The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-30
IT AFFECTS MONTANA.
To Refund Advance Payment ON Desert
Land Entries.
Special Correspondence of the Standard.

Lana Entries.
Special Correspondence of the Standard.
Washington. ID. G., June Ex-senator
Warren's land bill To refund advance
payments to Western ranChmen upon
desert land entries which failed of perfec-
ton. bids fair TO become a law and under
il upwards of a quarter of a million dol
lars will be refunded to Wyoming and
other Western ranchmen. The committee
on public lands has made a favorable re-
port on the measure, which is senate bill
No. 3.i29. for the relief of persons who
made the first payment for desert lands
under the act of March 3. 1877. but who
were unable to perfect entry thereof"
The committee report is as follows: 'In
many of the Western states and terrific
ries there were vast areas of public lands
which i'm their natural condition We're
arid and unproductive, and to which the
homestead and presumption laws were so
inapplicahle that 40 effort was made to
acquire title to them under these laws. 1t
was known that portions of these lands
possessed a rich soil and IL subjected to
artificial irrigation would become highly
productive. As an inducement to their rec
lamation the act of March 2. 1877. was
passed. whereby IL was declared that any
citizen could. upon payment of % cents
per acre, file a declaration under oath
with the register and receiver of the local
land office. announcing his intention to re-
claim a stated tract of desert land not
exceeding one section, by conducting wa
ter upon the same, and AZ any time with
in three years. upon making proof of the
reclamation and the payment of the ad-
ditional sum Of 81 per acre, could obtain
q patent for the land.
I'm the Instructions Of the general land
office IL was stated. under his act. that
a desert claim properly initiated could he
assigned, and that the a~SsiEnees. upon
complying with the terms of the statute,
Wun.I he entitled tn "A nItpnt for tho land
and the law was thus administered Some
years later, however, il was held by the
land department that desert claims were
not assignable and could only be per-
fected by the original claimant. The rul-
ings of the LAND department as to what
were desert lands within the meaning OF,
the act We're not uniform, the later rul-
ings excluding from the operation of the
act lands coming within the earlier rul-
ings.
In localities In the arid states there
was an abundance Of lands with good soil
but a scarcity of water. and In the effort
under the desert act to make productive
and valuable and reclaim this land more
was filed upon than could be reclaimed
and irrigated with the available water
supply. The result was that those who
originally he'd or who afterwards obtain
I'd the prior water rights. were able to
perfect their desert claims. and others
were unable TO perfect them. In some in
stances the project for conducting water
10 the land from remote places proved
more difficult and expensive than at first
contemplated and had To be abandoned.
In some localities the presence of alkali
prevented successful exclamation, necessi-
tatinG the abandonment of the claims. In
all eases. however. the Claimant was re-
quired To make. and lid make. the first
payment of - cents per acre: and in those
cases whore the claim was not perfected
the government still holds the first pay
ment Of . cents per acre, notwithstand-
ind II still retains the land and the desert
land claim has long since been terminated.
In other words. the government retains
the land In its original state and also
has IN" advance payment mad at the
time of Ming.
Your committee believes that i'm all
eases whore the desert land rlaiman has
failed TO obtain title to the land. from
whatever cause II may have happened.
IN" partial payments made should be re-
turned and paid 90 him. hts heirs and as
signs. Iat government itself has lost
nothing. and n Is believed that IL can not
IN equity and justio" retain this money.
II is estimated that more than l0a.OHO
acres of lard upon which he first nav
ments aggregated $1,000. come within the
provisions OF the act. The prospects are
extremely bright for the measure becom-
Ing a Law. which viii result in the distri-
button ~ this amount 81 money TO ranch
men Of the states 81 wyoming Ran.
Idaho, Montana and Nevada Al once.