The Glenwood post., 1924-09-04
LAND OFFICE NOTES
(By Walter Spencer, Begister)

Il A recent trip of the writer into the
farming districts of the northwestern
part of the state has disclosed conclu-
sive evidence of the efficacy of the
Couie theory. Everybody was singing
cit Ain't Agoin' to Rain No More"
and sure enough it didn't.
Although there has been falling off
of applications in the Glenwood
Springs land office the past month,
the work has not greatly diminished
owing to the numerous adjustments of
the thousand and more oil and gas
filings made during the rush season.
The office still continues well in the
lead of the "a land offices in the
United States. The last comparative
report received is for the month Of
June when Glenwood received 424
new applications. the nearest compet-
itor being Visalia, California, with 329,
and the nearest in the state being Pu-
eblo with 1877.
AS has been stated in previous ar
ticle, registers and receivers are paid
on fee system, the same as county
officials, with maximum salary. All
above that maximum must be returned
to the United States. The Glenwood
Springs office has never gone below
1.-The maximum and consequently the
officers have always had to turn an
amount of their fees to the govern
/ ment. During the fiscal year from
July 1, 1922, to June 80, 1923, they
remitted to the government $13 457.72
of these fees and also homestead fees
amounting to $4,s3o. But during the
last fiscal year, July 1, 1923, to June
80, 1924, they have remitted $42, $50. .12
and $5,070 homestead fees, which would
have constituted very acceptable SAL
ary if it could all have been retained.
In point of new business the local land
office has headed the list of govern
ment land offices during the months of
, April, May and June of this year, and
with7 the production Of oil royalties
now commencing, it may soon become
the greatest in financial income.
President Coolidge's thrift policy 8
receiving attention in all government
. departments, and in accordance with
| this policy the Glenwood office will
soon voluntarily reduce its force back
to the number Of clerks required be-
fore the oil boom. It IS desired to
keep the roster as low as possible and
still give competent service to the pub
lie. If all branches of the government
service would follow Glenwood 's exam
pie, the taxes would soon begin to
tumble.
The long delays occasioned to home.
steaders while waiting for field exam
nations to be made are to be eliminat-
ed by the regional system adopted by
the new chief of the field division,
Ralph s. Kelley. 1t is anothe eco
nomical method adopted to prevent
the necessity of field examiners
doubling back" or covering the same
ground several times. Wiley G. Brown
has been given the homestead and iso-
lated tract cases in the northwestern
part of the district, T. j. Elmes has
Craig and the northeastern portion,
and Benjamin f. +. Heron is taking
care of the southern part. G. NJ. Kintz,
mineral examiner, has been transferred
from Salt Lake to examine mineral
cases in connection with the great oil
shale district in western Rio Blanco,
Garfield and Mesa counties Mineral
Examiner Oral j. Berry, with head
Nquarters at Glenwood Springs, has
completed desert examinations for this
district, and is now beginning q num-
ber Of examinations in the Montrose,
Iueblo, Leadville, Denver and Durango
districts. All Of these mon are work.
ing out of the Glenwood office, but
are under the supervision of the Den
J yer field division.
On August o1st the Transcontinenta1
Oil company filed in the land office at
Glenwood Springs an application for
lease covering their holdings in the
Moffat structure. This is the first
lease filing that has resulted from the
discovery of commercial production Of
oil in the Moffat county field on Jan.
uary Is Of this year.
The lease application cites that tn