The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1893-04-07
THE STATE LIEU LANDS,
Advisory Investigation Before the
Survey@-GeleraL.
HOW LANDS ARE COBBLED Up
By Rings Of Spectators, and Actual
Settlers Kept in the Rear.
AMENDING DUMMY APPLICATIONS,
That arc Kept Locked Up in a Safe-Ths
System Ably Attacked by William
Singer, Jr.-The Hearing
Not Yet Closed.
AMENDING DUMMY APPLICATIONS,

The examination into the lieu land
business, concerning which the RECORD
UNION has lately called public attention
was had before Surveyor-GeneralR eichert
yesterday at l:9O.
That officer called to sit with him Hon
A. L. Hart, Hon. Byron Waters and Hon.
E. S. Pillsbury. These wellknown law
yers acted as an Advisory Board to coun-
sci General Reichert concerning his Off
cial duty on several points relating &c
lieu land locations under applications by
claimants to purchase.
In the safe of the urveyor-General are
large number of papers enveloped; il
is not known whether the officer treats
them as applications or merely as de-
posts, he himself saying that he has not
filed them, and yet declining to permit
them to be treated as public documents
and examined as such. 1t is understood
that they are applications to purchase
lands which come to the State in lieu OF
lands in one way or another withdrawn
by the Federal Government from the
quota of lands granted to the State.
What is the duty of the officer as to
these documents, and which are supposed
to represent applications presented by
firms OF land attorneys, sufficient, proba-
bly,, to cover all the lieu land available,
is one of the questions. What is the
duty of the inexperienced, eXofficio
Register of the Land Office, as to permit
ting or making amendments to selections
under applications, where the lieu is void
for any cause, was another question; and a
third question is, whether the Surveyor
General is clothed with authority to eXer-
f.iS thn OrAtinn annfarraR ha rot
to select indemnity for the sixteenth and
thirty-sixth sections that fall within tire
limits of various reserves created by the
act OF the Executive of the United States.
The inner office of the Land Depart
ment was well filled with attorneys and
land agents interested in the proceedings.
Those invited by General Reichert to be
present We're: James Z. Stratton, Wager
Bradford, +. y. Hyde, George L. Bates,
X. II. Lloyd, j. G. Campbell, J. A. Ben
son, j. 5. Story, d. ID. Tennison, Fred
w. Lake, e. o. Miller, II. II. Snow, Il.
T. Wharton, Russell l.. Dunn, Grant l.
Taggart, j. w. Shanklin, William Singer,
Jr., Ii. \. Hornlein, \. ]. Johnston, L.
5. Hadley, w. II. Govan, a. G. Hink-
son, b. f. Tome and representatives OF
the press. Many of these gentlemen
represented, as attorneys, parties i'm
mediately interested in the inquiry. At
torney- General W. IL. II. Hart was also
present during most of the afternoon.
GENERAL RE:CHERT'S STATEMENT.
Hon. Byron Waters read the following
statement prepared by Surveyor-General
Relchert:
Under the provisions of Section "a of
the Act of Congress March 3, 1891, the
President of the United States has made
the following reservations, to wit: San
Gabriel Reservation, December 20, 1892;
Sierra Forest Reservation, February ii,
1898; San Bernardino Forest Reservation,
February p, 1893: Trabuco Forest Reser-
walton, February %, 1893.
The State of California has become en-
titled to select indemnity for the unsur-
veyed school sections within the bound
aries of said reservations, amounting to
about 10000 or 100000 acres.
I'm the SurVeyor-GeneraPs Office for
many years there have been filed selec-
tions for Government lands in lieu of the
losses sustained by the State in its school
land grant.
The basis of many of these selections
have not been approved by the Commits
siouer of the General Land Office and the
Secretary of the Interior, and require
amendment TO make valid the title OF the
State to the land selected. There is now
a great number of applicants asking to
file new applications and use the basis
created by the reservations Aforesaid.
THE following questions are presented
for consideration and argument:
"FirSt-Should the State avail itself OF
the privileges conferred by the Acts OF
July ., 1866, and February %, 1891. and
select indemnity for the school sections
within the four reservations named. or
should the State await the extinguish-
ment OF such reservations and the restora-
ton of the lands therein, and take the
said school sections in place.
'Second-It it is decided that such Sc
lections should now be made, should the
State first amend and correct all existing
unaeeepted selections, before receiving
and filing new ones?
"Third-If the pending selections are
TO be first amended, then what DISPOSE
ton shall the State make of the indem-
nifty that remains?
'Fourth-If the State is not to amend
and correct the existing invalid selec.
tons, what disposition shall be made a
the new applications now pending and
Enacted on designating basis in sale
reservations?"
a PRELIMINARY QUESTION.
]. W. Shanklin. addressing the Com.
missioners, asked that the preliminary
question be determined first: Whethe,
the Surveyor-General,u under the law. i,
required to file applications for schoo
lands when said applications are in con.
forpity to the form of applications ISSUED
ny Tic sui Wy OF WDGInGr he
has discretionary power, or authority tC
refuse TO file such applications when The
fees for filing are offered?
WILLIAM SINGERS ADDRESS.
William Singer, Jr., addressed thu
board, saying: There has been granted
to this State by the Government an ap
gregate of 100000 acres. on the 18th o
September, 1850, within twenty davs
after California was admitted as a State
il received its first land grant, which was
that of the swamp and overlooked lands
since ascertained TO cover l,736, 900 acres
Next in order of time was the Act o.
March 3, 1858, which granted to the State
of California the sixteenth and thirty.
sixth sections in each township of the
land as surveyed, and provided thai
where the State lost any of the sixteenth
ar thirty-siXth sections by reason OF {
settler being found in occupancy at the
time the survey in the field was made
then the State might select from lands il
equal area from the public domain in lieu
thereof.
Amongst the other Acts granting lane
TO the State were the University, witt
$4,000 acres, the Agricultural College