Arizona republican., 1909-06-04

in 1856, and discovered by the sur veyors of the Imperial Land company in 1900. was sought to be remedied by congress with a resurvey, after 1t was too late, in 1902.
 ''The alleged survey of 1856. prob ably made on paper in the back room of some saloon in Yuma, was accept ed by Uncle Sam as the gospel truth so far as land locations are concerned. When the locators could not make an actual survey tally with a paper one, they were told from Washington that they must do so. Some of them did try, notably, near Brawley, where the whole community filed applications to amend, seeking to slide their survey one mile south and two miles west. But it was no go, they only got m conflict with their neighbors and had to abandon the attempt. Meantime practically all the valley had been filed on in one way and another. The land office people insisted that filings must be made by their maps, regard less of the we'll known fraudulent character of the alleged survey they were supposed to represent The people could not do otherwise than locate their lands by the survey made on the land by the Imperial Land con- pany Sunset Commercial company, Imperial Investment company and private parties who made surveys from the corners set for them. Thus the Imperial valley land tangle was made.
 "In 1902, congress. under urgent clamor from the valley people. passed a law for c resurvey, and in due and deliberate process of time the same has been made. This resurvey, how ever. instead of clarifying the situa- ton has added to it's difficulties. ln- stead of adopting the lines of the sur veys by which the lands Were located, the surveyors in their wisdom estab- lished new lines totally different from any to be found in the valley. In this way it is rendered impossible to d. vide any tract into equal parts, as halves or quarters, because the subdl- visions of the new survey do not per init of it. It is wholly impossible for the people to locate their ranches cor rectly by the new survey. That Is par ticularly true in the case of entries made since March 31. 1906. Numerous cases have arisen where two parties have entered 16O acres each, side by side, and now when they come to ad- just their tracts find that one has to take 1sO acres and the other 140. Each have made their improvements and the new lines don't suit either party, but the land cffice makes it obligatory upon them to adopt the new official lines.
 Another feature is the new law, passed March 1909, for the sale of isolated tracts, and providing that all tracts less than ten chains in width shall be sold to the present owners of the abutting lands, and that each abutting land owner shall have the right to buy half of the lot. In many cases these lots are all within the tract claimed by one owner, and are made by the surveyors in carrying out their scheme of resurvey on different lines to those employed by the settlers. It will undoubtedly cause somebody to tangle' when the other abutting owner buys half of a mans barn yard and peach orchard.
 MT. Satterwhte has tackled these problems with all the enthusiasm of a true westerner, and with the. ability derived from many years experience, and if the people interested will be fair with each other, his work will be both pleasant and effective. It will be ef- fective anyway, for he has the au- thority to make it so, but it is up to the people to be patient with each oth- CT and not try to take more than they are entitled to, even if the new survey does try to give it to them.
 Tt is thus apparent that with all the aid the government can give, it re- mains largely with the people them selves to untangle the Imperial valley land tangie."
 CAMPRElLS lEAVE-Mr. and Mrs