, 1890-07-08
THAT OOIOUS LAND LAW
interesting Correspondence on
This Vital Matter.
An Official Writes to Prof. Mead on
the Subject.
The Characteristic Reply of Wyo-
ming's Engineer.

Upon every entry, without exception,
of government land in the arid regions
made since Oct. 3, 1888, patents have
been ordered by the general land Office to
be withheld. The secretary of the inte-
rlor and the attorney general have con
strued the act of Oct. ., 1888. withdraw
ing lands from entry, aud define the arid
region. They decided that all lands in
the arid regions .wereiseggregated by this
act, and all lands requiring irrigation for
the reclamation to be arid lands. Then
not an acre of such land in the great
W est entered since Oct. 2, 1883, can be
patented, and such entries, without un-
seen relief, will be cancelled.
items of thousands of acres on exist
ing ~irrigating canals, actually being cult
waited and reclaimed by water from such
canals, cannot now be patented because
entered since Oct. 2, 1888. Thousands
OF bona fide settlers in California, Ari-
zona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado,
Washington, Nevada, and throughout
the entire surrounding region, have been
allowed to enter government lands, are
complying with the law as they supposed
1t to be, and as it has existed, are getting
water from constructed irrigating canals.
are honest, hariworking settlers, but who
would today be denied n patent for that
same land. and are unconscious of the
fact.
Congress has passed a law its own of
ficers do not understand, and since Oct. 2,
1888, rave oeen allowing hundreds and
thousands OF honest settlers and entrymen
TO be unwittingly led into the entry Of gov
eminent land upon which time and money
is being expended. and where today moth
ing stands between these settlers and ruin
but a favorable construction of this law by
the secretary Of the interior.
millions of dollars are being expended
by private capital in the construction of
canals to reclaim arid lands, and this act
of Oct. 2, 1888, would forbid their recla.
nation, or that an acre of this govern.
ment land be touched since that date, and
that these canals be rendered useless.
1T cannot be said that settlers should
have known the possible construction of
that law Tor not a local land office, the
presumable representatives of the govern
ment, but is allowing entries of land to-
day upon constructed irrigated canals,
where reservoir sites, bitches or canals
have not been surveyed and set apart by
the geological survey. Thus since Oct.
2, 1888, have entrymen been led to be.
lieve the government fully understood the
effect of that law and that their entries
were allowed accordingly.
1t Is sad that in the passage of this
act of Oct. 2. 1883, entitled, An act
making appropriations for sundry CIVIL
expenses of the government for the fiscal
year ending June 80, 1889, and for
other purposes, which act reserved from
entry, settlement or occupation. certain
public lands, the conference committee
did not intend to prevent and prohibit the
entry and reclamation of lands adjacent to
constructed Irrigating canals or those in
progress OF construction, but that they did
not overlook the fact that the broad word
ing of the act would have a wide reaching
n disastrous effect not ~intendeded or de.
sired by its projectors.
Immediate relief can and should be
given by the present congress. The rem
edy lies in the repeal of said act of Oct. 2,
1883, SO far as it might be construed to
affect land which can be reclaimed from
existing irrigating canals with vested
rights, allowing every person who has
made entry, lands lying so adjacent to
such canals since the passage of said act
to perfect the title of the same
Another plan would be to amend sem
ate bill No. 2.l04, house bill No. s, 974.
which are alike and have both been favor
hbAa lSBoAbtu ny III EoulIullltGS hUu lANG
passed to a second reading, By having an
amendment to section 9 to each of the
above bills, beginning with the conclusion
of the printed bill as follows:
And every person who has made en-
try under homestead, pre- -emphon, or
desert land laws. of any desert or arid
lands, lying so adjacent to any constructed
canal, that the water therefrom NAV
used for irrigating said lands. shall be pro-
tected in his said entry and allowed to per
feet the same, subject to the exceptions in
this section"
To this Prof. Mead replied:
DEAR SIR: Your letter with extract
from the Washington Post received.
There is no question about the Justice of
allowing persons who have been permitted
to file on land TO prove up and obtain
title for the ame The singular
feature is the action of the land depart
ment in receiving entries on lands where
patents are to be refused. The relief men
toned 10 the Post article does not. how
ever, extend to what with us is the most
serious evil of the law segregating the
public lands. The question vet remains:
what is TO be done with the public land
not yet filed on, and how are the canals.
yet to be built, to be constructed and
maintainedH This with Wroming is a
vital question and one which | trust will
be considered in the frat legislature which
modilies land laws.
| have always thought the withdrawing
OF the public land from settlement by the
national government before any irrigation
policy had been decided on was a mistake
and calculated to ipjure the west by pre-
venting the construction OF canals by
private enterprise, and you will doubtless
recall the statements to this effect
by the Wyoming representatives, at
the first irrigation conference in
Denver; but since the step has
been taken | shall regret to see the
examination OF the land by the survey
abandoned until some benefit has been
derived therefrom.
What should be done, and what-I be-
lieve will be the result OF the survey will
be for the government to select the lands
best suited for irrigation inc transfer
them to the states for reclamation. If
the best lands could be thus designated;
their disposal and management turned
over TO the local authorities, and the
diversion OF water on all inferior lands
prohibited we would have made a great
advance toward a successful system. Next
to total cessation of construction, which
need not be feared, the great danger
which threatens every irrigation dis
trict today is excessive and i'm
proper appropriation of streams.
No n knows better than yourself how
serious is this evil in Colorado and how
great the injury resulting therefrom.
Many Of the smaller streams Of Wyoming
arc already over appropriated, and the
disastrous controversies to which such