The herald., 1894-10-26
ARNOLD IS So VERY CUNNING
How He Tried to Acquire
Land.
A Number of Farmers Expose His
Methods.
He Filed Upon an Old Lady's Ranoh
and Then Accepted . Paltry One
Hundred Dollars to With
draw His Filing.

While upon vacation few days ago
HERALD reporter happened to be hunt
ing in the vicinity OF San Dimas cafion
when he ran across an old settler, who
told him story OF how George l.. Arm
old, the Republican candidate for the
state board of equalization, has endeav-
ored to disposaess number of settlers
in the immediate vicinity of Lordsburg.
The ecribe investigated the matter and
succeeded in unsarthing some OF Arm
old's sharp practices.
The land in question is section So. N.
R. 9. W.. 8. B. M, and was organized a
school section and was settled upon 80
years ago by Richard Eads and j. j.
Bodkin.e They filed upon it as O state
pre-emption claim under the act OF April
20, 1852, and the filings can be found in
book 2, page 408 of state pre-emptions.
Los Angeles county records.
Under the act of congreDs OF 1S45
every section 16 and SO are school sec
tions, and the title thereto by virtue Of
said act vests absolutely in the state.
At the time of the filing by Bodkin and
Eads. the Rancho San Joae and San
Jose addition had not been surveyed by
the government of the United States.
They were large floating grants which
were supposed to cover about twice
their original boundaries. and including
section 36. The same state oil facts also
existed as to numerous other grants in
the state of California. On account of
the existence of these private grants,
which covered in many instances school
sections, the state of California upon
her admission to to the union was found
to be deprived of her quota OF school
lands. Thereafter, in 1862, the congress
OF the United States, in order to give
California her school land to which she
was entitled, passed an act by which
whenever section numbered 16 or 36
fell within the limits, ,or:supposed limits,
of Mexican grant, that the state might
select other land in lieu OF the said Sec
tione 16 or 36. The lands are familiRrly
known as lieu lands.
The state of California acquired by
said act of congress absolute title to
these lieu sections, and they became to
all intents and purpose school lands.
In 1865 the ranches San Jose and San
Jose addition were surveyed and con-
| firmed and the boundaries of the grants
were cut down to about one.half the
dimensions claimed by the holders
under the Mexican title. This left sec-
ton SO in place as q school section. but
prior to the survey it appears that the
state of California had selected another
section in lieu of section 36 This selec-
tion by the state had never been certified
to the proper federal authorities. and no
record of the same appears in the local
| land Office or in the Office of the state
enrveyor-general. For this reason Sec
tion SO had never been open for ssttle-
ment by the local land Office as govern
ment land. but appeared listed on the
records of the federal Office at this
place, and in the county recorders
office, in the federal offices at San Fran
CISCO and the state offices at Sacramento
ag school land.
The settlers. relying upon the verify
of the records, filed upon the land, as
before stated. over 80 years ago. as
school lands, and whenever transfer Of
title was made, for many years prior
to the patent, their possessary title was
simply transferred.
By this means the titles OF the early
settlers, passed to Eads and Bodkin, W no
in 1876 and 1877 made formal applica-
same. believing the section to be school
land, Their application was duly &C
cepted by the surveyor-general of the
corded in book 8, pages rs and 233 of
patents, in the recorders Office.
Since the inception of the patents,
said property, as shown by the Los An.
geles county records, has been sold to
pf mn n in Info
ing from two to ten acres, and has bsen
transferred over hundred times, and
has descended from father to son.
The titled acquired by the state was
supposed to be absolutely perfect, and
had been go certified by many OF the
most prominent attorneys of the county,
and nearly every abstract office in the
city, including the old reliable Abstract
Title Insurance company. and from the
records of the county the title as mat
ter of fact was vested OF record in the
grantees holding under the state patent.
On June 8, 1890, George L. Arnold
and two others, without giving the bona
fide settlers chance to perfect their
titles, offered to file homestead elaine
on said lands as government lands. The
filings were refused by the local land
Office, upon tho ground that, 30 far as
shown by the recorde Of the state OF Cai-
ifornia, the land was school land, and "a
such had been patented by the state.
From the decieionB of the local land
Office George L. Arnold and his accom-
plces perfected an appeal, and on De-
cemb Der 8. 1892, w. r. Noble. secretary
OF tho interior. decided in favor of the
applicants, upon the ground that the
records at Washington disclosed the
startling fact that the state nearly 80
years before had selected another sec.
tion in lien OF section 36.
The effect of this decision was to rem
der the bona tide settlers practically
homeless, and deprive them OF their
improvements amounting to fully $780,
600, and consisting of houses, barns
orchards, deciduous fruit trees, vines,
irrigating facilities and water rights.
The land is in high state of cultiva-
ton, and occupied by about 80 settlers,
who have invested all they have in the
world in improvements, and il turned
out in the road in their old age they
will all have to go to the loorhouse for
sustenance.
George L. Arnold and his co.conspire-
tors threatened to take forcible possess
sion OF the land after their filing. but on
account of the indignation expressed
eiitoiially by the press at the time, and
especially by the Los Angeles Times,
the nass meetings to extend sympathy
to the settlere, held by the citizens OF
Pomona. San Dlmas and Lordeburg, Ar
n aid and hiz c>omd ,rara oop,notlaI t<