The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-12-05
THE PACIFIC RAILROADS
WHAT THEY OWE AND HOW To
COLLECT 1T.
why The Uintnh and Uncompahgre
Commissioners Were Relieved
From Further Duty-sOme Meas
ure Looking to the Opening of
the Lands Necessity.

The Appropriation Tor the last HScdl
year amounted to S157, 1885 The es-
Inmates for the present financial year
are about 81, OOO, 900 more than was APP
propriated last year. The actual pub
lie domain is now 1,S49, 072, 5S7 acres
The public lands still vacant amount TO
over 600, 000,0 600 acres, not including
Alaska About S5,729.751 acres have
been patented to railroads, and there
are yet due railroads and wagon roads
under their grants, an aggregate OF
ia, 756, 639 acres. The total acreage seq
regated from the public domain was
946, PIG. 100 acres The secretary deems
it desirable that our waste acreage
should be taken up by actual settlers,
who should be given every encourage
ment and says if the rate of settlement
continues in the future as in the past
but little vacant land will be left in
Is years time He urged legislation for
the preservation of the forests, and
states that a report will be submitted
to congress by the forestry commits
sion, which has lately returned from a
tour of inspection.
RECLAIMING ARID LANDS.
Secretary Francis calls the attention
of congress to the necessity of legisla-
ton looking to the retaining of arid
acres of arid lands 100,000000 acres
might be reclaimed by the conserva-
tive use of water; but it is impossible
for the laws in operation to control the
reclamation of the arid regions so as
to prevent the improVident use Of
water over which the general govern
ment has no control. This should be
done by a system which contemplates
the reclamation Of the entire territSEies
nf = n
the utilization of that supply. or the
adoption of the suggestion of the COM
missioner Of the general land office
would be a good one; that is. to place
the lands in the control of the state for
reclamation.
He briefly mentions the difficulties
between the Otoe and Missouri Indians,
which he states is a complicated one.
No settlement has yet been agreed
upon.
NORTHERN PACIFIC LAND
GRANTS.
In speaking of the decision of his
predecessors that the eastern terminus
of the Northern Pacific Railroad COM
pany has been fixed at Duluth, he
states that: THE effect of this de-
cision was to exclude from the land
agent of the company all lands lying
east of that city. Prior to the decision
referred TO, lands lying east of Duluth
had been appropriated by settlers and
paid for at the double minimum rate
of $3.50 per acre, upon the assumption
that they fell within. the limits of the
railroad grant and, therefore, within
the operation of section 1852 of the
revised statutes After the promulga-
ton of these decisions numerous appli
cations were made by persons who had
paid the double minimum price for
lands to have the excess of SIPS per
acre refunded, pursuant to the proVis-
ions of June 16, 1880.
Inasmuch as the railroad company
had never acquiesced in the decision of
the department, all such applications
have been suspended to await the final
and authoritative location of the east
ern terminus of said road by court of
competent jurisdiction.
He has been officially informed
through counsel of the company that
a suit will, in a short time, be brought
for that purpose.
CHOCTAWS AND CHICKASAWS.
Regarding the opening of what is
known as the leased district of the
Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians, which
is now before the court of claims. he
says that if the allotments were made
and the land thrown open before a de-
cision is rendered upon the claim of the
Choctaws and Chickasaws, the govern
ment would be placing the Indians
upon land under an agreement which
involved the transfer of good title,
and would also be throwing open the
land to settlement, when in point of
fact it did not have clear. title
thereto. He recommends that all the
Oklahoma townsite boards be abol-
ished. Secretary Francis is of the
opinion that the free use of timber on
public lands for commercial purposes
should be discontinued.
THE PENSION QUESTION.
On the pension question, he says
that 970,67S pensioners are drawing
S14,000,000 per annum in pensions and
the branch of the service should be
| conducted with great care and discre-
ton. He gives a table which shows
that the total amount paid out by the
| government in pensions and the cost
of disbursing the same, during the last
81 years, was 81, 034, Si7, 769, which lacks
only S246, 7125 25 of being equal to the
high water mark OF the interest bear
ing public debt. He suggests a num-
Der of amendments to the pension laws
| some of which have already been made
public-notably those in regard to the
/ pensioners resident in Germany. One
hundred and forty million dollars is
thought to be sufficient for the pay
ment OF pensions during the next fiscal
year, unless pensions are increasing by
further legislation. The secretary re-
ccmmends that from IS to $12 pei
month be granted TO all serviyors OF
! the Mexican war, who are wholly dis
abled and destitute.
The Indians. he says, now occupy
about S5,000.00O acres of land and they
should be protected from the sinister
Vaccinations of unscrupulous men. He
recommends that the Indian bureau
should be conducted by a commission
of different political parties and one
an army officer.
BOND-AIDED RAILROADS
Concerning the bond-aided railroads
the secretary summarizes the recon-
mendations Of his predecessors and the
result of the litigation. He calls at
tention 10 the fact that the tables ht
presents clearly show that the Contra
Pacific railroad is in default to the
government, or unquestionably will be
on Jan. l next, when s2.432,000 ad-
ditional of its Indebtedness, together
with 30 years interest thereon, will fal
due and must be redeemed by the gov
eminent.
interest on same-$11. 952. 000-wiil bs
then due and if not paid the Unior
Pacific will unquestionably be in de-
fault.
He has, therefore, declined to patent
lands TO the Union Pacific railroad OF
the Central Pacific railroad except il
| cases where il can be shown that the