The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-04-06
URGES SETTLERS TO
PERFECT TITLES
Northern Pacific issues CirCu-
lar Regarding Portland Over
lap Land Case.

Circulars have been issued by the
land department of the Northern Pa
cific Railway company, explaining the
recent decision of the United States
supreme court in the Portland overlap
land case.
The circulars have been mailed to
settlers who took UP homesteads on
the overlap lands and explains at
length the manner in which the titles
to the lands may be perfected.
The circular in full is as follows:
Ton Homestead Settlers on Northern Pa
citc Lands Within the Portland Over
lap:
The long litigation between the North
ern Pacific Railway company and the
United States in the so-called Portland
overlap case was recently decided by the
United States supreme court in favor
of the Northern Pacific company, the
court holding that the lands in contro-
Yersy were all granted to said company.
encouraged by erroneous rulings of the
interior department and by the advice of
local attorneys a large number of set
tiers years ago located upon said lands
and IN the effort by the company to pro-
tect its property innumerable contests and
much litigation arose on all sides, cauS-
ing great expense to the settlers and the
company besides the i'll feeling engen-
dered among the settlers as the result
thereof. On July 1, 1898, congress passed
an act to afford relief to settlers who
prior to Jan. 1, 1898, had purchased or
settled upon or claimed in good faith
any ruling of the interior department
to any lands within the limits of the
Northern Pacific grant.
Then follows an extract from said
act, and continuing the circular reads:
This law cOnfers upon the settler the
option OF perfect1ng the title to the land
he occupies or of relinquishing the land
settled upon by him to the United States
and selecting in lieu thereof an equal
quantity of government land in any of
the states on the line Of the Northern
Pacific Realizing that many of the
bona fide settlers on lands of the COM
pany in other parts of this grant had
been induced to locate thereon under err
roneous rulings of the interior depart
ment the company soon after the passage
of the act notified the interior department
OF us acceptance Of the. law and its in
tentlon to aid in the adjustment as rap
idly as possible of all claims Of bona fide
settlers coming within its terms.
Circulars We're sent out to settlers gen.
orally, citing the act, explaining its pro-
visions and volunteering information and
AID In perfecting adjustments. 1t was i'm
possible, however, at that time to adjust
claims within the overlap district under
said act because the title of the company
was in litigation with the United States
and the interior department denied such
right during the tendency of such litiga-
Now that such litigation is terminating
and the act of July /, 1898, can be applied
to the overlap lands, the Northern Pa
clhc Railway company, approaching that
past uncertainty as to titles has serious
~ retarded the progress of the country
along its line within the overlap limits,
wishes it to be understood that it desires
all bona fde settlers settled that to take
advantage of the provisions of said act
to perfect titles to their homes as prompt
ly as possible and to this end its land de-
partment will gladly lend all necessary
assistance.
In order to secure prompt action upon
their claims, settlers should present their
applications to the United States land
officers of the land district in which the
lands claimed are situated, alleging their
settlement prior to Jan. 1, 1898, and con-
tinuous residence since and asking that
they be permitted to enter their land un-
der the act Of July 1, 1898. In cases
where applications to enter were accept
ed by the United States land office years
ago, settlers should notify the United
States land officers whether they elect to
retain the land occupied or relinquish
their claims thereto with the view to Sc
lecting other lands in lieu thereof The
railway company will be notified of the
settlers action and will promptly relin-
quish or otherwise as the case may re-
qu1re. so that titles may be adjusted as
eXpeditiously as possible.