The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1915-12-17
SUIT STARTED AGAINST
CANYON COUNTY
OFFICIALS

Action has been started in the
United States courts by United States
Attorney John L. McClear, acting in
behalf of the government, to restrain
the officers of Canyon county from
assessing the lands of homesteaders
on the Boise Reclamation project,
who have not obtained full patent for
their holdings. There are approx
mately 1000 homesteaders interested
in this suit, some of whom hold moth
ing more that a receipt from the gen.
eral land Office. Others have receiv-
ed conditional patents, conditioned
upon their paying the full value of
their water rights, which value has not
been ascertained and announced by
the Reclamation Service. The action
is somewhat similar to that institute
ed against the officials of Lincoln
county some years ago in behalf of
the entrymen on the Minidoka pro-
ject, which was decided in favor of
the government. However, a propot-
ton of the settlers under the Boise
project having received conditional
patents, are not exactly in the posi-
ton occupied by the Minidoka en-
trymen when the government brought
suit to restrain the Lincoln county
officials from assessing their lands.
Gist of Complaint.
The title of the suit is United Sta
ties of America versus Canyon County
L. c. Knowlton, auditor; Sarah ].
Handy, treasurer; c. Q. Adams, c. B.
Ross and Carl w. Geisler. commits
sioners, and A. o. Christopher, asses
sor. The complaint, which is neces-
sarily lengthy, sets forth the fact that
entrymen to the number of about one
thousand filed on homesteads under
the Boise irrigation project, construct
ed by the government reclamation
service at a cost of approximately
eleven million dollars; and how they
complied with the law regarding resi-
dence, reclamation and cultivation.
Status of Homesteaders.
Those who filed on what might be
termed the first segregation have
received conditional patents, but the
title to their lands is still vested in the
government Others merely have the
governments final receipt for their
filings. Still others have made resi-
dence proof but not agricultural proof.
In no case has full patent passed to
the settler.
The lands of-all the entrymen were
assessed for 1915 by the assessor OF
Canyon county, and the government
asks that this assessment be declared
illegal, null and void, inasmuch as title
to the lands assessed still rests in the
government, even in the case of those
entrymen who have received condi-
tional patents. The latter entrymen,
not having fully paid up their water
rights, have not fulfilled the condi-
tons of the patents they hold. The
reclamation service has not officially
announced the actual cost of water
rights on the project, nor can this
cost be aScertained until the works
are fully completed.
No Complaint From Ada.
No complaints have been made by
entrymen in Ada county whose lands
are under the Boise project and who
were assessed this year. Assessor
Kinkaid, being obliged to use his own
judgment in the absence of precedent
assessed those homesteaders who held
final receipts or conditional patents,
but did not assess entrymen who had
made residence proof but not agricuI-
tural proof, of whom there are quite a
number.
The purpose of the action is to
ascertain the legal status of the set
tiers on government reclamation pro-
jects with respect to taxation OF
their lands.
To determine the rights of entry
men on Carey Act lands it was neces-
sary to appeal to the supreme cour'
of the United States, which held in
effect that the lands became taxable
so soon as the settler had complied
with the law. regai diess of whether
or not he had received patent.