The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1889-09-20

Business Of the General Land ONCE
During the Past Fiscal Year.


port of the acting commissioners of the
land office, William NJ. Stone, has been
submitted to the secretary of the interior.
In opening his report Commissioner Stone
refers tn the accumulation of btisin. - i'm
ths. office which had been left from
former administrations and which was
partly duo to the increasing work of local
land Offices. The system i'm force he says
was not promotivc of the speedy dispatch
of business, especially i'm the of the
board of review created 10y Commissioners
Sparks which he abolished hindrancc
tn good. safe and quick work i'm the Office.
committing Mr.. sparks unfortunate
and unwarranted suspicious that "a wide
spread system of fraud prey allied. MIR.
Sparks assertion that the proportion of
fraudulent filings to the total number of
of filings made and relinQuished may bs'
estimated i'm round numbers at 1UD ls,r
cent: Mr.. Stone says: This wholesale
arraigmnent of claimants on the public
domain should not have been made with
out the MOST conclusive evidence tn s,is-
general misconduct ON the part of west
e.ril settlers has been found. During the
year 1O,141 agricultural patents were is
sued covering 1l,1ol,ll9 acres of land.
The increase over the preceding year was
more than 3OUO.UU acres. Mineral
patents to the nnm',,r ot sia c"ycring
were patented for the benefit of railroads
under the law 425,O acres and under the
State selections under educational grants
were approved to the extent of 1:s2,35O
acres, and lands tn Indians patented uIl-
der various acts to the amount OF l59,'SS
acres.
sales of land and fees, were Ss,X:O.o,
decrease of more than three million dol
lars compared with the previous year.
During the year surveys were accepted to
Dakota, Montana and New Mexico. Com
missioner Stone calls attention tai certain
allowances made to deputy surveyors by
the first comptroller of the treasury in the
years 1886 and 1857 which, i'm my opinion,
were grossly irregular. and a palpable ,is,ir-
patton OF the Pow.rs and .int,cs special, pc ,hc
general land office. The report referred
| to the unsettled condition of private land
| the llrgcut need of congressional action tn
settle titles i'm these territories, re-
ferriIg to the art of Marrh :sryi. 1889
which authorizes the secretary of the i'm
| terror To adjust each of the railroad grants
| and il any have been erroneo,lsly certified
cancel them. The report states of pending
| Selections II .GtD, ,Sa6 acres have been s,is-
pended awaiting action by congress. At
than sO.OOOOO acres VI land have been
| claimed under the swamp land act in
various states. Fiori',. alone; nc, & while hav.
lists filed for ,as's acres as swamp
land.
| that large quantities of land amounting "a
| millions of acres have been patented "a
| the state erroneously as swamp la al, when
| t,lral lands. The work of examining eS
parte mineral entries is said To bc TIVE
| and half years i'm arrears. The report
| recommends that when IA homestead nj
| presumption claimant receives "a patent
| and mineral is discovered s,Ibscsiiicntl.
| ON his claim his certificate shall act as q
bar to any mining claim upon discover,
made subsequent tn entry. The rr'por
| recommends the appeal of laws r.latins
| to public tinnl,er and the enactment of 4
| general law, plain. concise and unlni,'
| takeablG i'm meaning. Fewer frzludulen
\ entries have been made during tho yea
than for many years past owing to in
| creased vigilance, hut several cases arr
| mentioned i'm the report whore syndicate
sought to obtain coal lands by fr,i,si,ilcri
means, and i'm one case, had they s,c
ceetied, the commission alone would hisv'
amounted To S.IJO.UO. The opening -
| Oklahoma IL referred Ia the most i'm
portant event for several years in the AL
ADMINISTRATION of the land office.