Show LATEST TELEGRAMS l Important to Settlers Washington 18The secretary of the interior has decided a question of much importance to settlors on lands within the limits of railroad grants where settlements set-tlements be made after the withdrawal of lands and before the data of definite location lo-cation of the line of rotd The secretary held such withdrawal inoperative against settlers and that settlers are protected by the statutes up to the time tke line of road is fired It appears preliminary withdrawals have generally been made in part for the benefit of the land grant railroads before definite location of roads and that settlement rights have been excluded from withdrawn lands A large amount of land has been ao withdrawn for the Northern Pacific Atlantic and Pacific Texas and Pacific and New Orleans and Pacific roads Secretary I Sec-retary Tallers decision opens up some lands to settlement and entry under the I homestead and preemption laws of the United States Some time sgo the attorney general transmitted to the secretary of the interior a letter from the district attorney confirming the reports that large areas of public lands have been put under the wire fence act of the territory terri-tory The district attorney believed the parties could not be molested under the existing law A man named Swan had leased alternate sec tion and then fenced in an enormous area of school lands Toller has written a vigorous letter to the attorney i attor-ney general answering the communication communica-tion in which he says it being a question to say if local sentiment will prevent courts aad juries from performing their duties at the instance of proper authorities authori-ties He has also laid a bill before Congress Con-gress to aid in suppressing outrages but meanwhile recommends that energetic nowures be taken by the department of justice that the district attorney be directed rected to proceed against Swan and that suits be instituted to recover tbe money ior having cut hay from landas originally enclosed 11 |