The Twin Falls times. [volume] (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1905-1916, 1913-08-08
TO SETTLE LAND QUESTION
Senator Brady Working for Settlement
Of Land Matters.

6 of Land Matters.
Washington, ID. c., August 5.-Sena-
d tor James H. Brady is undertaking to
: bring about the adjustment of all Ida
no land matters now pending before
the interior department, including the
: completion of public land surveys, the
final settlement of state selections and
r exchanges of state lands, the DISPOSE
ton of individual entries that long
have been held up for one cause or
! another; in fact everything that has
$ come over from the past administra-
E ton, and can be adjusted on the basis
OF the records
Almost daily, Senator Brady has a
conference with officials of the inter-
5 ior department, and already he has
r many cases up for final decision. He
started in with request. made OF
Secretary Lane, that the department
hasten the survey of unsurveyed lands
: in Idaho, which are now withheld from
entry because of the lack of govern
ment surveys. He has been encour-
aged to believe that this work will
proceed as rapidly as funds allow but
he realizes that progress will be slow
unless continuing appropriations can
be secured for this work in Idaho, and
In the next appropriation bill, he will
ask for such an appropriation for use
!, exclusively in Idaho.
That there is justice in his demand
for Fastening surveys in Idaho is
shown by the fact that there are to-
day over 21,000,000 acres of unsurvey-
ed lands in the state, a larger area
than is found in most of the other
western States, because Idaho has
been peculiarly Disseminated against
in the past. When Senator Brady call
ed this fact to the attention of Secre-
tary Lane, the secretary quickly real
lied and admitted the equity of the
Idaho claim for recognition, and will
cooperate with the senator in an eff
fort to secure from congress a con-
i tinuing appropriation sufficient to
i keep this work going at rapid pace
While much progress has been made
with the exchange of Idaho school
lands in forest reserves for compact
bodies of forest reserve lands, as first
proposed by Governor Hawley, this
work has not been completed. and
congressional action will be necessary
before the government can exchange
surveyed school sections, belonging to
the state, for other lands owned by the
government
Senator Brady will propose bill
! authorizing such exchanges, and will
have the hearty cooperation of other
western senators in pressing it, for
other states are now anxious to fol-
low ldaho's example, and wish to ex-
| change with the government their
) scattered school lands in re-
serves, both surveyed and unsurveyed.
If this legislation can be passed at the
next session, Idaho will be able to adj
just fully its school land transactions
with the government, SO far as forest
reserves are concerned
Idaho, like every other western
state, has many hundreds of acres en-
braced in selections which have not
been finally approved by the interior
department; some of these old selec-
tions date back ten years or more,
and all past efforts to induce the in
terror department to take UP and set
tie these questions have proved un-
awaiting. Senator Brady, however,
finds the present department officials
disposed to pass upon all pending
state selections, approving those that
are found to come within the law, and
rejecting those that do not, so that
the states may know where they stand,
and may file new lists in lieu of
those that may be rejected. In most
instances there is sufficient informa-
ton on file in the department at
Washington to enable the adjustment
or state selections, and SO far as that
is true OF Idaho selections, Senator
Brady is insisting upon early settle
ment He believes it will be had.
There are pending today before the
interior department 259 individual
land cases, distributed among the
various, land districts as follows
Blackfoot, SO; Occur d'Alene, 1O9;
Boise, SO; Lewiston, 35; HALEY, 81
and on petition, L. Where entrymen
have requested his cooperation, Sena-
tor Brady has made special appeals |
for early decisions, and he also has
asked the department to take up, as
espeditiously as possible, all the pend
ing cases, whether he makes special
appeal or not. The work of the de-
partment is way behind, of course, and |
ldaho suhers on this account along |
with other states, but Secretary Lane
has asked congress for an appropria-
ton of $4,000 to enable him to employ |
special attorneys to take up and dis
pose of accumulated cases, and if this
appropriation is made, Idaho will ben
eft Immediately.
Like all other citizens of Idaho. | |
have felt for years that our state was
not receiving that attention and con-
slderation at the hands of the govern
ment that it should, relative to Idaho |
lands, and | made up my mind when |
| assumed the duties of my office that ]
would do all within my power to have
these land matters in our state prop
erly adjusted; the lands surveyed and
classified, and the homesteader have
his patent delivered to him within a
reasonable time after making final
proof.
Il have been investigating the mat
ter for months and have concluded
and am glad to say that / have con-
WINGED the secretary of the interior,
that the people have just cause for
complaint, and we have agreed upon