Arizona weekly citizen., 1889-08-10
THE LAND GRANTS.
A Lengthy Discussion of This Import ant Subject---What Francis J. He- ney Thinks About Arizona Land Grants.
TuCsoN. Aug. 9th, 1889.

| VeQtlOn, IT called, VIII prove mlSeraDle fiasco. whose benefits will survive but in imagination. The calling of conven- tion for the express purpose of defining a fixed policy upon the land grant ques- tion, and of urging the adoption Of that policy upon Congress, would be much wiser and more practical expenditure of | the peoples money. An immediate and proper settlement of this question would be of incalculable benefit to this Terri tory. Now is the time to bestir ourselves in tkat direction. The eyes of the whole | people of the United States, are now | directed toward the territories, by req son of the contemplated admission of several of them as States in the Union; and the attention of Congress will be more particularly directed toward Arlz ona by the report of the committee Of 1 the Senate on Arid Lands ana Water Storage. The representatives from the new states will certainly have kindly feeling for their unfortunate sister who was left behind in the race for statehood, ! and they will
 GLADLY LEND US A HELPING HAND. When could more fitting opportunity be found in which to present our griev- ances and ask for their correction? Let us, then, unite upon some plan of action and get to work. The longer this land grant question remains in statu quo, the greater its evils become, and the more | difficulty there will be in settling them. With the history of California and Co dorado before us, how can we as sane people, pursue longer this suicidal course of inaction? Let me enumerate few of the evils for the purpose of emphas- ,zing my position in this matter. Salt River valley is as pretty country as lies cut doors. The results already ac complished there by irrigation ought to have given an impetus to immigration, which would have placed Arizona in the front rank among the territories. That such is not the case, is due largely to the fact that
 CLOUD HANGS OVER THE TITLE
 to all the land in that fair valley. Req son as you may, capital IS proverbiaily timid. Granted that the CITIZEN is right, and that ''such outrageous and glaring frauds should be given no recog- nition outside of the walk of the peniten tiary;" that does not make the Reayis claim any the less cloud upon the title, which could best receive an effect ual quietus in court of justice. Then again, much of the best land in this ter ritory is covered by grants, the owners of which are in possession of the same. Hundreds of thousands of acres are thus held. This land is practically of little benefit to this territory. The titles are Tn such shape, that the grant claimants cannot dispose of the lands for what 1t is worth, and above all cannot dispose of it in parcels. because of the uncertainty ss to the correct boundaries of the grant.
 Of course, under such circumstances, the claimants do not feel disposed to ex- pend much noney on improvements. Some claimants are thus holding,it Is po- pularly believed, from four to ten times the amount of land they are legally en- titled to even if their grants are valid. Does it mean nothing to this Territory that the larger portion of the very best land Is thus
 WITHHELD FROM SETTLEMENT?
 Does that fact have To effect upon im- migration: If all but one or two of these grants can easily be proven fraudulent as stated by our Delegate to Congress, or if their area is far less than claimed, is 1t not of the utmost importance to have that question decided at cnce? Is it. then, fallacious doctrine, that the best inducements any country can offer to the most desirable class of settlers, Is plenty of good and cheap agricultural land? At least one land grant winch is known to be fraudulent has, to my cer- tain knowledge, kept large amount of capital out of this Territory. I refer to the Algodones grant, in the vicinity of Yuma. Capitalists are ready and anx ious to take out an extensive ditch from the Colorado River, wherewith to sub feet to irrigation and cultivation the one hundred thousand acres of beautiful land which comprise that grant; but the whole of said land is reserved from en- try and therefore nothing can be done. Yet the claimants of that grant deserted it several years ago for fear of being prosecuted for forgery.
 UPON THE SAN PEDRO RIVER,
 a deplorable state of affairs exists. The Government has sold and is to-day sell ling thousands of acres of land along that stream to bona fide settlers, many of whom located there at time which tried mems souls, and when grants were unheard of in this country. To-day the San Pedro River Valley is plastered with grants from the mouth of the river to its head. and the settlers are liable to lose their accumulations of years of toll and hardship land danger What will we say. if this great government, after inducing these brave pioneers to risk their lives and their little all in an un- equal contest with the savage Apaches, turns these settlers over to the mercy of such constituencies land grabbers as George Aill Howard and his packers! Which is the greatest injustice and wrong, to deprive claimants of their strictly legal paper rights purchased for a song. or deprive of thelr national rights these bold pioneers whose in dustry and courage alone made these lands inhabitable and valuable? The United States government through its recognized agents in the land office, claimed to own the most of that land as We'll as the land in the Salt River Val | ley, and
 OFFERED IT FOR SALE
 to those of its citizens who were ventur- ous enough to go upon it and comply with the law. Those who preempted of course paid S1.25 per acre in addition to | the other reouirementS Those who