The Dispatch. [volume] (Provo City, Utah) 1891-1895, 1891-08-05

and Tor other purposes, are made man
ifest by the many ana various deci-
sions and rulings that are now coming
daily from the officials of the depart
ment OF the interior. Not only does
that recent act repeal the timber-cul-
ture laws, but it makes important and
far-reaching alterations and amend
ments in other laws, all of which have
direct effect and bearing in the western
portion of the Union
The desert lands act is amended so
as to require, among other things, that
filings shall exhibit plan showing the
mode of contemplated irrigation and
reclamation. of land and preparation TO
raise ordinary agricultural crops, etc,
and the new law especially requires
that the desert lands act and the
amendments made to il by the late act.
shall apply TO and be in force in the
state of Colorado as vel. as in the
states named IN the original act
Then this new act of March 3. 1891,
repeats "all laws allowing pre-emption
of the public lands of the United
States, but all bona lida claims law
fully initiated before the passage of
this act, may be perfected upon due
compliance W TN law, in the same terms
and conditions and subject to the same
limitations, furfeitures, and contests. as
if this act had not been passed
In short the late act relates directly
TO all entries made under the pre-emp-
ton, homestead, desert-laud or timber
culture laws, and the mere statement
of this fact is suggestive Of the great
amount of work, and the Importance of
the work that is imposed upon the in
terror department in deciding the
thousands of questions that arise.
An interesting case, invOll ing the
construction Of the intent Of Congress
in its acts relative to the selection and
reservation from entry or settlement
sites fOr reservoirs. has Just been decid-
ed by the secretary of the interior, and
in his decision the policy of Congress as
well as the duty and disposition of the
department, are clearly explained.
The commissioner of the general land
Office held for cancellation the desert
land entry of Mary f. Bisbiug, for a lot
OF land i'm the Salt Lake, Utah, land
district. This was done on the ground
that as the director of the geological
survey had reported Co the interior de
partmeuJ that the township in which
these lands are situated was selected
for reservoir purposes (under the act
of Congress of OctOber2, 1889, the land
in question was not subject to entry
under the desert land act.
From this Judgment the entry woman
appealed to the secretary of the inter
Tor, claiming tUaJ She had vested right
in the land, by virtue of an entry, Inn
proyements and reclamation prior TO
the time notice reached the local land
Office that the land WAS withdrawn.
The secretary of the interior, in de-
Gliding the case, quotes from an opinion
of the attorney general, constituting the
intent OF Congress upon this subject, in
which the encouragement says:
The object of the act OF Oct. 2, 1888,
is manifest 1t was to prevent the
entry upon and the settlement and sale
of all OF that part OF the arid region of
the public land Of the United States
and ali lands which might be designat-
ed or selected by the United stated
surveys as site for the reservoirs,
bitches or canals in ssch system.
1t was therefore the purpose OF
Congress by this act to suspend all
rights OF entry upon any lands which
would come within the improving
operation Of the plans of the irrigation
to he reported by the director of the
geological survey under this act.
There can be no question that if any
entry was made upon land which was
thereafter designated in United
States survey ass site for q reservoir,
CT which was By such reservoir made
susceptible of irrigation, the entry
would be invalid, and the land so en-
tered upon would remain the property
of the United States. the reservation
thereof dating back to- the passage Of
this act.
Following this rule tLe secretary Of
the interior saws that the entry of Mary
T. Bisbiug having been allowed after
the said act was passed, the entry
woman acquired no right Hereunder,
and it was properly held for cancelia-
ton as the law stood at the date Dec.
Il, 1889 OF the decision by the commits
siOner of the general land office But
Congress. by act of Aug. 30, 1890. re-
pealed so much OF the act of 1888 as
provides Tor the withdrawal of public
lands from entry, occupation and set
Element, and ''all entries made or
claims initiated in good faith and valid
but fOr said act, shall be recognized and
may be perfected in the same manner
as if said law bad not been enacted,
except that reservoir sites IeretOfOre
located or selected shall remain segre-
gated and reserved from entry or set
Element as provided by said act, until
otherwise provided by law. and reser-
voir sites hereafter located or selected
on public lands shall, in like manner
be reserved from the date of the lOca-
ton or selection thereof
1t will be preceiyed that these provi-
sions caneut benefit the entrvWOman
in this rase for the reason that the
township in which the lands lie was
selected prior to the passage of this
law, and 10y It's terms the land so Sc
lected must remain segregated and re-
served from entry or settlement as
provided by the act of 1888; and this
is so, Notwithstanding the circulars to
which the land Office decision refers
have been rcsCjuded.
BY section II. of the act of March g.
1891, it is provided that reservoir sites
located or selected, and TO be located
and selected, under the provisions of
the act of june so, 1889, and amend
ments thereto. shall be restricted to
and contain only so much land as is ac-
tually necessary for the construction
and maintenance OF reservoirs, exciud-
ing, so far as practicable, lands Occu-
pied by actual settlers at the date of
the location of said reservoirs, etc.
In view of these restrictive features,
and the fact that the whole township
in which Bisbing's entry is located was
selected for reservoir purposes, and the
further fact that the reservoirs, when
constructed, may be located upon such
portion Of the townshipas not to cover
the entry of Bisbing, in that case the
entry might be protected if the law
under which it was made had been
complied with. Therefore, the secre-
tary of the interior directs the commits
sioner of the general land Office "to
suspend said entry. to await the action
of the proper authorities in the matter
of the actual location and the cOnstrUc-
ton and maintenance OF such reser-
voirs; then, if it shall appear that the
tract in question is not necessary for
the construction and maintenance Of
such reservoirs, the entry may be COM