Los Angeles herald., 1890-05-04
RAILROAD LAND DECISION.
Reproduced With a Few Corrections
Therein Today.

The Land Office decision touching the
railroads right to certain selections,
which appeared in the HERALD yester-
day, was set in this office from reprint"
from another newspaper. A comparison
with the original in the Land Office in
this city discloses certain typographical
errors, and as the matter is of such i'm
portance it is deemed we'll to reproduce
it, with the necessary corrections, as fol-
lows
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, GEM
ERAL LAND OFFICE, WAsHINGToN,E
D..
Register and Receiver, Los angeles, CAL:
GENTLEMEN-With Registers letter of
February 10, 1887, you transmitted the
appeal of R. R. Hall from your
action in rejecting his application to file
D. S. for lots l, 2, 8, 4, 5 and 6, Sec. SO,
Twp. 4 N, R 20 w, S. B. M.
Said land is shown by the records of
this office to have been selected as in
demnity by the Southern Pacific Rail-
road Company, May 25, 1888, per list
five, under the grant to said company of
March 8, 1871, but said selection has not
been approved by this department.
The land in question is also within the
twenty-mile primary limits of the grant
of July 27, 1866, for the Atlantic and
Pacific Railroad Company, which grant
was declared forfeited by act of July g.,
1886.
Under the rule that one company can
not go into the granted limits of an
other to seek indemnity, and also under
the proviso in Section % of the act of
March 3, 1871, making the grant to the
Southern Pacific Railroad Company,
''that this section shall in no way effect
or impair the rights, present and pros
pective, of the Atlantic and Pacific Rail-
road Company, or any other railroad
company" the land in question was not
subject to selection by the Southern Pa
cifc Railroad Company on the 25th of
May, 1888, for the grant to the Atlantic
and Pacific Company had not been for
feited.
March II, 1888, the Southern Pacific
Railroad Company applied again to
select said land and upon rejection Of
such application appeal was taken to
this Office, where the case is now pend
ing.
The indemnity withdrawal for the
benefit of said company was revoked by
departmental order August Is, 1887, and
the land affected thereby thrown open
to settlement October 7, 1887, such lands
in your district becoming subject to en-
try and filing the same as other public
lands.
Accompanying Mr.. Halls appeal is
his affidavit, alleging that he settled on
the land in January, 1887, and that the
land has been continuously occupied
and possessed by bona fide settlers since
the year 1870.
The selection of the land in question
by the Southern Pacific Railway Com
pany, May 25, 1888, was invalid, and the
same is accordingly held for cancella-
ton.
For the purpose of determining this
matter, you are directed to order hear
ing. Give due notice to the parties
interested, and from the testimony in
troduced render your joint decision, and
then transmit the record to this office,
first notifying the parties, and allowing
those aggrieved the usual time for ap-
peal. The resident attorney for the
Southern Pacific Railro ad Company will
be notified hereof by this office.
If Mr.. Hall continued to reside upon
and occupy the land up to the time of
the company's application to select it
anew March II, 1889, he is entitled to
file for it, and the company's applica-
ton was properly rejected. Respect
fully, LEWIS A. GRoFF,
Commissioner.
The rehearing referred to will take
place in the Land Office, in this city,
Nav 9th next.