Sacramento daily record-union., 1890-07-19
RAILROAD LANDS.
GOOD NEWS FOR MANY LANDH0LDERs
IN CALIFORNIA.
Secretary Mobiles Recent Important Rul-
ing-Settlers to be Given Full
Title Without Delay.

A recent ruling of Secretary Noble, order
| ing the issuance of withheld patents fo
| Union Pacific lands, also applies to Centra
Pacific and Southern Pacific lands, and is
therefore, of wide interest in this State
where there are thousands of acres to which
the holders have only all assurance of it'll.
from the railway company. In the Centra
Pacific grant alone there are more thar
100000 acres held by private owners who
are waiting to get patents, and in the
Southern Pacific grant the number of acres
so situated is much larger. The present
claims of the Central Pacific Land Depart.
ment for patents cover fully 1,2OO 900, in.
cluding land sold and that which it is de.
sired to sell.
Below is the full text of the Secretary's
ruling, as given in letter to the Presiden,
of the Senate. Mention of this was made
at the time in the dispatches. The letter
contains an interesting statement of the
reason for the delay in issuing patents
This ruling, it may be noted, is an overrul.
ing by President Harrison, through Secre.
tary Noble, of an order of President Cieye.
land:
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.
WASHINGTON, June 2S 1890.
SIR: There was received at this department a
resolution of the honorable Senate, dated De.
cember 2lst, as follows:
That the Secretary of the Interior be directed
to report the cause of Withholding patents for
lands within the limits of the grant to the
Union Pacific Railway Company, which are
free from all claims and were not reserved at
the date of the definite location of the COM
pany's road.
This was duly acknowledged, and as the sub.
ject was under consideration it was expected to
were arrived at. The resolution was repeated
March 10. 1890, and transmitted to the depart
ment, and thereto also reply was made TO the
same effect as that to the first.
Further and full reply to these several resolu-
tions is now submitted. and l have to say that
the delay in making this final response has
been caused by the consideration due to the
very important questions connected with the
right of the Union Pacific Railway to the lands
claimed by it under its grant. The PERCEPTION
OF these difficulties are not of recent origin
During the last Administration lists involving
thousands of acres of these lands were applied
for by the railroad company, were duly consid-
cred and signed by the proper clerks in the
Land Office, approved by the Commissioner aud
ordered to patent by the Secretary. Indeed, a
patent for part of these lands was duly executed
April %, 1887, by President Cleveland, for 3Sl..
S99.l4 acres, but was suspended before it was
recorded. In cases where the patents were not
executed, the lists were suspended and have
so remained to the time of the present decision
1t thus appears that not only was it deemed
by the previous Administration that the Union
Pacific Railroad Company had earned its title
to its lands in Kansas and Nebraska but the
right thereto had been acknowledged by the
Commissioner of the General Land Office and
the Secretary. This action was acquiesced in
also by the then President, Mr.. Cleveland. But
at this juncture letter was received at the De-
partment from the Pacific Railway Commission.
organized under the Act of March 1887 max.
ing inquiries as to the issue of these patents,
pending the then announced Indebtedness OF
the railroads to the United States, and the Pres
ident, Mr.. Cleveland in transmitting the report
OF the Commission and referring to the suspeu-
sion of patents for the company's land grants,
said .'the Executive power must be exercised
according to existing laws, and Executive dis
cretion is probably not broad enough to reach
such difficulties" Yet the Fiftieth Congress,
to which this language was addressed ad.
iourned without enacting any further legisla.
tiOn on the matter.
The subject has now received as il is Thought
Sufhcient consideration. and the conclusion has
been reached that the Indebtedness of the rail.
road company to the United States does not au-
thorize this department to withhold land
granted TO the company and for which lists
nave been filed. 1t is a subject for Legislative
control, if it can be controlled at all. a large
portion of the lands now unpatented lie in the
States of Kansas and Nebraska, and have al.
ready passed into the hands of innocent pur.
chasers from the railroad company. These
lands are being cultivated by the citizens OF
those States for farms, and on them the homes
of the people have been established There
has never been an Act introduced whereby
such lands, under any circumstances, would be
seized for the United States from the possession
of the present occupants; to deprive whom OF
these POSSESSIONS, under any decision that
might be rendered as to the railroad. would
be an act of the greatest injustice. Delay in
giving these settlers full title to lands they
have fully paid for and improved can not be
justified.
This railroad was built On time and has com
piled, SO far as is known, with all of the condt
tions OF the land grant. No mineral claims ex
list thereon, and, therefore, there is no need tc
exercise that greater strictness that must be ap
piled in mineral districts. That the actual title.
TO the lands passed to this railroad company by
force of and under the statute itself lust so soof
as its conditions were complied with has re
peatedly been decided by the Supreme Court
proving lists or issuing patents is the exercise a
| plain duty under the law He was not con
suited as to its enactment, and he should not be
expected to null1fy its operations. No reason
| is deemed to exist, therefore, why the Secretary
should not proceed now to deliver to the Unior
Pacific Railroad Company the lands which have
BEEN earned, and II is his intention to certify
these lists, commencing at the eastern portion
OF the unpatented lands in Kansas aud Ne
| braska where the lands are agricultural, have
been sold and are in the use of actual settlers
II there is any objection existing on the pare O
Congress this action may be prevented by any
resolution or Act that may be controlling in it,
effect. The patent that has been executed
already by the previous Executive will be re
corded Patents will be issued on the lists an
proved by the previous Secretary, and lists no
yet approved will be examined in due order
| This conclusion, will add. is in accordanc,
with the Recommendation of the Commissiope
of the General Land Office, and also with tn,
opinion of the Assistant Attorney General as
signed to this department.