The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-05-10
SCRIPT LANDS TAXABLE.
Attorney General Makes An Import.
@ ant Ruling.

Attorney General Makes An Import.
ant Ruling.
The script lands of the Northern
Pacific railway in Montana are SUBJ
ject to taxation, says the Helena Her
aid. This is the conclusions of At.
torney General Donovan, although
Numerically opposed to an opinion
prepared by his immediate predeces-
sor. The states legal adviser holds
that as soon as the usual affidavit
has been filed to the effect that the
land has no adverse claimant and
does not contain mineral it should be
taxable without waiting for the Sec
rotary of the interior to pass upon
the land before patent issues. The
decision is quite important to every
county in the state.
the Northern Pacific recently wrote
a letter tt the attorney general ask
ing whether these script lands were
taxable. By script lands are meant
those selected by the railroad under
the act Of congress in lieu Of lands
lost to the company by the creation
of the forest reserves. The secretary
Of the interior, according to the law,
furnishes the railway company with
a list of land settled upon, occupied
or claimed by actual settlers and upon
the REIMBURSEMENT of said land by
the company it may select other
lands. Under the provisions of the
law providing for the land grant it
was required that before the company
secured title to the land the indemnity
selection must first be passed upon
by the local land Office, the commits
sioner of the general land Office and
the secretary OF the interior.
The attorney general claims that
the manner OF securing title to the
script lands is lot so roundabout. He
contends that when the local land Of
flee files it's receipt upon the usual
affidavit being made by the railroad
company, no further act is required
upon the part of the government ex-
cepting the clerical duty of issuing
a patent.
1T seems to me that the list Of
lands that is furnished to the railroad
company to be surrendered to the
government in the first instance"
says the attorney general, furnishes
the railroad company the number of
the sections that are to be surrender
ed by the railroad company, and hay
ing done this before any rights can
accrue to the railroad under this act.
the government takes the preliminary
step and makes the investigation,
namely, with a list of the lands to be
surrendered by the railroad company,
n then the only acts that the rail.
road company is bound to do to com
plete it's title is to select in the odd.
numbered sections, land in lieu of the
lands surrendered and the conditions
to be performed by the railroad com
pany in making these selections. are
first, it must relinquish it's original
right to that list furnished by the sec
rotary of the interior, then at any
time to select an equal quantity OF
public land. surveyed or u~nsurveyed
and the only thing the railroad com
pany is obliged to do beyond that is
to make affidavit that the land is non
mineral, that it is not valuable fol
stone, iron or coal, that it is not re
served for other purposes, that no ad
verse claim exists, that the land is
unOccupied at the time of such Sc
lection, and the selection is within the
state or territory in which said rail
road grant extends. These are the
acts that the railroad company mus
do to entitle it to a certificate from
the local land office of title to thi:
land.
"Now, it seems to me that when tn.
affidavit is made that the land is non
mineral, that it is not reserved, tina
it is not valuable for stone, iron O.
coal, and there is no adverse claim
it is unoccupied at the time of sucl
selection, that the affidavit SO FLEE
by the agent of the railroad compan.
entities the railroad company to a eel
tificate of title Immediately, and Their
is nothing else to be done except t
prepare the patent to such lands, be
cause the language of the law is, AN
patent shall issue for the land so Sc,
ected as though it. had been origin
ally granted This being so, and thi
being the language of the law, Their
is no requirement in this act Whic
directs that patent shall not issue III
til it shall have been examined by tn
secretary of the interior to Sc
whether or not the conditions enun
Grated in this section have been full
complied with. 1t seems to me tina
:. the railroad company stands in a pc:
: ition, where there is no contest Q
protest made against it's selection, a
l does a homesteader when he make
final proof TO his homestead entr,
and receives the certificates from tn
+ land office. Then title vests absO
: utely, and it has been so held owe
: and over again by the courts. The az
Y in issuing the patent is not a judici;
act, but it is a mere ministerial {
i clerical work, that gives no create
IN r,ora norfoof fif1o fhor that Wnio