, 1886-12-11

pne of the most interesting and essen
tnl ppint~ at Secretary Lunar rcpq:i 4,
lis comment on Ja~ a,lteml Fencing Of
the public lamb. T., wa, of giving en-
phasis To ms Views ho quote, a letter
written by Stephen W. Dorsey. Of star
route fame, addressed To the interior dc.
parlmcnl on the subject Of cattle fences.
The secretary says.
The assertion made in the nhove letter
Is To the extent to which the whole water
supply oi The arlI regions Is hell in alb
.olnte ownership, or claim OF ownership.
Is startling indeed. There can he no per.
iaancnt residence in a country where
water Is not public Control ut all the
water gives exclusive and permanent con
troll Of all the land Ia the water owners
How private ownership by ranchmen and
cattle companies of the water supply of
the and regions, upon which all hopes of
the future population OF the country dc.
pend, has been acquired, is . question of
much interest.
Under what laws has this individual
prOprictOrship Of the waters Of continen
tai life been secured by Il comparatively
few persons and corporations The land
laws OF the | nltcd States applicable to
the region west of the one hundredth
meridian do not generally provide for the
disposal of lands by public sale or private
entry. Except in n few restricted local.
ties the lands in this region have never
been subject 10 direct money purchase.
As a rule they could he acquired only
through settlement and Improvement.
The Information of tins department.
llment 10 say, confirms the assertion AS to
the prevailing il not universal control of
water through claim of ownership of adj.
accent lands, patented or entered for the
inost part under settlement and improve.
ment laws. Yet settlers ON such lands
are rarely known The most diligent in
1niries of the local land officers fail as a
rule to disclose that they ever were known.
although II Is not lnirequently discovered,
AS stated IN the commissioners report,
that the names used are fictitious.
W hen It Is considered that all the lands
on both sides of streams are taken up, ~
shown IN many Instances by the records
ana pats OF the general land Office. by
consecutive chains of pre-cmption, home
stead and other conditional entries, groups
OF which seem TO be made almost simnl-
taneously; that proofs are presented of
them at about the same time. and the
same witnesses swearing to stcrcotypcd
declarations, that transfers of the claim,
are made 10 the same persons. that the
entries are represented before this depart.
ment IA the same collective interest. and
that the purported cntrymon. as shown bv
othcial investigations. were Of actual nor
sons) employees of those who received ar
claim the title, the suspicion is dinicult In
resist that the entries in such cases worc
falsely made for the purpose of s,cnr;nc
control of the water, and thereby ali ~
the so-called arid regions of this vast tor'
ritory.
am aware that these are startling sup
gestions. Their authority is found in
official reports Of accredited agents Of the
government under this and preceding ad.
minlstrations Of this department and the
sworn testimony adduced. often al the
risk of life itself, in hearings before pub.
he land officers, at which those who claim
the ownership OF lands through entries of
this character have all the opportunities
to lnlmldafc and tampcr with witnesses.
ana, us against the government, all the
advantages To oyadc Justice The neeos.
sliy which is urtei in defense of the nm.
lawful fencing OF public lands. can will
equal Justice be urged in extenuation of
unlawful acquisition Of titles to these
lanes There is, in my opinion, no dif-
terence between the two. In either case
It IS necessity of personal aggrand:semont
at the expense Of the public interest and
IN violation of public law.
The miscalled arid regions of the coun-
try are simply regions where the land is
not susceptible of cropping of cereals or
roots without artificial irrigation. But
they are not ard in any true and com