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LAKKVIKW, LAKK COUNTY, OREGON, THURSDAY, NOV. 12, 1903.
NO. I.r).
VOL. XXIV.
A
x
f :
GOVERNOR
IGNORED.
Commissioner Richards Urants
Patent to Warner Lands With
out Notifying Governor.
Hi-cUI luTeli-gram.)
SALEM, Or.. Nov. ft. An action
Will HOOI1 I Instituted III tin United
State Cln-ult Court by the 'ttlrt
of Warner Valley, Lake County, for
the purpose, of setting aside a pntent
Issued by tin tieneral Land Otllce at
Washington, D.C., convey lug title to
the state for Is-tween 4000 ami ftono
acres of land In that county, through
which pateut ttie land become the
lroperty of the Warner Valley Stock
Company, and about 30 homestead
cttlcr im outed from their home.
Thin dispute ban lieen up l-fon
ho State Iand Hoard and R'udliig
declHloa of the (ieneral Iand Ollice
tor several months ami the people
are mostly familiar with the detail
of the controversy. The land In
Uetlou Is claimed by the Warner
Valley Stoek Company through a
deed of conveyance from the; State
under the swamp land act of It
then l-lng classed a swamp land,
ami the settlcrsclalm the right to the
ownership of the property through
vttlcmeiit ssvcral years ago, under
the homestead act. When the dls-j
pute arose, It wan found, when the,
record were consulted that the
tat had never arqulnd title to the I
laud through a patent from theGov- j
eminent, and then-fore had no right j
to deed tin- land to the Warner Val- j
ley Stock Company n swamp land. I
which fa-t nulilled the claim f that
eompaiiy to tin- ownership of the
!!. I mill innile II ttosslhlc fur t he
settler to prove up on their hold-1
lug and acquire title to It from t he j
Government. Thl the latter net !
about doing, but the Warner Valley
Company brought the matter be.
fore the State Land Hoard and linked
that body to apply to the General
Land Ollice for a patent to the land.
The (lovernor refused to take
any action In the matter until he
bad Hindu an liiveHtlgatloii of the
true condition of the land, whether
it be swanqr or otherwise, and deter
mine whether the Htate had any
right to claim It under that classM
catloii. It seem, at leant It wa re.
ported, that the Warner Valley Com
pany wa not HntlHlled with thl ar
rangement, and net about to secure
a patent for the Htato upon It own
reponlblllty. Governor Chamber
lain wa Informed that nomo party
or partle were representing them
selves a agent of tho state before
the department to bring about thl
end, and ho at once net about to
offset It. He addreed a communi
cation to ConimlHHloner Klchard,
Informing him of tho condition of
thing, and requested him not to 1s
kuo a patent to the laud until he
could lnvcHtlgato the matter anil as
certain whether the tate or tho net
tier were entitled to the land.
Governor Chamberlain quoted a
section from tho United State stut
uto In which It wa sjieclflcally set
forth that the Government olllclal
nhould luo no patent to tho tate,
except upon request of thoGovernor,
and ho mado hi request to have tho
patent withheld upon thl author
Ity. Notwithstanding tho Govern
or' request, Commissioner Klchard
Issued the patent to tho tate, while
tho Governor wa on hi way Last,
and placed the patent In tho hand
of the attorneys of tho Warner Val
ley Stock Company.
Governor Chamls'rlaln, when ask
ed about the case yesterday, and
whether he had brought the que,
lion up before the department olll
clal during hi visit to Washington,
said:
"Ye. I did iak to Commission,
er Klchard upon thl subject, and
wa Informed that the question hal
Urn decided, bill the other matter
Is-lng upfor discussion and wo wen
getting along so amicably In the ad
justment of them, that I deemed It
useless to enter Into an argument
over the Warner Valley dispute, es
pcclally since nothing could I gain
ml thereby.
