Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1905-01-20
Railroad Exchanges
With Government
Gives Up Tract in San Fran
cisco Mountains for Forest
Reserve.

The Santa Fe railroad is exchanging
thousands of acres OF land with the
United States government On New
Mexico and Arizona.
In exchange for vast quantities OF
land which lie In the San Francisco
mountains, and which Is Of no prac'
teal value for agricultural purposes,
the railroad is getting IN equal
amount OF land In the valleys and on
the plains which may be used to good
advantage at some future time II the
country ever comes under irrigation
The exchange of the land Is being
made under the direction OF Howell
Jones. OF Topeka, land commissioner
OF the Santa Fe.
When the Atlantic and Pacific rail
road, or the Santa Fe Pacific railway
was built through New Mexico and
Arizona to the Pacific coast. 1t was
the recipient Of extraordinarily large
land grants from congress. 1t was a
customary proceeding, but evidently
In view of the fact that the land In
that section was not considered to be
OF much value the grant made up In
quantity what It lacked In quality. II
Is said that the grant included every
alternate section for miles and miles
on either side of the right Of way.
Much OF this land lies In the noun
tains and on the mountain sides. On
that account 1t never will prove TO be
Of any great value for agricultural
purposes.
In June, 1897, congress enacted a
bill which necessitated all land own
ers in that district to surrender their
holdings to the government for the
purpose OF placing the land in what
was known by the act OF congress as
the "San Francisco mountains forest
reserve"
When the Santa Fe railroad acquir-
ed the pioneer railway which was
built through that section. 1t naturally
followed that the Santa FEE became
the possessor of all the land embraced
in the aforementioned land grant.
Provision was made in the bill Gre
ating the forest reserve, that all hold
ers of land could make selection of
any other unoccupied public lands In
lieu of that surrendered in the noun
tsins. 1t seemed no more than fair
to give the holders of land, whose
land was being taken away from
them without their having any voice
in the matter at all, all the repara-
ton within the power OF congress.
Consequently holders of land In the
mountains were given the privilege of
selecting any unoccupied public land
to be taken in exchange for that to
be surrendered.
BY the terms of this provision the
Santa Fe is rapidly becoming the
possessor OF thousands of acres of
land in that locality which is situated
in the valleys and plains instead of on
the mountain sides. The exchange
is being made acre for acre, and will
no doubt result in profit to the Santa
Fe of an enormous sum. The govern
ment is spending big sums for the
development of plans for irrigation in
that section, and while the land Is of
no practical value now, the time will
no doubt soon come when Ii will be
supplying the needs of a large mum
Der Of people. The Santa Fe railroad
has already begun in conjunction with
interests said to be connected with
standard oil, TO encourage expert
ments In irrigating land for agricul-
tural purposes.
In exchanging this land, the act Of
congress requires that a thirty days
notice shall be made by the party
seeking to exchange, making public
the specific parcel of land which it
Is desired shall be granted In lieu Of
the specific parcel of land surrender
ed.
In MIR. Jones' office in Topeka hun
dreds of applications have been pre-
pared specifying the lands desired to
be had in lieu OF those surrendered.
These applications must be publish
ed and a thirty days notice thereby
given before the transactions may be
completed. Already nearly 1000 ap-
plications for exchange have been
published.
The San Francisco mountains il a
range which lies to the north of and
parallels the Santa Fe main line of
railroad in Arizona, just east of the
branch line Of railroad which