Arizona republican., 1914-06-14

to suspend these lieu land selections. This was passed by the senate but was held up in the house. The commission thereupon began gathering the data and information contained in the report. The first specific protest against a proposed exchange was that of 21,OoO acres owned by the New Mexico and Ari- zona Land company in the Navajo l reservation for lands within the area withdrawn for the Colorado river project. In this connection the pro- test called the attention of the de- l partment that the frequent and of tentimes unwarranted additions to Indian reservations and the with drawal of large areas for long and 1 indefinite periods facilitated such I transactions as the one complained of.
 The report states that soon there l after all such proposed exchanges I were suspended though later the I commissioner of. the general land of l flee recommended the removal of the ] suspensions, It was then that the I commission proposed to submit data
 to the department in opposition to ! the passing to patent of these lieu l land selections.
 ] From the report these facts were | gathered: The lands originally grant | ed to the Atlantic and Pacific Rail road company consist of alternate | sections for forty miles on each side of the railroad company. Some Of l these lands were always worthless, l trough some of them were covered ! with timber which has since been ] removed.
 This land had been regarded by i the owners and by disinterested per
 sone as worth from 25 cents to 45 | cents an acre, though much of the 1 land, especially that within the vast Painted Desert, was absolutely 1 worthless.
 | The scrip issued on this land was
 sold by the railroad company at $2.50
 an acre and by spectators to whom | it has been sold at about $3 an acre. It was shown that of the Moqui base scrip there were 345,2SS acres: ot l Navajo base (Santa Fe Pacificl 1 3274O2 acres: of Navajo base (New l Mexico and Arizona Land company, | 21, ,095 acres, total of 693,7S6 acres ! Of this the.e already has been pat 1 ented Moqui scrip selections. 245,909 acres There are left undisposed of, much of it selected but not patented. ] 447,S77 acres.
 1 Replying to the contention that l this scrip has passed into the hands of settlers. innocent purchasers. the l commissions report shows that 1 while there are some 920 of these l purchasers. the greater volume is not
 in the hands of settle!s. but of 1 large land owners or cattlemen. This is illustrated by the maps 1 which have been prepared after 1 of the land office. In one case it is
 shown that the owner of the scrip covering several sections laid it in | such a way as to surround entirely
 several other sections which from
 their position become essentially d part of his holdings. The maps
 also show that much of this Navajo
 base and Moqui scrip is laid adja cent to land covered by forest scriI representing really valuable ]an0 and which cost S15 an acre. The irvestigat tions of the commission show that much of the land. espe-
 cially in Pima county. recently GOV
 cred with Modui and Navajo scrip is
 held by the owners at as much as s25.
 According to the report, compara
 lively little hardship would result tc actual settlers from a refusal to is
 sue patents on their lands. In most cases, according to the investigation
 of the commission. the individual
 settlers who have scripped theii
 lands had become weary of comply
 ing with the conditions of entry and would have relinqushed them if the
 opportunity to scrip them had not presented itself.
 1 It is contended by the commission
 that the exaggerated woes of the set
 Ter have aeen put forward by the
 dealers in and holders of the scrip and the large landholders who are
 asking that their scripped holdings bo passed to patents.
 The maps show among othe.
 things that this scrip has been
 riaced along waterways in such 8 manner as to control the large areas of land on either side
 1 Among the papers is long and
 interesting account. in the shape oi h diary prepared by MT Moody oi
 the commission in the course of ar Investigation of the character of the
 land in the Painted Desert" upor which much of the Navajo sc.ip is based