Arizona republican., 1911-08-15
Trying To Save Money for Mining Claimants
 - < TIT TOO LATE IN THE YEAR
New Order Regarding Pro- cedure Which Would so Delay Patents Claimants
 Would Be Compelled to Pay for Assessment Work.

There was feceived at the office of the surveyor general yesterday in- structions regarding a change in the procedure of perfecting patents on mining claims. The change would not strike the average claimant as one which would affect him but coming at this season of the year it will very seriously affect about seventy-five claimants whose patents are underway and it would be well for them to take action which would result in a postponement of the new order until after the first of next I year.
 The instructions follow;
 "The following instructions are is- sued in pursuance of plan for prep aration and disposition of plats of survey of mining claims. which was approved by the First Assistant Sec retary of the Interior June 6, 1911. "The surveyor general will prepare the original plat on form 4-675. All lines clear and sharp in black. All letters and figures clear and sharp in black.
 'The original plat so prepared, will be signed and dated by the surveyor general and forward to the General Land Office flat or in tube and un- mounted
 The Commissioner will have three interchangeable copies made upon drawing paper. which copies. with the original plat, will be forwarded to the surveyor general, the dupli- cate. triplicate, and quadruplicate to be signed by him, and the four plats to be filed and isDosed of in the same manner as provided in para graph 34 of the Mining Regula- tions, viz: one plat and the original field notes to be retained in the of flee of the surveyor general; one copy of the plat to be given the claimant, for posting upon the claim; one plat and a copy of the field notes to be given the claimant, for filing with the proper register. to he fin ally transmitted by that officer. with other papers in the case, to this of flee, and one plat to be sent by the surveyor general to the register of the proper land district. to be re- tained on his files for future refer ence.
 "A certain number of photOlitho- graphic copies will be furnished the surveyor-general for sale at a cost of 30 cents each, and a photolithogra- phic copy printed on tracing paper will be furnished the surveyor gener- al, from which blue prints may be made, to be sold at cost.
 It was undoubtedly the purpose of a paternal and beneficent govern ment to make things easier for claimants and as a matter of fact under the new order the cost of per fecting a patent will be reduced, per haps by about s10, for the photo- Photographic copies of the original plat will be much cheaper than cop ies are prepared by draftsmen in the lofice of the surveyor general.
 But the trouble comes here :the claimants have, as they always do, delayed their applications until it is now so late in the season that only under the excellent machinery of the surveyor generals office can be claims go to patent by the end of the year. It is estimated that if the original plats could be completed by say. October 10. there would still be time to perfect the patents before the end of the year.
 But under the new arrangement the original plats would have to be sent back to the department and re- turned to the office of the surveyor
 fV,,n hnc 6 would be about fourteen days. Then there would be the time occupied in making the phOtolithographic copies of the plats It can hardly be SUD- posed that work would be begun i'm mediately on the receipt of the ori- ginals. That would be breaking tho government record for doing things The work would probably not be completed for days and perhaps fol weeks At any rate, even if the de- partment should move with unprece- dented expedition the patents could lnot be completed this year and the claimants would be subjected tO tho expense of s10O for assessment work something they are now especially trying to avoid.
 l If tho operation of the new order should be deferred until the begin ring of the year, claimants could he informed of it and application fol hsurveyors next year could he made so early that allowing for the dila- tory movements of the department the patents could be perfected by the end of the year.