Arizona republican., 1911-01-23
FACTS CONCERNING
 ARIZONA LANDS
Interesting Items Cleaned From Re port of the Commissioner
 Of the c. L. O.

The report of the commissioner of the general land office to the secre- tary of the interior for 1910. hand somely bound. has been received at the office of the surveyor general. From it's many interesting pages are gleaned some matters of information of special interest in Arizona, among them the following:
 A paragraph on the subject of a new division, says: Tt has been
 deemed advisable and sanctioned by you (secretary of the interiOr), to
 send all of the government contested cases to a new division which was
 created for that purpose. Under for mer practices division 'P.' or the
 division which had jurisdiction over
 the work of the special service force, also took jurisdiction of the contest ed cases Ii was thought that this carried into the contest too much of
 the personality of the force which had the duty of preparing and trying
 the case and that, therefore, it was not good administration Under the present practice the determination of the case is absolutely divorced from any inferences which may have sur rounded the preparation and trial of | the case. and the record only is sub
 mitted to the lawyer who acts as ad- Indicating officer. By eliminating | from the papers the special agents report it is considered that any pos l sibility of an undue influence being
 exercised on the mind of the deciding
 officer is removed This is further achieved by separating this adjudicat- ing division from the division which has charge of the steps leading to the trial of the case"
 Concerning surface law the report says: "Of the important legislation passed by the last congress affecting
 the public lands, that under which ! the homesteader can secure sur | face patent to his land. where the ! land is underlaid by coal. will prove of the greatest benefit: and it will
 when it's provisions are thoroughly ] understood and it's operation properly i inaugurated. obviate the delay which | is now experienced and also the nee | esSary contest over the existence or l non existence of coal upon any par l ticular tract of land. under which coal deposits are alleged to exist. The | homesteader will secure that which | he seeks Gan agricultural entry upon which he can raise his crops). and | the government will reserve for fu- i ture disposition the coal which may 1 be found in the ground beneath. The [ l 1909. opened the way for d proper
 understanding of the new act. and il ! is felt that there will be little diff | culty in it's correct administration | There have been received in this of ! flee several applications to purchase | the coal deposits in cases where tho | surface patent has already beer ! granted under the provisions of this Il act"
 In the many tables of statistical in Il formation there are numerous items
 of interest Some of them are a. I follows:
 | Of the total area of 113.956 square
 miles. or 72.931.s4O acres in Arizona there are 116 square miles or 4.24t
 acres of water surface. fl From the passage of the act o I March 3. 1877 to June 30. 1910. tn, I original desert land entries in Ari- I zona numbered 5,24S with an acreage I of 1.i65.4 .435.25 and the final entrie. ,I numbered S32 with a total acreage o Il 243.4S614. Evidently some of the en- T trymen failed to prove up. The cos q of the original entries was s414.. ,i 2532O and of the final entries s234. 95S.91 or a total paid for entries. o 1, s64921211
 T Since the act of March 3. 1873. to II June 90. 1910. there have been 2 I coal land entries in Arizona with ( total acreage of 3.S2S.39. at an ex. I pense of S46,2s3.9O.
 | June 20. 1910 the amount of unap- I propriated and unreserved government land in Arizona was 4L491.3 acres of which 12.361.S14 acres have beer
 surveyed and 29.129,555 acres remain I to be surveyed
 | The estimated area of the national Il forests in Arizona at the same dat,
 was 15.214.745 acres
 Il The total amount of unimproveC 4 public land of all kinds in Arizona or ,I June 30 was 51,726.O16 acres. tn, T amount of surveyed land being 21. V I21 5SA acres