The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-12-08
Til. Rerubli Bureau.

Iiti. -. and Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington. Dec. THE Commissioner
of the General Land Office has received let
ters from the Land Office at Lawton. Ok.
stating that numerous notices OF mineral
locations have been filed with the Register
of Deeds of Comanche County. covering
lands within the city of Lawton. which
have been purchased from the Government
by lot owners in the city. and that the en-
tire city is practically covered by these
mineral locations, and clouds upon the
titles of lot owners have thus been created.
which have become a source of great an
noyance. and are calculated 10 injUriously
affect the business interests OF the city
The Register of the Lawton Land Office
asks what effect, if any. the mineral claims
thus asserted have upon the property rights
of lot owners in that city The Commits
sioner has referred the question 10 Secre-
tary Hitchcock who, in turn, has secured
the opinion of Judge Vandeventer, Assist
ant Attorney General for the department..
The department this evening issued i'm
portant regulations governing mineral en-
tries in the kiowa, Comanche and Apache
country. Oklahoma.
The Secretary quotes the act providing
for extension of the mineral laws over this
reservation. and says:
Not Subject to Mining laws.
In an opinion by the Assistant Attorney
General. wherein this provision was con-
strued, it was held. in substance. first. that
lands which have been allotted to the In
dians or lands to which homestead entry
man has acquired fixed and vested rights
by reason of his compliance with the home
stead law are not subject to the mining
laws or to mineral exploration and entry:
second. that from the time of the passage
of the act the body of the lands which were
to be allotted or opened to settlement, uf-
der the act. were subjected to the mining
laws, and to mineral exploration and en-
try, so far as the same should be found
to contain valuable mineral deposits; third
that such lands were not always to be sub
ject to the mining laws or to mineral ex-
pioration and entry, but that. like other
lands, only go long as they should remain
free from any vested rights of ownership
in an individual. Indian or white: fourth
that upon their allotment in severaity. or
upon title thereto being earned By a home
stead entryman by compliance with the
homestead law. the lands allotted or en-
b.aced in homestead entry cease to be
subject to said mineral provision.
Applicable to TOwnsite Lands.
There can be no question that the prin-
ciples stated in said opinion are app. .icable
to lands to which vested rights OF owner
ship have been acquired. under the -toTnsite
Law, as well as to lands which nave been
allotted to Indians or which have been
earned by entrymen under the homestead
law.
Inese principles are in entire harmonS
with those recognized and uniformly ap-
piled by the Land Department in the ad-
n Illustration Of the public land laws gem
orally. In view of the opinion of the As
sIstant Attorney General 1t is clear that the
mineral provision of the act OF June s. 1900.
was not intended to operate as an exception
to tie settled principles applied by the Land
Department in the administration of thu
public land laws generally. Controversies