies and speculators that they will not Challenge each other s claims. Although major utilities Are now looking for uranium deposits most of them stay away from the claimed land because they Are reluctant to become involved in litigation which often follows such a Chal Lenge said Macguire. He added that his company was now involved in three such lawsuits. When so much of the land is tied up and not being actually explored i Don t know How we can adequately estimate our re serves said Macguire. He said that accurate estimates of Domestic uranium reserves Are crucial to president Carter s plan to switch from Reliance on imported crude Oil to Coal and nuclear Power. Because he had broken the unwritten Law and Laid claim to land that he knew had not been staked properly Macguire said his Crews have been followed and on one occasion intimidated by Crews of other companies. If they All abide by the Law i think there would be More uranium Macguire said. At one Point during the hearings after hearing Flanagan repeatedly assert fifth amendment rights which protect individuals against being forced to incriminate themselves one member of the subcommittee rep. Albert a. Gore jr., d-tenn., told Flanagan these Mineral rights belong to the people. You re refusing to re Spond to our inquiries on Public  Gore said he Felt the Federal mining Law which carries no penalties should be changed to require forfeiture if claims holders refuse to show How they have com plied with the Law. Rep. John e. Moss d-calif., the sub committee s chairman said he Felt the abuse of the mining Law was one reason Why uranium prices have risen by 400 per cent in recent months. Temperatures l h 40 52 43 73 42 60 33 38 37 72 41 73 48 61 55 8$ 44 69 41 67 42 72 27 57 48 77 46 53 60 86 38 58 39 42 26 70 48 71 39 70 36 69 36 61 44 57 35 61 36 63 33 73 37 64 50 75 41 67 42 64 43 55 36 53 33 45 49 74 19 23 29 54 31 75 38 75 43 57 29 68 77 90 60 82 43 61 43 77 40 74 48 50 Albany Albuquerque Amarillo Anchorage Asheville Atlanta Atlantic City Austin Baltimore Billings Birmingham Bismarck Boise Boston Brownsville Buffalo Burlington Casper Charleston . Charleston . Charlotte Cheyenne Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Columbia . 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