"When I nturned home 1 found a
communication awaiting me hen
from Commissioner Klchard, In
which ho stated he had overruled
my nquet and had granted a pat
ent to the state for the land In con
troversy. I wo not advised of the
Issuance of the patent until I arrived
home, and then 1 wa Informed that
the patent had lcn placed In the
hand of the attorneys of the War-1
ucr Valley Stock Company, a pro
reeding that I without pneedent In
the annul of the State ol On-goii,
for It I customary for the depart
ment to Issue patent through thl
ollh-e, and thercfon the state has no
n-cord of a patent having ts-cii Is
sued. The advice came to my otllce
during my absence, and was dated
(K tols-r 7, llHi.'l.
"I feel that the action of the Gen
eral Iand Otllce, In Issuing the pat
cut over my protest ami placing It
In the hands of the attorneys of the
Warner Valley St.sk Company In
stead of sending It through my ollice,
is extremely discourteous to me, and
lint only to Hie. but to the people of
the State of Oregon, w hom I n pre
sent. The law of liiO provides very
plainly that no patent shall Is-Issued
except upon t he request of t he Gov
ernor, and why Commissioner Mell
aril should override my request to
hold up the patent and Issue It as he
dlil, Is mon- than I can understand."
United States District Attorney
.lolin Mall, of Portland, who ha
Urn eiigiged by Hie set tier to tight
their case ft. r them, was III the city
yesterday, looking up the rccoinl of!
tho cast-, and .1. L. Morrow, of Lake
County, who represents the settlers
Is at work preparing an abstract of
the title of the land, preparatory to
commencing the suit. It will Isi a
cao of tho settler against tho Gov
ernment, and for tho purpose of hav
ing the patent, which they hold was
Illegally bulled, Hot oldo and tholr
title to the land, under the home
Htead act established. At one time,
a few year ago, tho land In quutlou
wa claed a swamp land, but now
It 1 high and dry, aud I said to be
very valuable a agricultural prop
erty.
Has Gone Daft.
A stranger stepped off tho south
ern Htnge lat Monday night and ap
proacnlng an Examiner repreenta
tlve, with tear lu hi eye and a
tremor In hi voice, wanted to know
what they wanted to kill him for.
Said ho had done nothing. Said hi
name wa Ixon Valentine, and had
been herding nhep for J. M. Thomp
hoii In Modoc county. In Altura ho
Maid they told him ho would bo killed
In Lakevlow. Ho wiy taken to the
Lakovlow for tho night, but mado
hi eHcapo early In tho evening and
ha not been hoard of since. He had
two dog with him and wa looking
for a Job of herding hoep, o ho
aid.
RESRRVES TO
BE OPENED.
5enator Pulton 5how President
the Injustice of .VlthdrawaU
Larly Action Uxpected.
The On-gonlau New Kun-uti lit
Washington under date of Nov. B,
sends out the follow lug:
At the solicitation of Senator l-'ul-ton,
l'rcsldeiit Kooscvclt ha In-tcn-sted
himself In the public land
situation lu Oregon, nud prouiU-sto
mi to It that then shall l an ad
justment of the udmtiiUtrallou of
the forestry bureau and of the Inter
ior m-partmcnt which will U satis
factory to the 'ople of Oregon.
During a prolonged conference at
the White House tisluy, Senator
Fulton fully explained the public
land situation In hi state, omphasli
lug the fact that the development of
many counties ha lsn materially
and mrdlessly n-tarded by the rock
less withdrawal of land for fon-st
ivserve purposes. He also explained
tho embarrassment In which huti-
.lr...lj ,.f ..til rt-meii linve Is-en nlaccd
by the overw-atou and unjustifiable
method that have lcii adopted by
the department In nquirlng proof on
tlinls-r and even homestead intrlc
made In n-ecnt month. The Sen
ator made It quite plain that the
public laud situation In Oregon Is
fast approaching a crisis ami decisive
n-medlul action Is mi-essary to re
ston- contldi-nce ami good feelllg
aiuoiig the s-ope.
lie said that while Oregon, as a
whole Indorses the forest reserve
policy, its jH ople do not want all
tin- valuable lands Included within
n-serves, nor do they like to have
settler and those seeking to become
settler humiliated by the aspersion
that they are nt tempt lug to make
fraudulent entries, when lu bu t they
an acting In good faith.
