The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-12-28


The letter from Suryeyor-tieneral
Watson OF the delay in the approval OF
tie surveys Of pebIIc lands, which was
printed In yesterdays fost-irfeliigen-
Ger. fnrows q food Of light on a glar-
ing esiI from wfirfs the settlers have
bsea suffering for years without know
ing the cause or where to look for re-
!sef The land department seems, like
otner departments OF the government.
20 i,sye become entangied in the nesses
Of its own net Of red tape and IT'S Off
GERS are apparently becoming experts
In the art OF srnow not to do r." While
the bureaucrats of Washington City are
following the slow and tedious rounds
Ok circumlocution, the hardy settlers in
the Ear west--tiae sort OF men who have
ness into an empire-are YEARLY wait
ing until the conclusion Of this opera
ton gives them the right 10 call their
homes their own. Surveyors are kept
waiting for the payment of their claims.
settlers are kept waiting for patents 10
their homssteads. surveyors general are
tiee down by restrictive rules. by ON
Gals who are utterly ignorant Of the
conditions and wants OF the West, with
which they have to deal
Not content with the wrongs they do
By their practiee of delay. these officials
propose measures which will make the
state of affairs infinitely worse. The
commissioner of the general land Office
proposes that the public land surveys
shall he put In charge of the geological
survey bureau. Tie result would be
that the engineers OF the geological
survey would attend to public land sur
yeys at odd times In the course of their
more interesting and engrossing duties
and the settler would be at their nler-
cy.
Yet the figures presented by Mr. Wat
son show eonclusively that the govern
ment obtains a net revenue of over 50
per cent. of the gross receipts from pub
lie land sales and that this might be
enormously increased If congress would
only abandon its niggardly policy in
doing out money for surveys. and the
land office would burn some of it's red
tape and increase the speed of its cum
bersome machinery. While President
Cleveland Is sorrowing over an empty
treasury, he and his officials are ne
gleeting one Of the most fruitful sources
OF revenue. one, too, which would not
only bring money into the treasury but
would do justice to a deserving class
of people and promote the development
Of the country.
should be in charge of Western man,
for 1t deals with purely Western inter-
ests, with which only a Western man
can deal inteiiigently and with proper
sympathy Of the people affected. There
is hardly an acre OF public land worth
stealing east OF the Mississippi river
ana north OF Mason and Dxon's line,
yet the commissioner OF public lands
is almost invariably too far east in his
sympaIfTlss and associations TO be able
to deal intelligently with the questions
which come before him. Even If he
Aaais itotss as l1I w SSt DIS W 7sssfiiSsH,
as does Mr. Lansoreix. his Western
sympstaies are chilled by the influence
of his swarm ef subordlnates. who
think they are In the West when they
cross the Allegheny mountains. and
know nothing OF the mo who have
pushed forward in the van os American
civilization. These men have been lured
from their old homes by the promises
which the homestead law holds out 10
them. set they tind the faifliment Of
these promises hagnpered by red tape
regulations for which there is no ex-
euse. The unoccupied Pablo lands are
almost all west or the Rocky mount
niis and shst is the section from which
the man In the land Office should be
taken.