Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-09-20
THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
Facts and Figures About
Government Lands.
SPARKS CRITICISED BY STONE.
Annual Report Of the Acting Com
missioner of the General
Land Office.

Associated Press Dispatches to the HERALD
WASHINGTON, September 19.-The an
nual report of the Acting Commissioner
of the General Land Office, William M.
Stone, has been submitted to the Secre-
tary Of the Interior. In opening his re-
port, Commissioner Stone refers to the
accumulation of business in the Office
which had been left over from former
Administrations, and which was partly
due to the increasing work of local land
Offices. The system in force, he says,
was not promotive of speedy dispatch
of business, especially in the case of the
Board of Review created by Commits
sioner Sparks, which he abolished as q
hindrance to good, safe and quick work
in the Office. Commenting on
Mr.. Sparks unfortunate and unwar-
ranted suspicious that a widespread
system of fraud was prevalent" and Mr..
Sparks assertion that "the proportion
of fraudulent filings to the total number
of filings made and relinquished may be
estimated in round numbers at 100 per
cent" Mr.. Stone says: "The wholesale
arraignment of claimants on the public
domain should not have been made
without most conclusive evidence to sus.
tain it,"
The report goes on to say that no
general misconduct on the part of west.
ern settlers has been found.
During the year, 70,147 agricultural
patents were issued, covering IL ,791, 119
acres Of land, an increase over the pre-
cedinE year Of more than 1900, GG0G acres.
Mineral patents to the number of 913,
covering an acreage of 1905, were
issued. There were patented for the
benefit of railroads under the law,
.625, 046 acres, and under swamp land
selections under educational grants were
approved to the extent of 123. $50 acres,
and lands to Indians patented under
various acts to the amount of 159, 800.
The total cash receipts of the Office
from sales of land and fees, were SO, 27O,-
225, decrease Of more than So 900 600
as compared with the previous year.
During the year surveys were accepted
to the amount OF 544, 1872 acres. princi-
pally in Dakota, Montana and New Mex
leo.
Commissioner Stone calls attention "to
certain allowances made to Deputy Sur.
veyors by the First Comptroller of the
Treasury in the years 1886 and 1887,
which, in my opinion, were grossly irreg-
ular, and a palpable usurpation Of
powers and duties specially belonging to
the Commissioner of the General Land
Office"
The report refers to the unsettled con-
dition of private land claims in New
Mexico and Arizona, and the urgent
need of Congressional action to settle
titles in these Territories.
Referring to the act of March 8, 1887,
which authorizes the Secretary OF the In
terror to adjust each of the railroad
grants, and If any have been errone-
ously certified or patented, to commence
proceedings to cancel them, the report
states that of the pending selections 81
660,S46 acres have been suspended
awaiting action by Congress.
Attention is called to the fact that
more than S0,000,000 of land have been
claimed under the Swamp Land act, in
various States. Florida alone, while
having total area of but 1881 500
acres, having lists filed for 22,221, 469
acres of swamp land. "There can be no
uOuubs bhyb LILO I0pOIt, buht larR6
quantities of land, amounting to millions
Of acres, have been patented to the State
enormously as swamp, when, in fact,
they were and are good agricultural
lands"
The work of examining eG parte min
eral entries is said to be two and half
years in arrears. The report recommends
that when a homestead or pre-emption
claimant receives a patent and mineral
is discovered subsequently on his claim,
his certificate Of entry shall act as q bar
to any mining claim upon the discovery
made subsequent to the entry.
The report recommends the repeal of
all laws relating to public timber, and the
enactment of a general law, plain, con-
else and unmistakable in meaning.
Fewer fraudulent entries have been
made during the year than for many
years past, owing to increased vigilance,
but several cases are mentioned in the
report where syndicates sought to obtain
coal land by fraudulent means, and in
one case, had they succeeded, the COM
mission alone would have amounted to
$550,00O.
The opening of Oklahoma is referred
to as the most important event for sew
eral years in the administration of the
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