After hi conference Senator I-'ul-tou
said he felt confident the preval
ent abuses would la n-medled, as the
President Intend to take the matter
up with the proper otlicer and In
sist upon a return to conservatism,
not only In fon-stry matter, but In
regard to all form of public laud
en trie.
This probably mean that Is-foro
long a large amount of the urea now
withdrawn will Ik n-stored to entry
and there will lie a let-up lu the
rldlculou cutechlsm through which
entrynun are now put whenever
they attempt to provo up on their
claim.
Tho following I a llt of land
withdrawn In proposed reserves.
Tho Warner Mountain reserve In
Lake county Is the largest.
Miles. Acres.
Wallowa 2 (W,100
Joseph H 322,5110
La Grande 17 3M,IW0
Hlue Mountain KW 3,1.13,4-10
Morrow 15 34-VK)
Mawry's Mountain... 3 fiD.l-H)
Warner Mountain 10(1 3,8L'4,(H0
Addition to Cascade.. 2I f!M),040
Koguo Klvcr M 1,333,320
Total 403 10,mH),ft(!0
Commission Appointed
To Draft Land Laws.
Two weeks ago Tho Examiner
called attention to tho fact that tho
lastsesHlon of tho legislature had
authorized the State Land Hoard to
nrinklnf II. eom 111 1 lien to draft suit
'l l V - w
able laws to regulate Irrigation dls -
trlct of On-goti, and up to that
time no such appointment had Uii
made. Since, however, the appoint
ment have Imcii made, and tho Ore
goiilau comment editorially a
follow:
A committee composed of men
who understand the business from
the standpoint of the engineer, the
Irrigation expert and the lawyer ha
J Urn appointed by the state Land
Hoard to dnifl a set of land law
which will meet the n-qtlln-luclits of
all classes of land purchase or ac-quln-meiit
lu the state. lu the
essential that govern water right,
the acquitment of arid land, etc.,
our pnent law an said to ls un
Miitlsfaclory, and their 'revision I
nqulnd to liisun the pnqs-r pro
tcctlotl of the right of settler. It I
well known that hostility l-tweeti
neighbor that doe not stop short
of murder I fnquciitly engendered
by faulty land title, the encroach
ment upon water rights, boundaries,
etc. As far a law can make clear
matter of thl kind It I desirable
and even necessary that thl should
ls done, And since men who under
stand the mat ter, both In It prue-
'" ,u4lM't ""' Ut t,,k' U
In chargi. we may reasonably Iiok
that the work will l well done.
Tin maxim "Every man to his trade"
applies to other than mechanical
matters, a blunder In lliiaucial
legislation have tis often proved.
Elections L5t Week.
On the same day a the exciting
city election wa held In Iikevlew
last week, many state and cities
hehl elect Ions, and the result wen
very pronounced.
Kuirciio Schnilix. I'niiiu Labor, a
elected Mayor of San Francisco by
an overwhelming majority, oer
Cracker, Hep., ami Lane lem.
In Sacramento llussctt, Democrat,
wa ehi-ted Mayor.
Geo. H. McClcllaii, sou of the fam
ous General, wa elected Mayor of
New York by about Ci.imki. Thl I
regarded a a triumph for Tammany.
Ohio goes Kepubllcaii by an Im
mense majority. Tho Legislature I
Kepubllcaii which Insure the return
of Mark lliuina to the Senate.
Nebraska went Kepubllcaii by
from seven to ten thousand.
Governor lleckhain, Democrat,
carried Kentucky by Lfl.WM).
Pennsylvania gave a Kepubllcau
majority of Ti.OOO.
Kepubllcau elect Campbell Chief
J ustlce of Colorado by 8,000.
Democrats elect Governor aud
legislature of Maryland by 8,000.
