SALE OF LANDS ACQUIRED UNDER THE RECLAMATION ACT

An act to provide for the sale of lands acquired under the provisions of the reclamation act and which are not needed for the purposes of that act. (Act February 2, 1911. ch. 32, 36 Stat. 895)

[Sec. 1. Sale of lands not needed for irrigation works-AppraisalSale at public auction.]-That whenever in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior any lands which have been acquired under the provisions of the act of June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and two (Thirty-second Statutes, page three hundred and eighty-eight), commonly called the “reclamation act," or under the provisions of any act amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, for any irrigation works contemplated by said reclamation act are not needed for the purposes for which they were acquired, said Secretary of the Interior may cause said lands, together with the improvements thereon, to be appraised by three disinterested persons, to be appointed by him, and thereafter to sell the same for not less than the appraised value at public auction to the highest bidder, after giving public notice of the time and place of sale by posting upon the land and by publication for not less than thirty days in a newspaper of general circulation in the vicinity of the land. (36 Stat. 895.)

NOTES

Sale of canal easement.—A right-of-way easement for a canal, involving not more than 15 acres of land, acquired by the United States under the reclamation act, comes within the meaning of the word " "lands as used in this section, and may be sold pursuant to the provisions of this act. (Departmental decision, May 29, 1918, in re Ankeny Canal, Klamath. See p. 328, Reclamation Record, August, 1918.)

Private lands. In the case of private lands acquired by purchase or condemnation, said lands are from the outset definitely segregated from the public domain. The cost of their acquisition must be paid from the reclamation fund, and the lands, when no longer needed for the project, can not be opened to entry under the public land laws but must be sold at public auction, after appraisal, and the moneys received therefor must be paid into the reclamation fund and credited to the project for which it was purchased. (J. D. Mell et al., 50 L. D. 313.)

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Publication of notice of sale of lands.-In the acts of February 2, 1911 (36 Stat. 895), and May 20, 1920 (41 Stat. 605), relating to the sale of lands on Federal irrigation projects, the language by publication for not less than 30 days" deals with the period during which notice is to be given, and is not a statutory requirement that publication be had for 30 consecutive days in a daily newspaper. Where a weekly newspaper of general circulation is the paper nearest the land, the purpose of the statutes will be fully subserved by publication in five consecutive issues of such newspaper. (Departmental decision, June 21, 1920; printed at p. 382, Reclamation Record, August, 1920.)

Sec. 2. [Conveyance of title-Limitation of 160 acres to a person.]— That upon payment of the purchase price, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized by appropriate deed to convey all the right, title, and interest of the United States of, in, and to said lands to the

purchaser at said sale, subject, however, to such reservations, limitations, or conditions as said Secretary may deem proper: Provided, That not over one hundred and sixty acres shall be sold to any one person. (36 Stat. 895.)

Sec. 3. [Proceeds to credit of irrigation project.]-That the moneys derived from the sale of such lands shall be covered into the reclamation fund and be placed to the credit of the project for which such lands had been acquired. (36 Stat. 895.)

WITHDRAWAL OF PUBLIC NOTICES

An act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to withdraw public notices issued under section 4 of the reclamation act, and for other purposes.1 (Act February 13, 1911, ch. 49, 36 Stat. 902)

[Sec. 1. Withdrawal of public notices-Modification and abrogation of water-right applications and contracts.]—That the Secretary of the Interior may, in his discretion, withdraw any public notice heretofore issued under section four of the reclamation act of June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and two, and he may agree to such modification of water-right applications heretofore duly filed or contracts with water users' associations and others entered into prior to the passage of this act as he may deem advisable, or he may consent to the abrogation of such water-right applications and contracts and proceed in all respects as if no such notice had been given. (36 Stat. 902.)

NOTES

Authority of Secretary.-The Secretary of the Interior has no general statutory authority to suspend, even temporarily, public notices issued by him pursuant to section 4 of the act of June 17, 1902, of lands irrigable under reclamation projects, nor does he possess supervisory power to do so in the absence of a specific statute authorizing it. (Departmental opinion, December

31, 1923, in re Shoshone Irrigation Project, 50 L. D. 223.)

1Popularly known as the Curtis Act, being so named for Senator Charles Curtis, of Kansas.

