Semi-weekly herald., 1912-01-18
DEPARTMENTAL RULINGS
IN REGARD TO DESERT LANDS

Under departmental order Of April
%, 1911 Gao L. D., SOY, water right
charges become due ON Dec. 1, follow
ing.
In passing the original desert land
act, it was the manifest purpose Of
congress to held out to the citizens
of the United States an inducement to
reclaim the waste and desert lands of
the public domain, and thus render
them subservient to the uses of hus-
bandry by process of irrigation. This
was to be accomplished by such q sys-
TEN of bitches as would carry to the
subdivisions of the land, capable Of
being reached by the surface flow, a
supply of water such as, when let out
of the bitches by draw gates or small
er bitches, might spread over the ac-
cessible parts, and stimulate vegetable
life. If the main bitches were thus
constructed, with the acquired ade-
quate supply of water to irrigate the
lands for the purpose of cultivation in
the ordinary method of carrying it out
over the surface of the ground, we
think the reclamation contemplated by
the statute was accomplished, without
showing that this appropriation was
followed by actual use and cultivation.
The amendatory act of March 8,
1891, does not require any different
character of reclamation, but simply
provides that an expenditure of three
dollars per acre must be shown, and
one-eighth of the land embraced in the
entry must be cultivated and so shown
in the final proof.
Final Proof.
The provisions of section 7 of the
act of March 3; 1891, have no refer
ence to proceedings by the United
States, or it's officers or agents, in
respect to entries therein specified,
and therefore do not affect the con-
duct or action of the land department
in taking up and disposing of final
proof Of entryman after the lapse of
two years mentioned in the act.
A report of special agent of the
general land office cannot be consid-
cred as evidence in contested case
if it is entirely ex parte, without any
opportunity for ross-examination.
Practice.
According to the provisions of rules
so and so of the rules of practice, the
grounds of appeal must be clearly
stated in concise language. General
grounds of appeal without specifca-
ton are insufficient.
Where claimant believes that an
affidavit of contest does not state
good cause of action, objection there
to should be made at the hearing, 9TH
erwise it must be considered as hav-
ing been waived. Citing Paxton VS..
Owen (1S L. D., 540).
A strict construction of section 2372
of the devised statutes as amended
by act of Feb. "a, 1909, provides for
amendment of entries only in cases
where there has been mistake in
the description of the land originally
intended to be entered.
In certain cases the department al
lows amendments of entries made un-
der laws requiring settlement, cultiva-
tion and improvements on the land en-
tered, where through no fault of the
entryman the land is found to be so
unsuitable for the purpose for which
it was entered as to make the COM
pletion of the entry impracticable or
Unless contest is initiated within
two years of the issuance of final re-
ceipt, it will be dismissed, although
patent may have not yet issued. Con-
STRUNG section z of the act Of March
3, 1911.
The granting Of continuance is in
the discretion of the local officers and
unless it is apparent that such dis
cretion has been abused, the same will
not be disturbed on appeal.