Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-01-24
JOINT MEMORIAL
OF THE NEVADA LEGISLATURE TO
CONGRESS.
Nevada Asks that All Government
Land Within Her Borders be
Coded to the State.

EDS. RECORD-t MON: On jdiiuaiy o'ii
Senator Parker introduced joint memo
rial and resolution to Congress requesting
the General Government 10 cede to the
State of Nevada all the unsold lands within
the State. The memorial recites that the
geographical situation of Nevada confines
every enterprise to such inland conditions
as a State deprived of seacoast is compelled
10 adopt. 1t declares that the Government
has authorized the demonstrating Of 160
acres of land to every person entitled to
make such entry; that this amount was
determined by the character of the fertile
lands of the Mississippi valley, wherein 100
acres are sufficient for the necessities Of
family; but that owing to the dryness Of
the climate of Nevada, the scarcity OF run
ming water, and the obvious fact that for
long period of time vast areas of land
in the State of Nevada will find
its most profitable use for grazing; that
greater area than the homestead law now
allows will encourage the actual use and
settlement of the lands in that State. The
ninth recitation of the memorial deserves
more than a passing notice. 1t declares
Whereas, the present method OF selling
lieu lands in lots of forty acres is being used
by land spectators to buy and usurp all
of the springs and small streams in the
State, thereby rendering the land but lit
lie removed from these springs and streams
forever unstable" etc. The full meaning
of this portion of the preamble will not be
understood outside of the State OF Nevada
without some explanation of the history of
a most remarkable piece of legislation, fol-
lowed by some remarkable transactions in
administration. In the year 1881 Congress
passed a law enabling the State of Nevada
to surrender the sixteenth and thirty-siXth
sections in each township, which prior TO the
date above named had been granted to the
State for school purposes, and to receive III
lieu of such surrender two millions
of acres of land TO be selected and located
by the State of Nevada in subdivisions of
not less than forty acres in each tract. The
surrender and transfer being made, and the
State coming into the full possession of the
right to select two millions of acres of land
in forty acre tracts upon any unsold or
undisposed of public lands in the State of
Nevada the Legislature OF the State created
the office of Surveyor-General, or State
Register of Lands, and enacted that the
lands might be sold in forty-acre tracts at
81 % per acre.
The whole State of Nevada is an elevated
plateau. The lowest point of northern Ne
Yada-a region comprising an area nearly
three times that of the State of Ohio-is at
the sink of the Humboldt, and is $500 feet
above the level of the sea. The average
annual precipitation of moisture does not
exceed anywhere in the. State two and a
halt inches per annum. There are but
few streams of living water fed
chiefly by the SHOWS which fall on the
SUBMITS of the mountains. 1t is, when
taken as a whole, simply valuable as graz
ing range. There is no profitable agricult-
ure in the State, except by resorung to
artificial means Of irrigation. The value
of all grazing range depends upon water.
Cattle, horses and sheep must be fully sup
piled at least once each day with water and
will Craze over only such area as will en-
able them to return to water once in TWEEN
tv-four hours. Sheep Will seek range only
about four or five miles from the streams
or springs. Cattle range extends ten,
sometimes fifteen miles. Horses will Craze
q somewhat greater distance from water
than cattle There are but few streams and
fewer springs. As water is indispensable
to any grazing range, II follows that the
ownership of water carries with il the con-
troll of the land dependent upon the
water necessary to its use. The stOckmen
of Nevada. who are the original protector.
of the lieu land scheme immedi-
atelv availed themselves OF the pro-
visions of the Act to body up the banks
ofstreams Forillustration, single firm has
secured absolute ownership of both banks
of Quinns river fora distance of fifty miles
by the purchase from the State Of 40acre
tracts The map of this possession shows
a narrow thread lying across the river, and
embracing both banks for a few hundred
yards distance from the stream throughout
the whole length of all that portion ada
cent 10 valuable grazing range. The az
gregate purchase was about l5,OU0acres, but
these few acres control and command the
adjacent grazing areas. embracing fully one
million acres Of land. as absolutely as il
these acres had been purchased of theState
Of Nevada or the Government by the own
ers of the banks OF the stream. The pro-
portionate area of land covering the water
courses and streams TO the land dependant
upon these streams for value, varies in
different portions of the State In
some sections the land covered by water
taken in 40-acTe tracts cOnfeTS control OF
other lands as one acre owned i 10 one
hundred acres controlled. In other parts
the proportion rises still higher and in
instances relating TO springs il viii reach a
proportion of As one acre owned Is 10 one
thousand acres controlled. 1t Is difficult
Ia declare an average but it is obvious tc
those well informed that the grant Of 1000
eco acres to the State to be located by sec
tons in forty-acre tracts any where upon
unappr0priated public land Is sufficient to
cover ali the margins of running water,
and all the springs in the State. and thus
10 confer a control equivalent 10 owner
ship OF all the public land within its
boundaries The policy which has been
pursued by the state of \ eyada in dISpOSing
of this land Is open to criticism from the
standpoint of its own interests. Up tc
the present time ii has disposed of less
than 100000 acres Of land, leaving about
1900, 600 acres TO be disposed Of 1t is be
coming apparent that the policy of permit
ting the water to be appropriated in
narrow threads. covering both banks
OF running water, and in small
patches covering springs, viii soon make
the remaining rights of the State unlOcata-
BILE. II the legislature of Nevada had
initiated the policy of requiring every pur-
chaser of stream margins to acquire an
ownership 10y the purchase OF land At least
two. miles on each side of such water, and
if the righ; TO the water had not been oh
tainahlc except by such purchase, sales
could have been effected as readily rs they
have been and the State long ere thI>
would have sold out its grant and would
have had the proceeds Of such sales in il
Treasury. But remembering that the
grant 10 the Central Pacific traverses tn,
Humboldt river-the one important rive
of the State-it> full length and reaches M
the atiiuents that river for twenty miles q
each side Of the track, il is very question
able whether the State viii find sale 70
more than one or two hundred thousan,
acres, in addition to what has been sold an,
that which Will remain 20 il after such sal
will he comparatively worthless. No refer
ence has been made here TO the restriction
in the law itself, limiting the acquire
ment from the State 20 a singh
individual to $50 acres OF land. because tn
restriction does not appear 10 have operate,
as the slightest obstruction 10 obtaining
large bodies OF land by single individuals
The provision has perhaps subjected thos
who have desired 70 acquire the margins @
streams to some Inconvenience. II ha
perhaps placed a small fee in the pocket