| OCR Text |
Show Ill; INSTRUCTIONS S OF LAND OFFICE : H Federal officials in Utah, whose du- i 9 f'es have to do with, lands, have re- Iraffl ceived a letter of instructions, signed jfl"H Dr Clay Tallman, commissioner, and m approved by Andrieus A. Jones, first l ' assistant secretary of the interior. , I k i anent the recent decision in the Sweet j I case against the government. In this j J case the United States circuit court 'j M of appeals held that Utah could dis- ;j pose of school lands given to the , 1 Btate under the enabling act, irrespec- J tive of whether or not such lands con- Mrt tained mineral. The letter follows- I ' 1 Jn, the case of Frederick A. Sweet, I fg aaministrator, vs. the United States, v fU tbe United states circuit court of ap peals for the Eighth circuit in construing con-struing the grant of school lands to the state of Utah, held, in an opinion filed September 27, 1915, that by the terms of the enabling act congress granted to the state the lands valuable val-uable for minerals, as well as all other lands, in sections 2, 16, 32 and 36, in each township, not expressly excepted except-ed from the grant In section 6 of said act. Heretofore the department, in the adjustment of this grant, has held that mineral lands were excepted therefrom, there-from, but In view of this decision and the great importance of the questions involved to the federal government, to the state of Utah and its transferees, it is thought advisable ro suspend all further action in the land department in the adjustment of this grant, so far as the same may involve the question ques-tion of mineral exception therefrom, until such time as a final decision may be secured thereon in the supreme su-preme court of the United States. You will, therefore, in all cases of application to make entry of lands included In sections 2, 16, 32 and 36 in your district, based on the alleged mineral character of the land applied for, receive and transmit such applications appli-cations to this office with your monthly month-ly returns until such time as you are further directed. All cases pending before you on hearings in which this question Is involved in-volved will also be suspended under this order. The government will appeal the Sweet case to the United States supreme su-preme court. |