The election In Khodo Island re
sulted In the election of a Democrat
Governor. The legislature and bal
ance of State ticket Is Kepubllcaii.
Kepubllcaus carried Massachusetts,
the only noticeable feature being a
falling off of the Socialists vote of
moro than 3,000,
Moore's Commedlans closed their
week's engagement In Lakevlow
lat Saturday night to a well filled
house, In that ancient and well
known play "Kip Van Winkle." As
old as this play is, many people hen
had never seen It boforc. "Old Kip
wakes after a twenty years nap
with nothing but a few rag hang
Ing to him, and when ho picks up hi
gun It fall to piece. HI beard hn
grown to euormou length, and alto
gether tho part was well takon by Mr.
Moore, whose well known ability 1
groatly appreciated In thl nick o' tho
wood. The Moore's wont to Klatu
- T -
1 ttth Falls, propably for tho winter.
TIHBER POOL
IS FORHED.
Owners of Claims In North End of
Lake and Klamath Will Mold
Vor $3ooo for iiach Claim
Every owner of a tlinls-r claim In
the northern part of Lake or Klam
ath counties, who I desirous of get
ting a n-asonalile price for hi pine,
should sign the agreement which I .
U-iiig circulated lu town for the pur
pose of pooling the claims and hold
lug for a price satisfactory to each
Individual claimant, says the I'rlije-
vllle Journal. The move which has
hern Instituted In this city, In con
junction with the timber land own-
In Albany, I one of the lt on
n-cord aud a successful termination
of It mean much In a financial way
to those whom name are on the
list.
The agreement which every uw
ownlng a claim In either of the above-
named counties will ho asked to sign
I simply a pledge on the part of the
owner to hold hi or her claim with
other for one year from January 1,
i:xt. During that time the signers
of the agn-ement agree to sell for
f :iuuO, ami for a price no lower unless
It 1 so agned by a two-third voto
of all the ineiiilsT In the pool.
Then an no bonuses, no grafts In
the scheme, nud It ha Ist-n Inaugurat
ed for the sole purpose of benefiting
the Individual w ho own tlnil-r In
that tclt ami who are desirous of
obtaining a decent and n-pectablo
price for their property.
In Albany, 101 persons have Joined
the pool. These ineinls-r held a
ini-ctlug a short time ago and unan-
Imously elit ted Judge II. 11. Hewitt,
Dr. N. E. Wlnnard and John Poshay
as a committee to secuiv t ho co-operation
of other UiiiImt holder resid
ing lu Prlnevllle and It vicinity, and
Inten-st timber companies who are
willing to pay for what they an
getting. Dr. Wlnnard wa lu Prlne
vllle last Saturday and Sunday and
secured 31 slgnatun' to the agree
ment. Then an 131 mon who own
tlinls-r lu Klamath and Lake coun
ties and practically all of these will
Ik seen thl week or word sent them
byj. E. Spinning, who I looking
after tho matter In Prlnevllle.
Dr. Wlnnar.l ha HKut consider
able time hi working up tho agree
ment among tho timber owner aud
there seems to lie no doubt but that
4M,,, ,,w.n clnl iii until In II wit dis
trict Inside of the next week will be
parties to the agreeuieut to hold
their claims for the price named.
Timber companies have been notified
that tho pool was formed and Judge
Hewitt who Is known all over the
Willamette Vulley has given out
that tho prlco asked for will not lx
excessive provided they can get
together enough claims.
Turned Back too Soon.
J.C. Porter, a Silver Lake stock
iuiiu, turned back 300 head of cattle
from Modoc Point this week, having
brought them dowu for the inspec
tion of a cattle buyer or two who
didn't show up. Mr. Porter didn't
waste any tlmo In waiting for them,
either, and promptly headed his cat
tle northward. Klamath Expn'ss.
Tho Examiner learns that the cat
tle buyer arrived a fow days after
Mr. Porter left, and was Just In tlmo
to catch some other cattle men who
were driving to market, and pur
chased tholr beef.
'J