Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1893-03-31
WHOLE NUMBER 1,735.
THE LiEU-lAND STUDY.
RetOld for the Benefit OF Those I'm
familiar With the Question.


As it may not be generally under
stood what it means by the "lieu-lands"
the following account OF how they
came to be disputed territory will
prove interesting:
When Congress granted to the
Northern Pacific Railroad Company
all the odd sections of land for 20
miles on each side of its track in
States and for 40 miles in Territorie,
from st. Paul and Duluth to Puget
Sound and to tide water on the Colum-
bia river, it was not supposed that any
amount of these lands would be occu-
pied in advance Of those acts OF the
company which were necessary to
have the lands withdrawn from settle
ment. But experience showed that
the tide OF immigration was not con-
tent to remain behind the slow march
of the iron rails, and when the COM
pany applied for title to its lands
the government found that thousands
of acres had been settled upon under
the general land laws. To reimburse
the company for these heavy losses
Congress passed an act granting it
other lands in lieu of those already
occupied, which might be selected
anywhere within strip 10 miles on
each side of the original grant, which
act was approved by President Grant
on October IA, 1873.
In the month of May, 1883, the
Northern Pacific Railroad Company
filed its claim to "lieu-land" strip in
Eastern Washington in lieu of lands
which it had lost in Montana by SET
tlement prior to the filing OF its
" definite line. of location" Many of
these lands were then settled, although
the general land Off ce had not al
lowed filings to be made upon them.
The question thus turned upon
whether the grant reserved the lands
from settlement until the railroad
company had made all its lieu land
selections or whether they were not
reserved until the company filed q list
OF selections embracing the particular
piece of land under consideration.
The railroad company was at first
inclined to deal as fairly with the
settlers as it could and yet claim their
lands. They had an agent travelling
over the field inspecting the lands,
who appraised the improvements on
each quarter, the amount OF the i'm
provements being added TO the price
of the land. Then it offered that
whenever application was made to
purchase any of these lands that the
settler would be notified and would
have the option for ninety days Of
purchasing the land at $3.50 per acre
for cash and 81 on time. II he did
not purchase it in one of these ways
within the time it would be sold TO the
applicant at that price, plus the ap-
praised value Of the improvements,
the latter amount to be returned TO
the settler who had made them.
But the settlers were destined 10 be
injured in the house of their friends
for while they were still hoping for
something better, one Rev. Van Dever
espoused the cause of the settlers and
wrote rabid anti-railroad account OF
the situation to . leading eastern re-
ligious journal. Then the matter was
taken up, the public became some-
what interested, and Senator Vsn
Wyck began his fight in Congress
against the whole land grant Of the
company west of Bismarck, N. ID.
BY the time the company had spent
$5,WO,OOO defending its title before
Congress it was ready to adopt . diff
ferent policy, and the price Of its lieu.
lands was then advanced TO . sum
equal to similar lands whose title was
not clouded.
During the latter part OF President
Cleveland's administration Guildford
Miller succeeded in obtaining . de-
cision from the Secretary Of the In.
terror under which he was allowed TO
file on the quarter section on which
he had been living for several years,
but shortly after the company got q
stay OF proceedings in President Har.
rison's administration. by . motion
for new trial and when he made his
final proof it was quietly filed away in
the general land Office pending the
settlement of Q motion for n new trial