Show 1 11 ill from ilia dolly ot october I 1 RESERVED LANDS the workings of that part of the interior department as the general land office have not always been characterized by the fairness and honor with w aich a great and generous government hould deal with its citizens some of atie officials placed in charge of that department have assumed their duties and conducted their business as though in the firt place the western bettler had set out to rob the goern meat on this basis no matter what the laws might be with reference to grants of the public domain they have acted as though the chief business of the was to play the spy impose irksome conditions pile up and increase delays in the issue of the patent by every means in their power unfortunately the people who have suffered red under this manipulation have been the bona fide settlers not the speculators alie latter have perpetrated grosa frauds and every obstacle which can be thrown in the way of the continuance of those frauds is not only legitimate but imperative but with the r abt sort of officials there is no reason why in resisting the steals of lie sharks the honest homesteader should be put to annoyance delay and expense only to find at last in n any instances that bis labor patience and money have benefited him nothing the recent decision of the department withdrawing from settlement such lands as are contiguous to large water bodies or such as may be submerged if tle area of these lakes be increased is arbitrary and in many cases unjust though doubtless prompted by the best of intentions in many places desirable land is alius reserved reher ved eliat w ill never be devoted to reservoir purposes land whose topography renders such nse of it impossible in other cases five or ten times much is reserved as can ev er be need in no single instance that we recall is the government proposing to construct tae reservoirs for n aich it is making these provisions in but two so far as is known does any one else propose to assume the expense for the lands reserved will therefore become the prize of men whose skill in the technicalities of law or the length of whose purse is such as to warrant them in undertaking a contest while legitimate who already bave claims or who desire to make filings are as asual out and injured at the approaching session of con grees eaily attention should be given to the land legislation of the country vested rights should ba protected and the settler should ba favored as aganet alie land grabber it lands are to be reserved for reservoir purposes they should be selected in reason and designated desiena ted accurately in a word there should ba greater fairness toward the bone and sinew of the west and less favoritism and red tape in the of the of ficiala in the east |