Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-10-28
ALLEGED LAND FRAUDS.
They Involve Many Claims West Or
the Jordan.

IL is commonly understood tina
,A'' tracts Of land lying between
the jordan river and the lake bav,
been filed upon under the desert
iand law, but in large number Of
such cases, the physical possibilitie.
ol complying with the requirements
Vi the statute are not apparent. In
iact,a casual observer would at once
says without reserve, that the pro.
visions Of the desert land act cannot
possibly be carried out according to
either their letter or spirit, on the
greater part Of the land In question
The law requires that the msjor
part Of each legal subdivision Of the
tract embraced in the filing shall
be irrigated prior to the making Of
final proof. But where the water Is
to come from with which to irrigate
more than a small percentage Of the
vast expense Of desert which lies
between the river and the lake is n
problem not yet solved.
Experiments have demonstrated
that flowing wells can be sunk there
and sufficient water Ice thereby Sc
cured for domestic uses, watering
stock and irrigating n few trees
But to talk OF irrigating more |
than an acre or two from any
well yet sunk in the region |
referred 70 would be nonsense. |
Hence, while titles to the land
might be honestly obtained under
the homestead and pre-. emption
laws, perjury would have to be COM
mitted In order to get title to more
than a small portion Of 1t under the
desert act.
The attention of the land office in
this city has been turned 10 this
subject by the proceedings had in a
very important case lately heard be-
,ore Registrar Hobbs, in which a
iecision has not yet been rendered, |
{ being still held under advise.
nent.
The case referred 10 IS that Of
Lewis 5. Dickinson, contestant, VS..
+. III. Auerbach, contestee, and the
eading facts are given as follows:
The contestee depended wholly
ipOn what are known as the sur
Illus, North Point and West Point
annals, consolidated, for water with
which to irrigate his claim. These
annals head in the Jordan river,
nd long before either Of them was
all the water flowing in
he river in ordinary years. during
he trrigating season, had been APP
ropriatei. Not enough water
Owed in the consolidated canal 10
rrigate more than n few hundred
cres, a small fraction Of the claims,
n the aggregate, which depended !
pom that canal. The greater part Of !
land lay higher than the
anal water level. Water was
Irned on such portions Of the land
; could be reached with 1t after the
lose Of the irrigating season, which
in August. This is not,
1ntestant claims, ifrigating desert
md within the meaning Of the
w.
The leading features Of this case >
re alleged TO be common to n large /.
lumber Of other desert claims in Z
lie same vicinity, but it is explained S
lat Mr. Auerbach did not testify in :
is own case, being absent from !,
lie city, and that he depended, in .
aklng MS fiual proof, upon infor- L
alton furnished TO him by other v
,rst us, AMI not upon personal n
r
The attorney for the contestant,
=. NJ. Kaighn, Esq, In his printed u
gument, says: n
Tins case i OF vast I'm ,ortanCe, and tho .
inciple- and facts that must be deter VI
ned herein are necessarily applicable 10 -
)usands Of acre. o. land In the same q
ishbOrhood, that is. lying between JOr
n hiyer and Great SAT- Lake dependent
on the saue water supply and embraced
a number Of desert enuies.
He also quotes from General Land ii
lice circular, sec. 10, page 81: Is
Persons making desert land entries
81 q. 81