The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1884-02-09

Clifton. A route east and west through
this county is much needed and it is
hoped will be established this spring.
A letter written Jan. 18th by Hon.
N. c. Mcfarland, Commissioner of the
General Land Office at Washington, d.
c., the purport being that Clerks of
the District Court i'm counties wherein
court has not been held are unauthor-
lied to take testimony in homestead
and pre-emption proof cases has crea-
ted little uneasiness among the land
agents and money lenders. While
it is from high official it is also in di-
rect contradiction to the Statutes of
the United States and Territorial Code
of Dakota, which state explicitly that
Clerks of the District Court must be
appointed in all counties, and that said
Clerks shall have vested i'm them GER
tain powers, not only for the benefit of
themselves but for that of the thousands
of settlers making final proof, of which
the Devils Lake Pioneer Press says:
"The land laws were enacted (pre-
sumably ut least) for the benefit of the
people, and in the Clerks of the District
Court have been vested by the u. s.
and Territorial statutes certain powers
not primarily for the benefit of such
officers, but for the thousands of claim
ants for government lands who are To-
Gated remote from the local land office.
To compel each claimant to make
journey in person to Grand Forks, en-
failing an expense of twenty dol
lars mileage or a resident of Turtle
mountains to come to the Creelsburg
office, would, indeed, impose burden
some tax OF time and hard cash upon
the settler. There is enough red tape
and expense required now in order to
get government lands; and it will be-
gin to dawn upon the eyes of not few
in this district that man is paying
pretty dear for his land, if, added to
all the costs of holdinga claim against
that arch tiend-the professional claim
jumper-he is compelled to make a
journey Of fifty or one hundred miles to
prove up"
II this letter Is a ruling and a ruling
is law it seems that it will necessarily
make all filings and proofs heretofore
duly made before Clerks OF Court void,
and all would be compelled to make
filing and proof over again at an addi-
tional expense, which would be great
injustice To the settler who has made
his home in the new and, before him,
uninhabited portions of the u. s, for
the purpose of securing for himself
what those interested for the govern
ment term "a free home" The letter,
if construed to be law, is unjust in ev-
cry respect and will, without doubt, if
not already, be revoked by the Secre-
tary of the Interior, as soon as it is
brought to his notice The supposi-
tion is also rife that it is not an official
document but indited by some ill-be-
gotten person or persons for the pur-
pose of creating disturbance and
gaining pecuniarily thereby themselves;
and this ground seems to be well taken
for the reason that Clerks of Court in
this District have not been officially
notified of its existence and the fact
that the Rec, iver has issued final re-
ceipts rs late as the 9th of January
the proof having been made before the
Clerk of Court of Sully county, and the
Register has issued notices of publica-
tion, the proof to be made before the
Clerk, as late as February 9th, confirms
the decision of leading attorneys in
this Territory, that the letter is uncon-
stitutional and VOID in every particular
Should the letter have been genuine
and the opinion final, all land officials
would have been Immediately notified
and the sending out of notices for pub
lication stopped at once, and the set
tiers notified before whom to make
proof We would advise all who are
now advertising to make proof before
the Clerk of Court of Sully county, not
to hesitate for n moment, but to 90 on
and complete their proofs, and others
to send intentions to make proof before
the Clerk the same rs heretofore and
rs If the letter had never been written,
for as long as the u. s. Land Offices
take no cognizance of it the acts of the
Clerk are certainly legal in this rs well
as that Of his other various duties.
The simple question that court must
be held in county before the acts of
Clerk are legal is preposterous one,
as special session might be held i'm
all counties of the Territory at any
time when there is q single case to be