The herald., 1894-10-28
ARNOLD IS 50 VERY CUNNING,
How He Tried to Acquire
Land.
4 Number of Farmers Expose His
Methods.
ae Filed Upon an Old Lady's Ranch
and Then Accepted Paitry One
Hundred Dollars to with
draw His Filing.

0 HERALD reporter happened to be hunt
tug in the vicinity OF San Dimas csfion
when he ran across en- 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 dispossess number of settlers
In the immediate vicinity of Lordsburg.
The scribe investigated the matter and
succeeded in unearthing some OF Arm
eld's sharp practices.
The land in question ia section SO, N.
r. 8, W., g. B. M., and was organized
school section and was settled upon so
years ago by Richard Eads and j. j.
Bodkin. They filed upon it as a state
pFe.emption claim under the act of April
20, 1852, and the filings can be found in
book 2, page 40S Of state pre-emptions,
Los Angeles county records,
Under the act of congress 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 jose 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
,xisted 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
eections, the state OF California upon
her admission to to the union was found
70 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 a section numbered 16 or 36
fell within the limits, orssupposed limits,
bf Mexican grant, that the state might
eelect other land in lieu OF the said Sec
tions 16 or 36. The lands are familiarly
known as lieu lands.
The state of California ecquired by
said act OF congress absolute title to
these lieu eections, and they became to
all intents and purpose school lands.
In 1868 the ranchos San jose and San
Jose addition we're surveyed and con-
frmed 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 secs
ton SO in place as school section, bnt
prior to the survey it appears that the
state OF California had selected another
section in lieu of section &c. This seec-
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
Hurveyor-general. For this reason Sec
ton So had never. been open for eettle.
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
as 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 Esds and Bodkin, who
in 1876 and 1877 made formal spplica-
tion to the state for patent to the
same, believing the section TO be school
land. Their application was duly ac-
cepted by the su-veyor-general of the
state, and patents issued which are re-
corded in book 3, pageB 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 recorde, has been sold to
innocent purchasers in small lots rang
ing from two to ten acres, and has been
AZ Il
has descended from father to son.
The titled acquired by the state was
supposed to be absolutely perfect, and
had been so certified by many of the
most prominent attorneys OF the county,
city, including the old reliable Abstract
Title Insurance company, and from the
records OF the county the title as q mat
ter OF fact was vented OF record in the
grantees holding under the state patent.
On June 3, 1890, George l.. Arnold
and two others, without giving the bona
fde settlers q chance to perfect thei,
titles, offered to file homestead claims
on said lands as government lands. The
filings were refused by the local land
Office, upon the ground that, go far az
shown by the records of the state OF Gal.
ifornia, the land was school land, and as
such had been patented by the state
From the decisions of the local land
Office George L. Arnold and hia accom-
plicss perfected an appeal. and on De-
cember 9, 1892, w. r. Noble, secretary
Of the interior, decided in favor OF tine
applicants, upon the ground that the
records at Washington disclosed the
startline fact that the state nearly &c
uooc, nafoye had aalectad another eeC
tion in lieu OF section Sc.
The effect of this decision was to rem
der the bona tide settlers practically
homeless, and deprive them OF theil
improvements amounting to fully $780,
900, and consisting OF houses, barns
orchards. deciduous fruit trees, vines
irrigating facilities and water righte.
The land ia in q high state OF cultiva.
ton, and occupied by about 81 settlers,
who have invested all they have in the
world in improvements, ana II tutnee
out in the road in their old age thel
will all have to 60 to the Ioorhouse To-
eustenapce.
George L. Arnold and his coconspira.
tors threatened to take forcibe posset
zion of the land after their fling, but Oh
account Of the indignation Expressed
editofially by the press at the time, ant
especially by the Los Angeles Times
the mace meetings to extend sympathy
to the settlers, held by the citizens o
Pomona, San Dimas and Lordaburg Ar
mold and his crowd were compelled Z
desist from taking forcible possession
The settlers were perfectly peaceful, bu
demanded that the proper authoritie
settle the controversy, and they abso
mt fn oIl ha