Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1911-06-16
OLD FEDERAL STATUTES
TO HAMPER R. R. SUITS

eral government against the Southern
Pacific company to recover large
tracts of land in Oregon and Call
fornia, the government declaring that
the land has been forfeited by refusal
Of the road to sell land to settlers
~ a price not to exceed $3.50 an acre,
the company contends, or rather some
OF It's officials contend, that no pur.
chasers could be had. Regardless OF
this resident OF Grants Pass. who
ras lived in Josephine county for
thirty years, and who has made for.
tune In placer mining, stated to The
Courier today that he and others had
tried to buy some OF the land lying In
this county, but that the road refused
10 sell
II Is also stated that the road
claims the mineral "This," said the
mining man, rs bold contention In
view OF the fact that everybody else
must observe the law exempting min.
eral when they purchase land from
the government"
The Courier Friday published a
United Press dispatch from Washing
ton that In view OF the pending lltlga-
ton that the government would seek
to enjoln the Southern Pacific COM
pany from taking oil from the Cali
fornia fields. This brought out the
facts that two statutes, one passed In
1891 and one In 1895, may strongly
hamper the government in It's suit to
recover these congressional lands. The
San Francisco Examiner Of yesterday
tells the story as follows:
Fuel oil men read with much In
terest the dispatches from Washing
ton in "The Examiner" OF yesterday
of how q bill slipped through con-
gress March 3, 1891, and one March
s. 1895, by which Southern Pacific
and other land-grant roads will now
hamper, II not defeat altogether,
proposed suit by the federal authori-
ties.
The suit is designed to cancel the
patents to the Central Pacific Rail-
road company and the Southern Paci-
fic Railroad company, ad1uncts of the
Southern Pacific company, OF thou
sands OF acres of land In the oil
bearing districts of the San Joaquin
valley on the ground that they are
mineral in character.
Herrin Land Adviser.
Both the late c. p, Huntington and
Senator Stanford were alive when the
first Of these acts was enacted by
congress. Huntington was alive when
the second act was adopted.
William #. Herrin became chief
counsel for the roads in 1898. Herrin,
among other things, has charge OF
all railroad land matters. He Is at
present In Europe, and no Southern
Pacific official cared to discuss the
matter yesterday, save William Sin
ger, Jr., who Is the land attorney
For the company under Herrln
"The two acts referred to-" he
said, "are general statutes OF con-
eress passed to make patent titles to
government land secure to whomso-
ever buys II, whether individuals rail-
roads, or other companies and corpo-
rations, The Southern Pacific had
nothing to do with the framing and
presentation OF those two bills, nor
did the company seek to aid their
passage through congress
Value Is Bclitucd.
"Much OF the railroad land in
question was patented twenty and
twenty-five years ago Much OF this
land grant was sold at 81 and $3.50
an acre to hundreds of people The
company would have sold II all years
ago had there been purchasers
THE supreme court OF the United
States has held that the land depart
ment of the government must deter
mine whether lands granted to rail-
roads are mineral IN character
III II decides they are not mineral,
then patents are issued to the road
md that ends the matter. That was
done with all Southern Pacific lands,
and its title Is valid and secure,
"Thc act OF 1891 has expired The
net OF 1896 succeeded II and Is simp-
ly u bar TO useless litigation and an
unnecessary cloudlng Of patent titles.
There was no secrecy about the enact
ment of these acts, and well-lnformed
uoplc have all along known OF them
and their purport"