Omaha daily bee., 1908-06-29
INTO NINE DISASTERS
Continued from First Page

OF duplication Of work. both in the dis
tTiot land offices and in the general land
office In Washington.
A separate series Of numbers for each
class Of entries has been in use at the
district land offices, such as the Home
stead series CoriginaD," Homestead series
CfinaD,' Desert Land series Mineral
series" etc. Applications and entries were
only numbered when allowed or approved.
Under the new system, each district land
office will maintain but one series Of
numbers for all kinds Of entries Appli-
cations and entries will be numbered al
the time and in the order In which they
are presented or received at the district
land offices. before they are considered
for the purpose Of allowance or rejection.
This will permit OF a ready determination
Of the priority Of filing Of each apnlica-
ton or entry. Fy.I
Another important change is In the
method OF issuing receipts for moneys paid
to receivers. Applicants and entrymen
heretofore have been compelled to tender
money with their applications and entries,
and no receipt would issue until it was
determined whether the application or en-
try could be allowed. Many applicants
seriously objected to the depositing of
their money without some form of ac~
acknowledgement of it's receipt.
Receipt when Money IL Paid.
A new form of receipt has been adopted.
These receipts are serially numbered, be-
fore coming into the hands of receivers,
with one series of numbers for all receiv-
ers. Press copies are made of all receipts
issued, and forwarded to the general land
office at the end Of each month. All
persons rendering moneys to receivers will
hereafter be given a receipt therefor at
the time the money is rendered.
The issuance of a receipt does not neces-
sarily mean that the application or entry
is allowed or will be allowed. Applicants
and entrymen will be notified of the al
lowance or rejection of their applications
or entries.
Blanks for the returns and accounts Of
local land offices to the general land Of
flee have been reduced to a uniform size
to accommodate the ordinary size type
writing machines. Heretofore these blanks
nave been of a large. unwieldy size, which
necessltated making them out by pen and
ink, and in numerous cases the local Of
fioes were compelled to practically suspend
business until their monthly and quarterly
reports were completed. Local offices were
compelled under the old practice to dupll-
cate for the quarter all that had been pre-
~viously reported each month. The quar-
terly reports hereafter will be merely a
recapitulation of the monthly reports.
Thirty large size bound books and fifty
three large size blanks have been replaced
with fourteen uniform size blanks.
An alphabetical index of all applicants
and entrymen will be Kept at each district
land office, Such an index for the entire
land service will also b kept at the gen.
eral land office, Washington
Supplies and Filing systems.
Under the new system, local offices and
the general land office will be able to iden-
tify, and give fuIi= information in regard
to, any application or -eptry by being fur
nished with only the name of the appli-
cant or entryman, or the name of tho land
office and number OF entry, or the number
of the receipt. Information as to the date
or kind of entry or description of the land
will not be necessary.
Innumerable inquiries in the past have
had to go unanswered by reason OF the fact
that sufficient information was not fur
nished to Identity the case.
Each district land office is also furnished
with modern office supplies. Some of the
offices in the past have, been compelled to
file letters in old cigar boxes and such
other receptacles as were available.
1t was upon the recommendation Of ex-
Commissioner r. A. Ballinger that the
work Of changing the old practices TO a
modern business system was begun. Mr..
bennett, the present commissioner of the
general land office, heartily supported the
recommendation, and is to be credited with
putting the system into effect.