Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1890-01-10
Any Person Having Perfected Title
to II Pre-EmptiOn Cannot Trans
mute IL Homestead.
The Case in tQuestion Was That OF
James W. Barry, From the
Fargo District.
A Passenger Train on the Northern
Pacific Jumps the Track
No One Killed.
Important Land Decision.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3-lSpecial. Judge
Croft. commissioner of the general land
office, to-day made a ruling. which is OF
Importance wherever public lands are to
be taken up, in that it holds a home
steader who has perfected a title to land
under the general homeste d act canno,
transmute his filings. In substance it pro.
hiblts more than n pre-. emption by the
same person. The case in point is that OF
James w. Barry, whose application to
transmute his filing to the southeast quar-
ter of section 20, tow nship 1856 north, range
IS, was rejected by the register of the land
office at Fargo. The reas IL given was
that "prior to March e, 1889, the date of
the act, under which Barry claimed the
right, he had perfected title to a tract of
land which he had made entry under the
homestead act" The decision is
that the act of March 2, 1881,
did not repeal section 2,29S of
the revised statutes, which provides
that no person shall be permitted to ac-
Quire title to more thar one quarter section
under the provisions of this chapter. Sec
ton 2 of the act OF March 2, 1889, provides
that any person who has not hereinafter
perfected title to a tract of land OF Which
he has made entry under the homestead
law, may make a homestead entry Of not
exceeding Il quarter section of public
land subject to such entry, such provisions,
filing or entry to the contrary notwith-
standing, but this right shall not apply to
persons who perfect title to lands under
the presumption or homestead laws already
initiated. provided that al the presumption
settlers upon the public lands whose claims
have been initiated prior to the passage of
this act, may change such entries to home
stead entries and permission to perfect
their titles to their respective claims under
the homestead laws. notwithstand-
ing they may have heretofore
had the benefit" of such law,
but such settlers who perfect a title to
such claims under the homestead law shall
not thereafter be entitled to enter other
lands under the presumption or home
stead laws. The land commissioner holds
that this act applies solely to persons who
AAcN 'C pSlACCCCA ultlC Lllu llldL lIt WOIu
in the proviso was intended to be
understood in that sense. That the body
of the foregoing section and the proviso
are consistent, the intention of gre
beng carried out in the proviso, to extend
to any party who at the passage of the
act had a valid filing, the power of trans
mutation, Notwithstanding he had pre-.
viously initiated a homestead entry but
had not perfected title. He holds therefore
that the Dakota claimants having perfected
title to one quarter section under the
homestead law cannot be allowed to trans
mute his filing"
ORDWAY RIGHT N LINE.
WAsIIINGToN, Jan. 3-[Special Tx
Gov. N. 6. Ordway is in this city. stopping
with his daughter, Mrs. Wilkins, on Capt.
tol hill. He was suffering with lagrippe
when he arrived and suffered a relapse. He
is under the care of DR.. Curtis, who has