New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-02-24

ing the passage VI I'M "a:
izing the Land Office classifying the puol,c
lands and making conditions upon whlcn iaiiuS
of each class may be settled. Among the I'LL
nortaut provisions will be those relating 10
homestead colonies, to The preservation anu
reprodnction of timber and to the dlsposai vi
mineral lands. Congress was IN session yes
terday. but Mr.. Weaver was not recoghizeu
in the House. The Ute prisoners are 10 pe
left at Fort Leavenworth.
A NEW SYSTEM OF PUBLIC LANDS.
RADICAL CHANGE IN THE LAWS RECOMMENDED
aur PLAN OF THE SPECIAL COMMISSION.
Try TELEGRAPH TO THE TRTBUNEI
w.surxGToN Feb. 23.-One of the most I'M
nortont subjects for legislative action with which
tbe present Congress will be called upon to deal Is
that of the public lands.
For the last eight months the Public Lands Com
mission which was organized under the Act OF
March 3. 1879 has been busily engaged in the per-
formapce of its duties. During the Summer ana
Antu,nn the members of the Commission visited
most of the Western States and Territories ana
gathered a large amount of testimony bearing upon
the various subjects committed to 1t for lnvestga-
t;oo and recommendation by act of Congress.
Since December the members of the Commis-
sion have been in session in this city busy in digest
inc the testimony taken and in preparing their re-
mort. II is understood that the Commission VIII
soon submit a preliminary report to Congress, and
that the report will be accompanied by the draft Oh
n bill to unity and amend the present laws relathg
, TO the survey aud sale of public lands.
Iii bighly probable, from what is known IN a
general way of the opinion of the members OF the
Commission and of the testimony gathered by
them. that their report will recommend and the bill
will embodv some very important provisions and
radical changes.
REORGANIZATION OF LAND OFFICE.
lis b,li, we'd that the Commission Will report III
favor of a reorganization OF the General Land Office
and material increase in the official and clerical
force. both of which are at present inadequate
TO perform the necessary duties imposed upon them
Another recommendation will probably be provis-
ion for regulating appeals in contested 1t IS
probable too, that important changes will be made
in regard to the methods of survey and the officers
eraployed to survey thepublic lands.
Among the changes recommended will probably
be provisions that swamp lands and pasuraPe
lands NAV hereafter be surveyed and patented by
townships that better provisions shall be made for
making the boundaries of surveyed tracts,
that the system of letting public sur
yeys by contract be discontinued, and that
all surveys and boundaries between States
and Territories shall be hereafter made under dl-
rection of the Coast and GeOdetic Survey. The
Commission will probably recommend that the
office of Receiver at each local land office be abo
ished. There are now about ninety-five of these
officers If this recommendation is made and car
ried ont it will save a great deal of expense.
The Commissioners will probably recommend
division of public lands into five general classes,
arabic irrigable, pasturage, timber and mineral.
Some of the most important recommendations of
The Commission, it will probably be found, relate
10 the manner of disposng Of the various classes Of
public lands
ARABIE AND IRRIGABLE LANDS.
n 10 beheyed that the Commission will recon-
mend the repeal of the Pre6mption law, the gen.
eral ground that its chief now Is to increase the
size of individual holdings of public land, result
which il is known the members of the Commission
ronsider at best of doubtful value. Having made
This recommendation, they will probably supple
ept it by another to the effect that hereafter arabic
public lands shall be disposed of under the Home
stead law.
The proyisiou of the Timber Culture act will
nrobably be preserved but the benefits will be re-
stricted to those persons who may be actually
cared in perfectng titles to other entries under the
Homestead law or who have gained such titles, and
continue to reside their homestead. The present
laws regarding town site locations will probably not
be disturbed
The Commission will probably recommend that
no limit be placed upon the amounts of irrigabe
land which any one person may buy. IL has been
found in practice that the amount of capital
needed to irrigate land successfully is so
large that individual settlers cannot under
take the enterprise. Among the recommendations
on this subject will probably be that the land shall
be sold at 25 cents per acre, one-ffth to be paid
down and the balance the end of three years. and
fo iau oil Ia
is shown that a specified sum per acre-say $2-has
been expended on Its reclamation.
PAsTURAGE LANDS.
Lands classed as pasturage will comprise I'M
timbered and new mineral lands not arabic or cap
able of irrigation. They embrace large pro
portion of the areas OF many OF the
Western States and Territories. Respecting
the disposal of these lands it is expected
that some highly important changes will be recon-
mended. As to the quantity of land which
person may buy, the Commission will probably re-
commend il be not limited, for the reason that at
least four square miles, or 25G0 acres, Of such
land will be required to equal in value 100 acres Of
arabic land.
1t is believed that the price of these pasturage
lands will be graduated as follows: All lands sold
prior to January l. 1886, to be at the rate of 81 25
an acre; all lands sold from the latter
date TO January /, 1900. to be at the rate
Of 81 an acre; after the date last mentioned
all lands remaining to be held and sold at 20 cents
an acre; at the expiration of every three years af
ter January /, 1890, the price of the lands remain
ing unsold to be reduced 12l2 cents per acre until
n minimum price of 12l2 cents an acre is reached
when 10 further reduction shall be made
There viii also probably be a recommendation to
the effect that pasturage lands shall be open to
Homestead settlement. no one entry to comprise
more than $50 acres On filing such an entry the
settler will probably be required pay fixed sum-
say 800.
HOMESTEAD COLONIES.
II is quite probable. from intimalions that have
been dropped from time to time by members of the
Commission, that they will make general recon-