| Show SCHOOL LANDS President Mills Gives Some Information Infor-mation on the Subject At the meeting of the State Agricultural I Agricul-tural society the school land question was not reached until late at night The farmers seemed to be all at sea on the question haying but a very indefinite indefi-nite idea of the subject apparently having no idpa of the rights of settlers on school lands and seemed to taiow very little in regard to what they themselves them-selves thought best to do In looking the matter the following has been up obtained from a source that is author The reservation land questions ity on of lands sections 16 and 35 to a territory terri-tory f7r the benefit of schools is not a grant but an act with a view to a grant and as territories have no vest in them cannot intervene as ed right between an OTtryman and the government govern-ment But the grant takes effect and title passes to the state without patent or Certificate when the state is admit t < xl So the state has a perfect right to step in as owner of all such school lands as are not excluded from its grant The law excludes as such all land settled upon by qualified preemptor preemp-tor with a view to preemption when said settlement was before the land was surveyed by the United States Thp preemption law provides that a K ettler upon ourveyed land shall be protected pro-tected in his settlement rights for three months from the date of the filing of the plats of said land In the local land office against an Intervening or adverse claimant which some have verse claimed a state to be But the preponderance prepon-derance of evidence has been against a state stepping in to defeat the settler > n though he has not filed within the even statutory period The department has repeatedly held that settlement before and at time of survey excluded the land claimed from the reservation to a ttrritory and hence from the grant to the state and this too in the face of the fact that filing had not been made within the statutory period A cased case-d ided in Utah was that of Jane Hodges involving the north half of the northwest quarter of section 36 township town-ship G south range 2 east as follows before failure of a settler That the i survey to assert his claim within the statutory period does not inure to the I benefit of the reservation to the territory terri-tory A state case in California has been decided as follows School land on which settlement or cultivation was formed at survey did not pass to the state stte stateAgainst the state of Colorado was the following A filing on a school section sec-tion being held for cancellation on a special agents report charging want I of settlement the preemptor is allowed I I al-lowed to furnish final proof in view of I alleged settlement before survey and I continuous residence thereafter though the filing was not placed pf record cord within the statutory period And last but not least the United States I supreme court says in the case of Mining Min-ing company vs Consol Mining company I com-pany 102 U S 167 We are now satisfied sat-isfied tn at whenever the sections 16 and 36 are ascertained by the government govern-ment survey there is either a dwelling house or the cultivation of any portion of the land on which someone Is residing re-siding and is asserting claim to it the title of the state does not vest So while there are some nice little technical points involved in the question ques-tion which I cannot explain by letter I aim of the opinion that a bona fide claim for school land would stand I against the state In 18SO the rights held by a preemptor preempt-or was by law vested in a homesteader homestead-er So in speaking of a preemptor i includes a homesteader and the per emption law is repealed The information comes from a man Whose business It is to know whereof he speaks and is reliable Remembering Remember-ing that the government protects and aids all bona fide settlers in every way possible I would strongly advise all such settlers on school lands before 1SSO to immediately apply through a qualified land attorney for the homesteaders home-steaders rights I is my opinion that it would be better to do this before any state laws are passed on the subject as then the individual will only have to defend himself whereas if he waits till later the cases may become more complicated A A MILLS i President Society Utah States Agricultural |
