Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1888-08-17

COpp's Land Review.

SOME RECENT DECISIONS BY THE sECRE-
TARY OF THE INTERIoR-OLD RUL-
INGS RESCINDED AND GREATER LIBER-
ALITY TOWARD SETTLERS SHOWN.
Secretary Villas seems not to take it
for granted that the constructions Of
law and departmental decisions of the
past have been correct and for the best
interests of all concerned.
Since the pre-emption and home
stead laws first became operative, it
has been the rule of the General Land
Office and Department of the Interior
that the laws intended that each set
tier should acquire title to 160 acres Of
land, and that Xhes. entries were
made for parts OF fractional sections,
although all of the subdivisions ap-
piled by the entrymen might lie
within the boundary lines of tech
nical quarter section, the entry must
be restricted to that number of such
subdivisions that nearest approx
mated in area the magic 100 acres Or
nominal quarter section, and in many
instances settlers have been required,
after having made entries, to relin-
quish some one of the subdivisions
covered by their entries so that the ex-
cess over 16O acres should he as small
as possible, and frequently under this
rule settlers have been forced to take
less than 16O acres, the practice being
to permit the entry for such tracts as
come nearest-whether above or be-
low that acreage.
In homestead entries, where the
land embraced exceeded the area oi
160 acres, the settler was required to
make payment in cash or its equiva
lent in some kind of Land Script
for the " excess" as the surplusage ii
technically called, at the rate per acre
at which the land was rated by the
Government.
The Secretary has recently changed
this practice, and pre-emption OF
homestead settler may now enter al
OF the land within the limits of quar-
ter section as surveyed, regardless O
the quantity, it being held that thu
language of the law shall be entitled
to enter one quarter section" means
that a quarter section as surveyed may
be entered, and that the references t.
160 acres are merely explanatory, no
restrictive in character, or that the!
may apply to entries for subdivision
of sections not forming quarter sec
ton as surveyed. -, ~.-
The rule, it would appear, for tn
future is to be that II settler may ente
all OF any quarter section, regardles
of area, and without payment of ex
cess; but if the settlement be upol
lands not embraced within the sui
veyed lines of one quarter section, the
the old rule of restriction as to are
and requirement of excess payment
will govern.
1t has also been decided that o pre-
emptor may not be permitted to sui
divide the land covered by his film
into town lots and establish places {
business and trade thereon withou
waiving his right of pre-emption, an
persons SO doing will not be permitte
to make payment for apd perfect tit
to the land under the pre-emption Law
1t is held that subsisting entr,
though the land may have been abal
doned by the settler prior to the a
tachment of rights under railroa
grant, is sufficient to except the Ian
from the operation of the grant, an
the act Of selection or listing of IL
land on account of the railroad gran
confers no right under the grant an
will not operate to prevent the admi
sion of an entry for the land under an
of the laws relating to the disposal
public lands.
| 1t il also held with regard to raj
road grants that land covered by
pre-emption filing valid on its face
excepted from the operation of Il
grant.
! A pre-emption filing is considere
as the record assertion of claim int
the validity of which railroad con
pany is precluded from inquirin
Even the fact that the land has bee
awarded to the grant in former CO..
troversies involving its status, do,
not prevent the Department from r
considering the matter and making
different decision.
HENRY N. Corr.
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