Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-12-04
IRRITATION LEGISLATION NEEDED.
& National Protection Desired for Irrigation In
security vesnent the Public Lands.
national Lincoln Nebraska serm
Engineer of salt Lake city

proved, NOT were llle lullu0 NNtl NihN -
the applicant was to construct ms
works Withdrawn from public entry
until such approval Of the secretary OF
the interior. This looks harmless
enough to the applicant, but expert
ence has shown that after complying
with all the requirments of the depart
ment and filing the maps. afiidavits
and certificates in the local U. 5. lana
office, betweensuch filing and approval
by the secretary n period of from SIN
months to three vars elapsed. The
right of way meantime, being dls-
played on the local tract books,but the
land being still open to entry, 1t was
soon found that INSCRIPTIONS persons
were quick to perceive that reservoir
site il the key to the whole operations
of the applying water company, and n
desert or homestead entry was made
for purposes OF blackmail. Whole
neighborhoods sometimes became ar
nlcted with land proclivltles within
reservoir limits and owing TO the un-
certainty of condemning unpatented
lands, and still worse of jury trials,
serious pecuniary damage accrued TO
the applicant. have in mind case
In point in Utah where the company
will have TO pay over $4,000 Tor quasi
land titles within its reservoir sites
said company being over two years In
obtaining its grant BY withdrawing
the lands at time of filing in local land
, office as is customary in other lana
| entries. and If not approved by the
| secretary restoring them. all this hold
| up business can be avoided.
A grave lack Of the law of 1891 was
| that no right of way could be secured
| over other than the surveyed lands OF
, the United States. As the bulk Of the
reservoir sites. like our mineral claims
| are in the great unsurveyed mountain
ranges and as rule unfit even FOR
| fntl 60, Hi,NT N
| discrimination should be had, for all
| locations can be described and defined
| with reference to the nearest govern
| ment surveys, certainly as clearly as
mineral locations are now. Moreover,
| these sites being neither mineral nor
| arabic lands will never he officially
| surveyed, under our present system of
| government surveys-hence never n
| title Is possible. one of the anamolies
| of the law of 1891 was that the instruc-
tions Hereunder infinitely stated how
the reservoir and canals should be To-
! Gated with referepce to the earth's sur
face and the nearest official surveys
| yet refused to grant title except when
| surveyed.
As before stated. under this law ri
1891 thousands of new homes have
been created and millions expended
Not such n great many miles south OF
us, one company Is now spending up
I
two hundred and fifty thousand acres
four hundred and nifty thousand dol
lars alone going to build one reservoir
dam, and all this being done under thu
act of 1891.
with this law in successful operation
and leading to the upbuilding of thu
country, Congress in January, 1895
passed n new act--which completed!
contravenes all previous ones and doe
away with all incentive for any fur
Their reclamation of lands where stor
age is necessary. 1t differs from tn
previous right of way acts, in that /
| authorizes merely n permission in
stead of making n grant, and that |
| gives no right whatever to take iron
the adjacent lands any material 70
construction, etc. Furthermore, tn
instructions OF the land department
even II the law itself were not prac
tically prohibtve' completely a1,,d n deprly
1t Is expressly to be understood II
every case that the permission ex
tends only to the public lands of tn
United States, not within the limit
of any park. forest, military or Indial
reservations; that 1t Is at any time sub
| iect to modification or revocation
that the disposal by the United State
of any tract crossed by the permitte
| right of way Is of itself, without fur
Their act on the part of the department
. n revocation of the permission so ia
ms it affects that tract; and that tn
permission Is subject to any futur
, regulations of the department. Com
ment Is unnecessary for what the nc
, left undone the department complete
by entirely annulling the act itself. S
all the law we now have might mos
appropriately be termed IAN act t
prevent any settlement or development
, of the public lands where irrigation ca
be effected by storage of waste waters.
/ returned few months ago fror
the survey of an aqucduct line fo
, power. electric and irrigation purpose
which involves in its construction
half million of dollars annually q
many millions Of dollars worth q
I gold ores, which without the waite
thus furnished cannot he worked n
, | all in n paying way, and further bring
, | under cultivation some thousands G
, acres of fertile lands now WORTHLESS
. without water.
With every engineering difficult
!, solved, and clear showing of its pay
ing ability, there is no possible way
, | which the investor can obtain it'll
nor be safe from government entire
/ fled subsequent to that for right {
4 |