Arizona republican., 1913-03-08
Selections Now Ready To- tai of 8O,0O0 Acres. Application Made for Survey of 6.50O,OOO More
WILD-CATTING
 INVESTIGATED
Chairman WinsOr Tells of Work of State Land Com mission in Getting at This. Asks for Special Legislation

This. Asks for Special
 Legislation
 The state land commission got busy yesterday and filed on 50,OO0 acres of land in the Sulphur Springs. This is the second selection made by the land board since it's organization, tOtalling close to 80. 900 acres of land in the state that has been chosen py personal visi- tatiOn and filed upon in accordance with the law of the United States.
 Both the selections have been made in the Sulphur Springs valley, the land [ in that section being among the best i in the state according to the commis- sion, and now much in demand by the 1 owners of Santa Fe script. c In order to avail the state of some i advantage in the matter of the selec- 1 tion of the state lands, and in view of 1 the fact that there are many thousands ! Of acres of the lands not surveyed that 1 is excellent land and worth much more per acre than the three dollar rate pro- vided for the basis of the lieu land value the land commission has trans : mitted to the commissioner of the gen eral land office at Washington. the re quest for the survey of 6,50O000 acres, which has been granted
 Pending and during the survey of this land it is withdrawn from entry, and after the completion of the sur vey, the state has preference right ! of sixty days upon which to file on t.l, others than the state of Arizona are automatically estopped from selecting the land.
 Since the statements that the owners
 of the Santa Fe script were getting eX-
 ceedingly active in all parts of the
 state, the land commission has been conducting investigations 10 find out how this was. especially since it was charged that the lands chosen in lieu of
 those of the Navajo were of so
 much better quality. The investigation
 nas shown that a large number of fil-
 ings of lieu land script has been placed
 upon land that has heretofore been
 selected either under the desert land act or the homestead act. and that the settler in order to make it unnecessary for him to further live out the stated number of years on the land, has in
 many cases brought script at $500 per acre and placed that on his homestead
 or desert entry as the case may be, for
 the purpose of settling the bet made
 between him and the United States at
 the time the original entry was made,
 when he wagered the United States
 sixteen dollars against 160 or $40 acres
 that he would live on the land four
 years and make the necessary improve
 ments.
 It is believed that these filings have , in many instances been referred to un-
 der the belief that better than lieu land
 was beng obtained. That many of the
 faults charged up to the land agents of
 the railway and the government were
 committed by actual settlers who took advantage of their opportunity. The land commission has said however in , connection with the work of that office
 many times heretofore that there was
 no intention on the part of the state
 commission to interfere with actual bona fide settlers.
 Yesterday Chairman Winsor made
 the following statement to a represen tatve of The Republican in connection , with the work of the land office of
 Arizona n investigating these matters. Land "Wid catting."
 Scores of homestead and desert fil-
 ings are being made each day in the
 local land office a circumstance which.
 while affording, as an evidence of the
 states upbulding. qualification to the
 commission. has also occasioned an in
 estigation sufficient to convince the
 commission that much of the land be-
 ing filed upon is worthless. and many poor people are being defrauded by the , false representations of unscrupulous
 boomers" who induce the locators 10
 believe that they can go on the land
 and make living from the product of , their efforts. The only one who is likely to make a living off of the trans , action is the boomer. who receives a s large fee for locating the too credulous a home seeker This practice. so far as
 known. cannot be laid at the door of p established and recognized land agents. whose vocation is both legitimate and i; necessary, but is the work of the ire ? sponsible and frequently tinerant con { fidence men who are versed in this 2 particular class of wild-catting. The situation. in the commissions opinion, : 1 is deserving of most vigorous investi- ? eation and discoveries of fraud should 1 be visited, through the medium of sal a utary laws with severe punishment. Arizona has wise laws aimed at the } prevention, suppression. and punish I