Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1882-02-02
WARRINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON, d. G.
Jan. II, 1882.

ION, OF interest not only 10 miners AZ
plying for patents but also to newspa
per publishers. The law requires thai
''the register of the land Office, upor
the filing of such application, shall pub
lish notice that such application has
been made, for the period OF sixty days
in a newspaper to be 10y him designated
a. published nearest to such claim
In the case under consideration il
appears that the application, instead OF
being published in the newspaper near
ct to the claim (about two miles dis
tant) was published in one three miles
away. The nearest newspaper was
very small and limited in circulation,
with few advertisements, and the tes-
timony of several witnesses show that
the community in which it was pub
llshed was not sufficiently large to sup
port it. The protestants claims that
u the notice was not published in the
paper nearest the claim, the applicant
was not entitled to patent.
Tho Secretary says, admit that the
paper published nearest the claim is a
reputable paper, yet it is clear that the
applicant for patent is not at fault
because the law require that notice be
published In tho paper designated by
the Register as published nearest the
claim; and az the claimant followed this
designation DO complied with the law,
although the Register disobeyed its
directory provisions. If any other con
struction be given to the law the ap-
plicant for patent would he remcdeless
in case the Register makes an crrone-
Gus desi gnation of the newspaper as
the medium of publication. But the
Register has no authority to exercise
this discretion, for the public have the
right to look to the paper issued near
est the claim as the one in which a
notice Of application should appear
If two or more papers Of repute are
published equi- distant, or very nearly
90, from the claim, the Register must
designate the one in which the notice
shall appear, but in other cases the pa
per published nearest the claim must
b. designated, provided the same is a
reputable newspaper of general crcu-
lation.
But in designating the paper in
which the notice shall be published,
the Register has the right to decide
whether the paper published nearest
the claim is reputable and of general
circulation as contemplated by the law;
and, if not, to designate the next near
est reputable paper. If the Register
sslects the wrong paper it is the duty
OF this office to refer the entries to the
Board of Equitable Adjudication; if
otherwise, and the proper newspaper
is designated, the entries should be ap.
proved by this office without such ref.
erence. In the present case the Reg.
lister performed his duties properly.
The Commissioner has also made
decision upon the relative rights of the
owners of placer and lode claims The
applicant for patent to placer claim
alleged in his affidavit that no lodes
were known TO exist therein at the
time Ct the application and the adverse
claimants aleye under oath that at the
time of the filing of their adverse claims
certain lodes are known to exist and
such is the fact. The Commissioner
ruled that lodes discovered within the
limits of placer claim, after applica-
ton for patent for the placer claim was
filed, are no bar to issuance Of patent
- applied for, and also, that where the
local laws of the mines, or the statutes
OF the State, require certain amount
OF expenditures to BIO made annually
10 order to maintain possessory title
to placer claim, failure to comply
With this requirement renders the land
subject to relocation by any qualified
person.
Sec. 1889 Revised Statutes provides
that where owners of placer claims have
held and worked their claims for q per-
sod equal to that prescribed by the stat
utes of limitations for mining claims in
tho State or Territory where the same
may be situated, evidence of such pos.
session and working of the claims for
such period shall be sufficient to estab.
lish right TO patent thereto under
this chapter, in the absence of any
adverse claim. Under this law it is
hold that if the claimant has held and
worked his claim for the period pre-
Dcribed by the statutes of limitatjon of