Weekly Council Bluffs bugle. (Council Bluffs, Iowa) 1857-1860, 1860-02-15
oouCn guTrs IOWA "Wednesday MoRnlNG FEBRUARY 500

EErMRs 20 @&a@z@@ RM@Sg&@0 CO ss&1
6 pressed In rseafv&s1 @MsF sats pa0wi
Z seus se sks aosss y AxAssa slss Hedsaso9
. sansxed. n dosa nos IL i aEnat /
: 90 600 pse anmam 80R all saKgiesa oe o.
! cry kind whiaA laua alaaaka hasy be r.
!, qairsd By iaw 10 pssfoFsAs " We eer
+. ssder, for ss scaaeSss, the aAagasks1 0f Il
! services required under the aee ofilSil
and the acts pasaed moss ahan thiss
. years. LASER, ia regard % sha loe9slon :
Hands with warrants We shall eee ho]
; unrsasonabte ft would hs % spply sk
] provisions 0s the aet os 1913 70 shs sery
ICES prescribed b. khaes aMhseaneak &ssa
! The act Of 1913 pscyid@ faE ehs son
penaAtion Of tia IpsaI ISaa ofhssx4, 1
/ sales for cash. The ssveFal aess pre-
viding for the issuing and location o
! fAnds waSFaats, changed he whols sys
teas to = grs@a sxsana. IbAss lass aam
ed aots greatly Increased she labar, rs
sponsibilisy and expense Of the land Of
aeers. a few particulars wiil serve 4
! illustrate this TieW. InMaals Ter cash
whole sestipn may he e8tsFsd upon {
single application ;--in sale for war,
rantsr . sspaxass appl IsaAfan mast b.
i made ans x6N are1y waaS@Ess IN = sais
fer eashs ehs okaeR has nothing 20 d
bias count The gold g-4a . location eI
warrants be hiss Ehe Labor and ssspon,
I sibiiity Of examining and passing upon
assignments, often Numerous, some
limes by guardians, sSc, Id which very
dilEeals saestisaa frequently arise. II
a sale for cash, one duDlisass certificate
is sufficient for q whole section of land
Ia location Of warrants, q ssparate
! certificate ia duplieats is requiFsd for
each warrant. Thma, ia the entry Of q
section OF land, the whole nunbsr Of ap-
| plieations required in writing With 100
acre warrants, is four with 50 acre
warrants, eight and with 20 acre war
rants, sixteen. The whole nusabsr Of
certificates, including the original and
duplicate, would be, With 160 acre way
rants, eight; with 50 acre warrants, six-
teen With 20 acre warrants, thirty 1.-TWO.
What al increase Of writing doss this
requirement alone impose upon the laRl
| ofhceis! So, in keeping books and ma
king returns, large increase o. labor
is imposed upon the efRcsrs by che land
wRTraut syssaHa. Ta Ensst lhsaa require
ments, & great increase of expenditure
for clerk hire and otherwise, became in
dispensable. These facts being unds-
nlabie, what reason can there Be, in shs
absence Of express words, for supposing
that Congress, in passing the act of 1855,
intended TO provide that the land officers
should perform the duties and incur the
responsibilities and expense imposed by
shaG act, for ths same compensation
which they had received for the far
lighter duties required By the act Of
1918.
The counsel for Ghe Government are
clearly mistaken in assuming that it has
been the legislative policy Of the eoun-
try 70 limit the land officers, iRfexibly,
and under all circumstances to the
mGx msm of compensation fixed by the
act Of 1918. THIS policy has been ap-
Piled by Congress only where the COM
peRsaIon Of the land officers has been
rquircd TO be paid out of the public
Treasury. Ii object has been to guard
The public treasury against uncertain
and excessive demands. Where by Law
fees have been prescribed to be paid to
the land officers, BY third persons, for
special services, 6 policy wholly differ
ent has prevailed. Thus, uhdsr the va
rious pre-empsion laws, from that Of
1884 TO that Of l54l, khe local officers
have been allowed todharge a hd receive
ffts cenisaeaeh for their Faes ia proving
up Prescriptions. The ass Of May oath,
1924, for the correction Of erroneous en-
tries, authorizes them to charge twenty
ave cents for every oath administered,
and the same for every hundred words
written. So under the act of May l7th,
l848, the land slhoers were authorised
TO require of the holders of warrants,
issued under the act Of FsbruNry llth,
ls47, for thslE services in locating 100
acre warrants, 6fsy cents and for forty
acre warrants, twenty-five cents each
10 all these cases, the fees are by tho
express terms Of tbs different aets, 20 be
paid BY third persons, for whose benefit
the services arc to be performed. And
il has always been conceded BY the Gov
eminent, that the lane officers have the
night to retain the whole Of the fees re-
eeiyed under the act mentioned, without
reference to the maximum hxed by the
act of 1918. At many ofheas, the fees
thus received and appropriated, have
amounted TO hundreds of dollars over
and above the sum OF three thousand
dollars per Annum. There has been no
Law requiring the fees, thus received, to
be paid into che treasury.
The provisions quo ted above from the
act Of 1918, and the Graduation act Of
Mareh Sd, 1855, clearly display the pol
icy which am endsaFoFing 10 illustrate.
! Under these acts, the money is to be ia.
ken from the public treasury 90 pay the
compensation of the land ofkesrs hence,
il is in each Carsfally provided, in sx.
press words, that the compensation Of
the officers, shall not, under these acts,
AEaeuas, ia any enc year, 80 more EnGn
Ehres thousand dollars.
! BnE the msst fsFcibie illustration oi
this policy, 10 to be found ia ths act of
1852, The ID sec. Of thss act is pros.
I fpeetive-it Is identical in substance viii
| the 9th sec. OF the act of 1855 it author.
| iEss the land officers 10 Charge and re.
I ceive from third parsons holding l&aa
warrants, certain fees for services there
after 70 be performed. Il does not con.
template any draft upon the Treasury Il
pay the aaAceEs; hence, there In no pro,
viso to that section limiting the smeRai
which she land olheers nag retain. Bui
mark the difference, when we come Il
the Sd section. That section is wholly
retrospective. Is provides that che ofR.
cws, whether Ia or auk uf ofAee at th'
the passage Of the act, shall be entities
10 receive from the Treasury Of the Uni
ted States, for services performed be
fore the passage Of she ass in loeaainl
land waFgEnEss the sams rate Of com
pensation provided for Ia the preceding
section, for services thereafter TO b
performed. Now, this secsion oonssm
plates the payment Of Hsaney cut Of th,
Treasury, fOE pass services. Mark, nos
! how earssully the Treasury is guarded
To this Sd sec., there is proTiso, tbs
no Register or Reeeixer shall receive 70
bis services, daTing say enc year, i
greater compensation than kha maxi
mum axed By the aet of 1878. FroE
! this il il porgestiy clear 10 my mind
thai Congress Intended 20 draw bros
. line Of s1amarkAsion ns&waea mooney
/ drawn fTsm she TrsasuFy TO pay thss
| oheeFs, aad mensy pad tfsm - fes
. by ihiFd psFsons. Asa aware, inaees
! that eaaaseI stssmps TO apply the pra
! viso Of the 2d see. e the I'd sec. Of tha
! Aat; hEs / dismiss thai argument viii
! cat kurthaR nasice, siAes Il il NANTES
? / thas nothing short Of the uamoss sis
I lsnGs af eonssgaesion eeala waxrant thi