The St. Johns herald., 1888-11-29
COPP'S LAND REVIEW.
Publication of Final Proof Notices Duties of District Land 0li- cerS in Respect Thereto.


 The only law requiring the pub lication of notice of intention to make final proof is the act of Con gres approved March 8, 1887 (2o Stat, 472), and applies exclusively to homestead and pre-emption en- tries.
 Departmental regulations have been promulgated requiring such publication in desert-land and tim ber-culture entries. I believe that there is no direct statutory author fty for the institution of such reg nlation in respect to such entries. but that it is claimed that the au- thoritS is found in the general pro- visions of law relating to the mak- ing of regulations necessary to carrying into effect the laws gov crning disposals of public lands.
 Under the law requiring the pub lication of notice in pre-emption and homstead cases provision is made that the register shall pub fish a notiee," etc., and in the re g. ulations relating to said law it is provided that "the filing of such no- tice must be accompanied by de- posit of sufficient money to pay the cost of publishing the notice, to be given by the register. In such cases there can be no question bat that the. register is legally responsible to the publisher fer the amount of publication fee. As the affidavit of the publisher or foreman of the newspaper Is necessary to show that the law has been complied with publishe. may usually enforce payment of their charges by refus- ing to furnish such affidavit until payment has benn made for adver- Eising. Occasionally, however, reg lsier's fail to require the deposit mentioned, and order the advertis- ing as usual then the entryman fails to make proof-abandons his claim perhaps-and tie register de- clines to pay the publisher. In such eass a judgment could no doubt DC secured against the officer in the proper court of the locality. In fact am of opinion that q reg ister of a land ofiice, IS like other people, amenable to the laws, and liable for the amounts of contracts entered into by him, and when he orders advertising, without spec ialiy stating that in making such order he is merely acting as the agent of another, the giving by him and the execution by the nub- fisher of such order constitutes a contract under which payment of the usual advertising charge may be enforced by legal process pro- vided, of course, that the register has property subject to execution.
 Certain publications are required by laws Tn other classes of entry. Under tbe Stone and Timber Act, applicable 10 Oregon, Californina, Nevada, and Washington Territory, publication is required in advance ofentry, Under this law the district land officer has nothing to do with the publication of poticc, further than to furnish a copy of the same to applicant to be published at his own expense in the newspaper pub lished nearest the location of the land. Of course, registers may, as q matter of accommodation to the applicant, forward the notice to the publisher bat he is not required to do soby the statute, and such acton by him without disclosing the fact that he is merely acting as the agent of the entrvman, would render him legally liable for the amount of the publication fees The publishers can protect themselves in these cases, where the applicants are in good faith, by demanding their ad- vertising fees before furnishing the evidence of publication, whether the order be given by the register