The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-12-29
Western Land Title Troubles
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Attorney General Advises Set
tiers to Hold On.
LAND SALES ARE VOID.
Those Made Three Years After
County Organizations.
Charles Q. Quick of Thomas
County Tells of Conditions.

The recent illegal forfeiture notice
decision of the Kansas supreme court
which played such havoc with land
titles in western Kansas. will be par
tally nullifed if an opinion from the
attorney generals office, given today
is sustained.
Thousands of acres Of land in
Thomas county and other western
Kansas counties would be saved 10 in
Charles Q. Quick, county clerk o.
| Ihomas county, who came to Topeka
TO get the ruling on the point which
he had discovered, said:
1t is a great thing for the honest
settlers in my county. l shall go
nome and tell them to stand pat
when the gang of land-grabbing Ger
tlhcate sharks get after them. If the
sharks want to take the case to the
supreme court am confident we can
beat them. 1t affects hundreds of
quarter sections in my county / am
only sorry that it does not cover the en-
TIRE nrSt three years of our county
history. 1 hoped that my point would
be construed to take in all the old land
certificates
The opinion is that land sales made
IN western Kansas counties within
three years after the organization of
those counties are void. This puts a
camper on the Vaccinations Of a CO.
terle OF western Kansas land-grabbers
VINO nave been buying up old land
certificates from original purchasers
for the purpose of "queering'' the title
OF present holders to the land. and.
forcing the present holders to either
buy their own farms. or surrender
possession
The ruling applies to many western
Kansas counties besides Thomas. and
VIII nulllfy, In many instances, the de-
cIslon OF the supreme court concern
ing the illegal forfeiture notices.
tO To-
son TO consult A. Gibson the state
lana clerk, and with the attorney gen
eral- He explained the situation in
his county as follows:
The county was organized in 1855.
The legislature in 1856 passed a law
providing that no public land should
be sold IN any county within three
years after its organization. Neverthe-
less in spite of that enactment, the of
hcers Of Thomas county went ahead
and sold vast quantities Of Thomas
county land 1t was in a prosperous
time. and western Kansas filled M
rapldIy- Nearly all of the best land
IN the county was taken up in 1885
1885, 1887 and the first part of 1888
Then came the hard times. and prac-
tlcally all Of these old original mr.
Chasefs We're unable to hold to their
land. They moved away and gave nm
their land, falling to keep up the paw
ments of principal and interest. In
due course the forfeiture notices u-era
made out by the sheriff in a manner
supposed to be Derfectfv LEGAL b,,t
which the supreme court has sfnce
held to be Illegal. After the s11pnosed
legal forfeitures were made. the fand
was gradually taken up by new set
tiers, and these are the Deonla ,rbo
are now occupying the land
when the supreme court r11Ied
mat ali the old forfeiture notices were
illegal. it left the old original land
certificates as a cloud on the title The
holder Of these old certificates could
step in at any time pay up the nrin-
cipal and interest due, and take the
land.
Now we claim that the law of
1886, prohibiting counties from selling
public land within three wears after
their organization, operates to make
null and void all of the original land
certificates issued during the wears
1885, 1886, 1887 and part of 1858 in
Thomas county. thus shutting off near
ly all of the old land certificates which
now constitute a cloud on the title of a
great deal of our land. and furnish an
opportunity for the scertif7cate
sharks to squeeze our citizens"
The matter was presented to Assist
ant Attorney John Dawson by County
Clerk Quick. and Mr.. Dawson gave
the opinion
Thomas countyas separate county,
was organized in 1885. 1t was not un-
lature passed the law prohibiting
counties from selling public land with
in three years after their organization
Therefore Mr Dawson holds that GER
tificates issued from the date of or
ganization until February II. 1886.
are still valid, provided the forfeiture
notices were Illegal This is the par
ticular case in Thomas county; other
counties would be affected in different
degree, according to the time of their
organization. But there is no doubt
that the ruling protects hundreds of
innocent purchasers from the extor-
ton of certificate sharks.