The morning call., 1894-03-20

acres in California. st te lands in Shasta,
Monterey. MeDdocino, San Benito and
Placer counties have been filed upon after
an extraordinary and somewhat irregular
fashion, and in these districts, too, the
choice spots were taken by attorneys in
the name of Pratt. And the result of this
is sta ement by prominent land agent
to the effect that the Suryeyor-Generaps
Office has been used to further private in
terests, in doing which the public was dis
criminated against. and In some cases
even actual settlers on land found them
selves without title. though they should
have been given first choice, having pre-
ferred claim according to law.
These operations have been confined to
State school and lieu lands exclusively,
probably because in no other direction
could they be successfully carried out.
The United States land Office has we'll
defined plan of business, working in har-
mOny with State laws and regulation To
understand how the scheme of securing
land is said 10 have been worked through
the Sacramento Office it is necessary to
have some knowledge of official routine
methods, for without such information the
Zine Italian hand" could not be traced
through apparently regular acts.
Whenever a township is surveyed the
State has received sections 10 and Sc for
school lands, and Immediately upon ap-
prOval of the township maps by the
United States Surveyor-General in the
Stale California acquires title 10 these two
sections for school purposes But before
the survey is actually and finally settled
the United States Land Commissioner of
the General Land Office in Washington
must accept it. Sometimes the acceptance
is a few weeks and sometimes months
after approval of the map, at which time a
map is filed with the local land Office, a d
the same is advertised for period of thirty
days. giving day and date at which the
same would be open for fling.
Nobody is supposed to know when the
Surveyor-General approves a map unless
he tells them, for the approval is an official
act that does not call for publicity, and.
indeed. is considered private in its char
acter, and the map lie not subject to in
spection by the public until acted upon
by the Commissioner.
In the present case. however, 1t will be
seen that Surveyor-Grneral Pratt managed
this part of the business with a foresight
1huiCaliu6 oiueuldI 6OllcltuQe LOT his
family and friends. The Pratts and their
intiGates were informed secretly when a
map would be approved. Without a mo.
menrs delay they appear to have begun
preliminary arrangements for filing on the
school sections indicated by the map, and
Immediately upon the approval of the
map by Pratt they rendered their filing,
at Sacramento S ate Land Office. This
was always before others no. on the inside
ring had the slightest knowledge of tbs
transaction. Why this peculiar method
was repeatedly used in the land office is 8
question that will require considerable ex-
pla nation.
There are numerous facts on record
which show that such work was done
within the last four years. What appears
most Interesting in connection with them
are the dates of approval of maps by Sur.
veyor-General Pratt, and the immediate
filings within forty-eight hours following.
against all precedent. The haste taken.
together with the fact that either some
member of the Pratt family or their
friends laid claim TO the lands, is signjf
cant.
iii is proof sufficient" said land agent
Yesterday, shat Surveyor-General Pratt
has been using his Office to further his owr
priyate ends and TO give his family 6
nrincely estate in California. Special In
spec;or of Surveys George Fawkner, whe
was out here from Washington, told N,