The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-12-08
Iand system 81 he United States.

land system Of the United States.
The bulk Of Incorporated public
lands was set aside for the support
of the free school system, following
the example set by the United States
in making liberal donations to the
public land states for similar pur-i
poses. Sales and leases Of the school
lands in Texas have been made in,
general accordance with the proceed
Hure OF the United States land Office.
One Characteristic incident Of the
Texan land system is its declaration
as to navigable streams. To provide
for a rectangular survey and o con-
sistent treatment Of fractional parts
OF squares, 1t was desirable to con-
stitute streams as boundaries wher-
ever possible, AS general PROPOSE
ion. private ownership goes to the
middle of non-navigable streams and
to the banks Of navigable streams and
the Texas legislature gave the sur
vey the decision and decreed that q
stream thirty feet wide should be-
deemed nayigable, no matter what its
depth.
AS to the territory included in the
state Of California had no claims to.
independence Of Mexico and had no.
separate form Of government prior to.
the Mexican war, there was no recog-
milton OF its sovereignty and title to
receipt OF the unappropriated public
lands, as was the case with regard
to Texas. On the contrary, the act
granting statehood to California con-,
tanned the provisions that the state
should never interfere with the dispo-
sion OF these lands by the United
States, should do no act to impair
the title OF the United States and
should never impose taxes on the
lands while the federal government
still held the title.
Z The public lands in California had,
therefore, a similar status to those,
in other public land states and were
similarly held and allotted by the
United States. A grant of five hum
|dred thousand acres was made to the
state for school purposes and this.
land was sold, leased, or otherwise
disposed Of under state laws.
There Is, however, in California, q
considerable body Of land law result
ing from the terms and conditions OF
|old Spanish municipal and other
grants, which were affirmed of came
uncontested into effect under the
Anglo-American occupation. An In
teresting legal situation once existed
in connection with the waterfront Of
the city Of San Francisco. Under the
civil law, beach and water rights are
more clearly in the sovereign than
under the English practice and the.
considerable extension Of the water
front of San Francisco into the bay
created valuable property. the title
to which was claimed by the state
and which formed the subject of ex-
tensive litigation.
A provision in the constitution OF
Texas requires the legislature to pro-
vide heavy penalties for the forgery
of land titles and this resulted from
a series of incidents common to all
the lands dependent on Spanish grant.
The nature OF Spanish documentary
evidence offered temptations to I'M
scrupulous or desperate claimants
during the clearing Of titles in Texas
and California and it required a high
degree of skill and long and pat
lent research to discredit some Of the
manufactured patents offered for COM
firmation.
Tomorrow: Land Titles, The Pub
lie Land System.