Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-06-04

out OF the window The Land Office
capped the summit Of a bold hill. The
eyes of the commissioner passed over
the roofs Of many houses set in pack
ing of deep green, the whole checkered
by strips Of binding white streets. The
horizon, where his gaze was focused,
swelled to a fair wooded emfnence 1ecked
with faint dots of shining white. There
was the cemetery, where lay many who
were forgotten, and a few who had not
cppying very small space, whose child
ish heart had been large enough to de-
sire, while near its last beats, good to
others. The commissioners lips moved
slightly as he whispered to himself: 1T
was her last will and testament, and
have neglected it so long!"
The big, brown cigars of Hamlin and
Avery were fireless, but they still gripped
them between their teeth and waited,
while they marvelled at the absent ex-
preston upon the commissioner face.
By and by he spoke suddenly, and
promptly.
Gentlemen, I have Just Endorsed the
Elias Denny survey of patenting. This
office will not regard your location upon
a part of it as legal" He paused q mo-
ment, and then, extending his hand as
those dear ld-time ones used to do in
debate he enunciated the spirit Of that
ruling that subsequently drove the. land
sharks to the wall, and placed the seal
10000 homes.
And, Furthermore" he continued, with
a clear, soft light upon his face, sit
may interest you to know that from this
time on this office will consider that
when survey Of land made by virtue
Of a certificate granted by this state to
the men who wrested it from the wilder
ness and the savage-made in good faith
to their children or innocent purchasers
when such a survey, although over
running its complement shall call for
any natural object visible to the eye Of
man, to that object it shall hold and
be good and valid. And the children of
this State shall lie down to sleep at night.
and rumors Of disturbers of title shall
not disquiet them. For" concluded the
commissioner, ''of such is the kingdom of
heaven"
In the silence that followed, a laugh
foated up from the patent-room below,
The man who carried down the Denny
file was exhibiting 1t among the clerks.
Look here" he said, delightedly, the
old man has forgotten his name. He's
written, Patent to original grantee and
signed it Georgia Summerfeld, Comr.'"
The speech Of the commissioner re-
bounded lightly from the impregnabie
Hamlin and Avery. They smiled, rose
gracefully, spoke of the baseball team,
and argued feeIingly that quite a percep-
tible breeze had arisen from the east.
They lit fresh, fat brown cigars, and
drifted courteously away. But later they
made another tiger spring for their
quarry in the courts. But the courts, ac-
cording to reports in the papers, ''coolly
roasted them" "a remarkable performance,
suggestive Of liquid air didoes), and sus-
tanned the commissioners ruling.
And this ruling itself grew to be q
precedent, and the actual settler framed
it, and taught his children to spell from
it, and there was sound sleep o. nights
from the pines to the sage-brush, and
from the chapparal to the great brown
river of the north.
But l think, and I am sure the COM
missioner never thought otherwise, that
whether the meanders of the Chiquito ac-
cidentally plated themselves into that
memorable sweet profile or not, there was
brought about something good for a
whole lot Of children" and the result
ought to be called "Georgia's Ruling"