The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-06-10
GETS SOME INFORMATION
Carter Goes to the Interior Depart
ment for Facts Concerning
Mineral Lands.
Number of Acres Granted the
Northern Pacific in Mon
tana and Idaho.
Sandcrs Grows Facetious With the TelA-
graph-To Improve Western Mail
Servicc-The Wilson's Mixed.

WASHINGTON, June 9.-[special. u Chair
mines and mining, submitted to the score.
tary of the interior copy of his bill to
provide for the denomination of, and
| classification Of mineral lands in the
Northern Pacific grant and asked for all
information bearing on the subject in the
possession of the department. The score
tary to-day sent to Mr.. Carter letter from
Acting Commissioned Stone, of the general
Office, in which he gives the grants in Mon-
tana and Idaho by acres as follows: Grants
in Montana 17,83S, ,OS0. In the ten mile
grant, indemnity limits 4,992,OOO; selected
by the company and now pending, 4,336, ,2S5;
surveyed within the grant, 14,75S, ,72O.
Grants in Idaho, 1900, 800. In the ten mile
indemnity limit $4,000; selected by
the company and now pending, 122,52O;
surveyed within the grant, 403, 800.
This estimate is at forty sections per mile
in the granted and two sections per mile in
the indemnity limits. tho line being 7sO
miles long in Montana and 50 miles in
Idaho. An accurate estimate cannot be
| and lack of surveys. The commissioner
further says: "No lands have been patented
to the company in Montana or Idaho. The
selections made by the company are pend
ing before this Office. Those in Montana
are supended pending consideration of the
alleged character of the land. Preliminary
to transferring the lands to the company it
appears to be necessary to decide, which, if
| any, of the lands selected are embraced in
the exception is mineral in character.
I am of the opinion that tho grant should
be adjusted without unnecessary delay.
The lands are to Il great extent unpros-
pected. and might say almost unknown,
mountainous lands. If the grant is ad-
justed by patenting to the company such
lands within the limit of the grant rs are
not known to contain mineral without
special examination it is clear that many
| tracts will be so transferred that will ulti-
mately be found to contain mineral, al
though the best possible examination would
be comparatively superficial and unreliable
as test. It would be more satisfactory
then to pass upon the character of the
land without examination or to postpone
indefinitely any adjustment of the grant.
as to require the proposed examination to
be made with reference to actual selections
before such selections be favorably acted
upon, and that 100000 be appropriated
for the first year for carrying out the act
Carter says the bill will also be amended SO
as to provide for commission to negotiate
for the release of all mineral lands held by
the road and to propose an indemnity to
which the company is entitled for every
acre of mineral land in the odd numbered
sections of the grant.
Sanders has received a duplicate of the
telegram sent to Carter by w. A. Clark and
others concerning his vote on silver. San
ders telegraphed back that if they expected
him to run the United States senate they
must send him a mountain howitzer aud a
shotgun, or at least a lariat.
The p0stoffice department has Just de-
cided on a new method of dealing with
postal changes in the far west. Assistant
superintendent of the Railway Mail Service
Stoddard has been sent to the Pacific coast
to investigate as to the needs of several
states and the territories, with headquarters
for the present at Portland, Oregon. Mr..
stoddard will have general supervision OF
Oregon, Washington, Montana, the Dakotas
and the territories. He is looking
for improvements and extensions of
the mail service, the department having
decided to take the initiative and not wait
for complaints. Whenever complaints or
requests for increased service are made to
him, he has instructions to make his recon-
| mendations as soon as he can investigat G,
thereby saving some weeks delay in for
warding the documents across the country
two or three times. Mr.. Stoddard is man
of long experience in postal affairs, and the
department has delegated to him authority
almost as great as his chief for this particu-
lar section of which he has charge.
In conversation to-day relative to the
error in the publication of his vote on the
silver bill on Saturday, Representative Will
son, of Washington, said he had received
several kilograms from prominent citizens in
his state on the subject. Through an error in
the Associated Press report it was given to
the country that he was one of the republi-
cans who voted with the democrats against
the silver bill, which is not the case. Mr..
Wilson said to-day that the bill was not on
the whole just what he would have desired,
I'D AO socSN AAA SuuS1o w obAAAc OuU bk0 Dull
lion redemption clause. This was defeated
and the bill as it passed was adopted by the
caucus. ut will doubtless be amended in
the senate by changes which will be advan-
tageous to the west," said he.
An impression has got abroad that the
Washington state delegation will not repre-
sent their constituents on the silver ques-
tion. Allen is for free coinage, Wilson has
already voted, and Squire is for the Jones
bill, now pending in the senate, and would
be for free coinage if he thought it was pos
sible to have such bill signed; but believ-
ing that the veto will be used, intends to
support the most feasible measure that NAV
be brought up.
ABSENTEE LANDLORDISM
Bill Reported Favora bly, to Prevent For
eigners From Acquiring Title.
WASHINGTON, June 9.-Representative
Oates, from the committee on judiciary, to-
day reported to the house bill to prohibit
aliens from acquiring title to, or owning,