The herald., 1893-08-05
Settlersin Fresno County at the
Railroads Mercy.
The Product of Years Of Labor Taken
Without Return.
A Possibility of Another Mussel slough
War-The Settlers Protesting
Government Rspara-
tion Asked. i


their own by United States Judge Ross
decision OF last Thursday.
That decision affirmed the title OF the
Southern Pacific railroad to the odd Sec
tions in its l0.mils indemnity limit.
Many OF the settlers have United
States patents to their holdings, but the
patents are apparently Of no more
good to them than deeds to the fifth
moon OF Jupiter would be. There are
hundreds OF homesteads among the
pieces of land affected, but the i've
years of residence and improvement
on the land 20 for nothing.
Most of the settlers who lose their land
are located in Fresno county. The rail-
road has a spur running ont from Goshen
to Alcalde. According to their position
this is part of the original proposed
overland road from San Francisco via
San Jose, Alcalde, Bakersfield and Mo-
jave. The indemnity grant allowed them
to select from the odd sections In strip
OF 80 miles wide, in order to make up
the deficiency of the land grants, mineral
sections and occupied land that in
terfered with the original odd-section
grant.
COMMISSIONER SPARKS DECISION.
The railroad went on selecting sec.
tions until 1886. when Land Commits
sioner Sparks gave decision that the
railroad had no title to this land, which
thus became portion OF the public do
main and open to settlement.
Under this friendly decision settlers
came on to the land and rapidly pro-
ceeded 10 complete their claims. There
have been over 1000 filings up to the
present tipae. Protests from the rail-
road and applications for reconsidera-
tion Of the commisHioner's rulings we're
dismissed by the land Office, and the
settlement Of the territory progressed
until the railroad got the matter in the
courts and Judge Ross decided In the
railroads favor.
The land involved is in Fresno county,
north OF the branch line from Goshen.
It is in the same section of country as
the land that caused the Mussel Slough
excitement dozen years ago. The eet-
tiers have all paid taxes and assessments
for the state irrigation ditch which Is to
bring water 20 miles from Kings river.
The surveys have all been made for the
canal, nearly all OF the bonds have been
placed, and now the actual work OF cut
ting the ditch is about to begin. The
land is fertile, like nearly all OF the San
joaquin valley, and when the water 10
brought in the farms will be very pro-
ductive.
Even now many Of the settlers have
their places under cultivation. There
are standing crops on some Of the farms,
end these the men who are not able
to buy their places over again must
lose.
ALL THEY POSSESS.
Quite a number OF the settlers have
everything they possess locked up in
their ranches. From the beginning
they have put every cent they could
wiring from the new ground back again
in the shape of improvements. Under
Home OF the decisions in such cases all
they have built goes with the land
when their farms are taken away their
houses and barns, crops, agricultural
implements, and even the stock raised
on the place, go to the new owners.
In all. the settlers title to about
200 600 acres is invalidated.
"If man sells you p cce of land he
doeBn't own" said one OF the dispos-
sessed settlers yesterday, "he is likely
to get into jail for it. AT least you can
make him give you your money back
but tho United States has done the
same thing, and we have no redress at
all. We are left to the railroads. mercy
and are thankful for their charity If
they'fet us buy the land again for less
than its actual value.
81 paid the government $1.25 an acre
for my land and have spent enough
more for improvements to bring its cost
up to So 65 an acre.
when applied fora patent the rail-
road company sent me word that they
claimed my land. l wanted the prop
erty and did not want to have my patent
fought, so l went to Mr.. Madden OF the
railroad aud tried to settle it. made
him an offer, which meant that would
pay the road 81 80 an acre for their claim
to my land, or would sell out to them at
the came figure. I was told that the
company believed my quarter section
belonged TO them and my offer was re-
fused.
IL wrote to the land office about the
railroads notice to me and received this
answer: 1850
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.
GENERAL LAND OFFICE.
WASHINGTON, d. c., Dec. 3, 1890
SIR: Referring to your letter of No.
vember Is, 1890, you are advised that
the protest Fl led by the Southern Pacific
Railroad company against your timber
culture entry No. -. covering the s. f..
ID of sec. =. I. /, R. IA, S. M. D. H..
Visalia land district, was dismissed by
Office decision Of September 6, 1859. A
motion filed by tho company for review
of euch decision was denied under date
OF Move mber 10 1889.
Accordingly, it appears that said COM
pany'e claim to the land covered by your
entry has been eliminated. and thai it
no longer ia bar to the completion of
your claim thereto under your entry
Respectfully, LEWIS A. GRAFT,
Commissioner.
Naturally l thought that the letter
settled it. L paid up on my claim, got
my patent, and now the court has de-
cided that my patent is only good to
shoot at.
1T isn't fair. The thousand and
more OF people who under the govern
ment's encouragement gave their money
and their time for that land have right
to some protection. Let the government
give us other land for it, reimburse us OF
buy our land back from the railroad
company for u.s.
"A NOMINAL COST"
Two years ago Attorney Redding. act
Ing on the advice OF Mr.. Huntington