Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1885-12-11
Reform OyerdOne.


Orcwunan
In his yea. for reform the new
Commissioner of the General Land
Office is involving in hardship
large, industrious and excellent
body of people who have settled on
public lands in this State and Wash
ington Territory, and who have not
yet obtained complete title from the
Government. In very many in
stances the requirements of resi-
dence, cultivation, ETC., have been
complied with, and the patents are
delayed in the delivery because the
lands have not yet been surveyed.
Thus settlers, though unquestiona-
bly, entitled TO their holdings, have
not all the advantages which belong
to ownership. They can live on the
land, but cannot sell it; and besides,
there are many minor annoyances
growing out of underlined and un-
certain conditions. Two or more
persons often claim the same piece
of land, and there are continual rows
about boundary lines and other mat
ters of Importance as between set
tiers. 1t has been common in past
years when settlers have desired, as
people always do, to have their
rights determined and accredited, to
pay the cost of surveys, the work
being done under direction of the
Surveyor General and Us Govern
ment work, ana differing from regu-
lar Government surveys only in the
circumstances, that they are paid for
by the settlers instead of the Gov
ernment. There is no more chance
for fraud under this practice than
under the regular system, and as
matter of fact there has never been
fraud under it in this country.
In accordance with this practice,
certain settlers along the upper
Young's river, in Clatsop county,
recently made up a purse and en-
gagged the Surveyor General of Ore
gon to make a contract to survey
their district. The work was done,
but when done under Government
authority and in accordance with
Government rules and reported to
Commissioner Sparks, the contract
was abrogated and SO it goes for
nothing. The Youns's river settlers
are out their money and still have
no title to their lands. Some Of
them have lived continuously on
their settlements for more than 6f-
teen years waiting for the surveys
always promised but never per-
formed, and it is not surprising that
they are impatient and disheartened,
particularly since they have been
denied the privilege Of doing for
themselves what the Government
neglects to do, and are some thous-
ands OF dollars out of pocket in the
attempt.
There are two other similar cases
in Washington Territory, one in the
foothills of the Blue Mountains,
where large settlement engaged
the Surveyor General to do tho work
and paid their money for it, and
another in the country north of Van
couver. In the two instances the
settlers have paid $4,000 of money
gotten in the hard ways by which
alone money is acquired in new and
remote settlements, and to no pur-
pose whatever. The contracts,
properly made by the Territorial Of
ticer of surveys, have been abrogated
by Commissioner Sparks.
He is afraid, he says, of frauds,
and his argument is very brief
"because" (some time back) "there
were frauds in similar cases in All
zona." And so, because there have
been frauds in Arizona, people in
Oregon and Washington, who have
acted in good faith, must suffer. As
we'll might the Commissioner refuse
to issue patents under any or all
circumstances in Oregon because
there have been frauds elsewhere.
MIR. Sparks is new to the business
OF his Office and, unfortunately,
seems to think that the land laws
are intended, not to facilitate the
distribution of public lands, but to
keep the people from them. He
seems to think, also, that all appli.
cants for the land are wolves. His
caution (well intended, no doubt)
amounts to obstruction. The worst
of it is that the victims of his un-
just ruling are poor and deserving
people, who can ill-afford to lose
their money or to suffer delay in
getting possession of their lands.
THE richest man in the world is O
Chinaman named Han Qua. who
lives in Canton. He pays taxes
upon an estate OF 10000, GOO, and
is estimated to be worth 81 ,400, ,0OO,-
600.