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RELINQUISHMENT OF SECOND-FORM LANDS

An act to amend section 5 of the act of Congress of June 25, 1910, entitled "An act to authorize advances to the reclamation fund,' and for the issue and disposal of certifi cates of indebtedness in reimbursement therefor, and for other purposes." (Act February 18, 1911, ch. 111, 36 Stat. 917)

[Sec. 1. Entries prior to June 25, 1910-Disposal of relinquished lands.]-That section five of an act entitled "An act to authorize advances to the 'reclamation fund,' and for the issue and disposal of certificates of indebtedness in reimbursement therefor, and for other purposes," approved June twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred and ten (Thirty-sixth Statutes at Large, page eight hundred and thirty-five), be, and the same hereby is, amended as follows:

"SEC. 5. That no entry shall be hereafter made and no entryman shall be permitted to go upon lands reserved for irrigation purposes until the Secretary of the Interior shall have established the unit of acreage and fixed the water charges and the date when the water can be applied and made public announcement of the same: Provided, That where entries made prior to June twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred and ten, have been or may be relinquished in whole or in part, the lands so relinquished shall be subject to settlement and entry under the homestead law as amended by an act entitled 'An act appropriating the receipts from the sale and disposal of the public lands in certain States and Territories to the construction of irrigation works for the reclamation of arid lands,' approved June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and two (Thirty-second Statutes at Large, page three hundred and eighty-eight)." (36 Stat. 917.)

NOTES

Amendment.-Section 10, act of August 13, 1914 (38 Stat. 686), amends this

act.

Establishment of farm unit.-Under the act of June 25, 1910, as subsequently amended, lands reserved for irrigation purposes are not subject to settlement or entry until the Secretary of the Interior shall have established the unit of acreage per entry and announced that water is ready to be delivered, and no exception to the rule can be made in favor of an applicant who seeks to make an additional entry of such lands in the exercise of a preference right acquired by contest. (Departmental decision, Bert Scott, April 21, 1921, 48 L. D. 85.)

Entries affected. This act applies to all entries embracing lands reserved for irrigation purposes made prior to June 25, 1910, which have been or may be relinquished, where the entrymen, by reason of the provisions of the act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 835), prohibiting entries for such lands until public notice of water charges, etc., has been issued, have been or may be prevented from realizing the value of the improvements placed by them on their entries by selling such improvements to others desiring to make entry for the lands upon relinquishment of the existing entries therefor. (Fredrek Steebner, 43 L. D. 263.)

The provision that upon relinquishment of an entry within a reclamation withdrawal the lands so relinquished shall be subject to homestead settlement and entry under the reclamation act, has reference only to lands covered by second-form withdrawals, and has no application to lands withdrawn under the first form. (Annie G. Parker, 40 L. D. 406; Ernest Farrington, 40 L. D. 627; Robert H. Williams, 41 L. D. 68. General Land Office instructions of January 25, 1921, 47 L. D. 625.)

The act contemplates only entries legally made prior to the act of June 25, 1910, and afterwards relinquished, and has no application where the former entry was one in form only and in legal contemplation a mere nullity, having been erroneously allowed while the lands were embraced in a first form withdrawal under the reclamation act. (Annie G. Parker, 40 L. D. 406.)

The act has no application where cancellation of the entry was the result of a contest and not of a relinquishment. (Fred V. Hook, 41 L. D. 67.)

It is applicable only to entries under the reclamation act and can not be invoked as to entries canceled prior to the reclamation act or made before and afterwards canceled for fraud. (Ethel M. Catron, 42 L. D. 7.)

It applies only to entries of record next previous to the passage of the act of June 25, 1910, and can not be invoked upon the basis of a relinquished entry preceding the entry of record at the date of the passage of the act. (Fred Anderson, 45 L. D. 504.)

Effect of relinquishment. Upon relinquishment of an entry made prior to June 25, 1910, within a reclamation withdrawal, the lands so relinquished became subject generally to settlement and entry under the homestead law, subject to the provisions of the reclamation act, and there is no authority for further limiting the right of entry of such lands. (Lena Hektner, 42 L. D. 462.) Lands uncovered by conformation not relinquished.-Where a homestead entry covering lands within a reclamation withdrawal is conformed to a farm unit, the lands thereby uncovered are not relinquished within the meaning of this act, and are not subject to entry thereunder. (Robert H. Williams, 41 L. D. 69.) Canceled entry revived. This homestead entry of lands within a reclamation withdrawal, allowed after the entryman had in good faith purchased the relinquishment of a prior entry for the same land under this act, is permitted to remain intact, notwithstanding the prior entry had been canceled though not noted as canceled upon the records of the local office at the time the relinquishment was filed and the entry in question allowed, it appearing that the transaction was in entire good faith and neither the prior entryman, the present entryman, nor the local officers had actual knowledge of the cancellation at that time. (Fredrek Steebner, 43 L. D. 263.)

The rule that no application to enter shall be received until proper notation of the cancellation of a prior entry is made upon the records of the local land office was adopted for administrative purposes and designed primarily for the protection of the rights of contestants and will not be applied with the same strictness in cases solely between the Government and an entryman or an applicant for entry. (Idem.)

Miscellaneous. See section 5, act June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 835), and notes thereunder.

See sections 1-4, inclusive, general reclamation circular, approved May 18, 1916 (45 L. D. 385).