6 of 6 DOCUMENTS

LAWS AND REGULATIONS RELATING TO TOWN SITES, PARKS, CEMETERIES, AND RECREATIONAL SITES

[Circular No. 1132] n1

n1 For prior regulations see 5 L.D. 265, 32 L.D. 156, and 38 L.D. 92.

Department of the Interior

52 I.D. 106; 1927 I.D. LEXIS 30

April 27, 1927

OPINIONBY:  [**1] 
SPRY

 [*106]  DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, D.C. TOWN SITES
TOWN SITES RESERVED BY THE PRESIDENT
(United States Revised Statutes)
SEC. 2380.  The President is authorized to reserve from the public lands, whether surveyed or unsurveyed, town sites on the shores of harbors, at the junction of rivers, important portages, or any natural or prospective centers of population.
SEC. 2381.  When, in the opinion of the President, the public interests require it, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to cause any of such reservations, or part thereof, to be surveyed into urban or suburban lots of suitable size, and to fix by appraisement of disinterested persons their cash value, and to offer the same for sale at public outcry to the highest bidder, and thence afterwards to be held subject to sale at private entry according to such regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe; but no lot shall be disposed of at public sale or private entry for less than the appraised value thereof.  And all such sales shall be conducted by the register and receiver of the land office in the district in which the reservations may be situated, in [**2]  accordance with the instructions of the Commissioner of the General Land Office.
1.  Reservation of land. -- Under section 2380, United States Revised Statutes, public land may be reserved by the President for town-site purposes on his own motion, or petitions may be addressed to him therefor, setting forth facts warranting his action under said section, duly verified by the affidavit of one or more persons, such  [*107]  petitions to be filed with the President, the department, the General Land Office, or with the district land office for transmission to the General Land Office.
2.  Survey and appraisal. -- Town sites reserved under section 2380, or under any other law directing their disposition under section 2381, will be surveyed, when ordered by the department, under the supervision of the General Land Office, into urban, or urban and suburban, lots and blocks, and thereafter the lots and blocks will be appraised by such disinterested person or persons as may be appointed by the Secretary of the Interior.  Each appraiser must take his oath of office and transmit the same to the General Land Office before proceeding with his work.  Said office must be notified by wire of the [**3]  time when such appraiser or appraisers enter on duty.  They will examine each lot to be appraised and determine the fair and just cash value thereof.  Improvements on such lots, if any, must not be considered in fixing such value.  Lots reserved for public purposes will not be appraised.
3.  Schedule of appraisement. -- The schedule of appraisement must be prepared in triplicate on forms furnished by the General Land Office, and the certificates at the end thereof must be signed by each appraiser, and on being so completed they must be immediately transmitted to said office, and when approved by the Secretary of the Interior one copy will be sent to the district land office. In the case of reclamation town sites, one copy of the schedule will be sent to the Commissioner of Reclamation.
4.  Notice of sale. -- Each sale will be given such publicity as may be deemed proper in the particular case.  Appropriate instructions in this connection will be given in the order for sale.
5.  Time, place, and terms of sale. -- Special regulations will be issued in each case prescribing the time when, the place where, and the terms under which the lots will be offered.
6.  Qualifications and [**4]  restrictions. -- No restriction is made as to the number of lots one person may purchase.  Bids and payments may be made through agents, but not by mail or at any time or place other than that fixed in the notice of sale.
7.  Combinations in restraint of the sale. -- All persons are warned against forming any combination or agreement which will prevent any lot from selling advantageously, or which will in any way hinder or embarrass the sale, and all persons so offending will be prosecuted under section 59 of the Criminal Code of the United States, which reads as follows:
Whoever, before or at the time of the public sale of any of the lands of the United States, shall bargain, contract, or agree, or attempt to bargain, contract, or agree with any other person, that the last-named person shall not bid upon or purchase the land so offered for sale, or any parcel thereof; or whoever by  [*108]  intimidation, combination, or unfair management shall hinder or prevent, or attempt to hinder or prevent, any person from bidding upon or purchasing any tract of land so offered for sale, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
8.  [**5]  Certificates. -- All lots purchased at the same time, for cash in the same town site, and by the same person should be included in one certificate, in order to prevent unnecessary multiplicity of patents.
Where cash certificates can not immediately issue, because payment for the lots has not been made in full, and where the regulations authorize the issuance of nontransferable memorandum certificates, more than one lot should not be included in the same certificate.
9.  Reoffering at public sale -- Private entry. -- In the absence of special instructions in a particular case, an offering at public sale may be adjourned or closed, in the discretion of the officer conducting the sale.  If adjourned, the unsold lots will be held for future disposition at public sale. If closed, the unsold lots will become subject to private entry at the appraised price.
Lots sold at public sale and forfeited because of nonpayment of the purchase price, or for any other reason, will be held for further offering at public sale, unless recentry of the lots at private sale, at a designated price, is authorized by the regulations under which the lots are sold.
Lots sold at private sale should be accompanied [**6]  by an application therefor, signed by the applicant.
TOWN SITES PLATTED BY OR FOR OCCUPANTS
(United States Revised Statutes)
SEC. 2382.  In any case in which parties have already founded, or may hereafter desire to found, a city or town on the public lands, it may be lawful for them to cause to be filed with the recorder for the county in which the same is situated, a plat thereof for not exceeding six hundred and forty acres, describing its exterior boundaries according to the lines of the public surveys, where such surveys have been executed; also giving the name of such city or town, and exhibiting the streets, squares, blocks, lots, and alleys, the size of the same, with measurements and area of each municipal subdivision, the lots in which shall each not exceed four thousand two hundred square feet, with a statement of the extent and general character of the improvements; such map and statement to be verified under oath by the party acting for and in behalf of the persons proposing to establish such city or town; and within one month after such filing there shall be transmitted to the General Land Office a verified transcript of such map and statement, accompanied by the testimony [**7]  of two witnesses that such city or town has been established in good faith, and when the premises are within the limits of an organized land district, a similar map and statement shall be filed with the register and receiver, and at any time after the filing of such map, statement, and testimony in the General Land Office it may be lawful for the President to cause the lots embraced within the limits of such city or town to be offered at public sale to the highest bidder, subject to a minimum of ten dollars for each lot, and such lots as may not be disposed of at  [*109]  public sale shall thereafter be liable to private entry at such minimum, or at reasonable increase or diminuation thereafter as the Secretary of the Interior may order from time to time, after at least three months notice, in view of the increase or decrease in the value of the municipal property.  But any actual settler upon any one lot, as above provided, and upon any additional lot in which he may have substantial improvements shall be entitled to prove up and purchase the same as a preemption, at such minimum, at any time before the day fixed for the public sale.
SEC. 2383.  When such cities or towns are established [**8]  upon unsurveyed lands it may be lawful, after the extension thereto of the public surveys, to adjust the extension limits of the premises according to those lines, where it can be done without interference with rights which may be vested by sale; and patents for all lots so disposed of at public or private sale shall issue as in ordinary cases.
SEC. 2384.  If within twelve months from the establishment of a city or town on the public domain the parties interested refuse or fail to file in the General Land Office a transcript map, with the statement and testimony called for by the provisions of section twenty-three hundred and eighty-two, it may be lawful for the Secretary of the Interior to cause a survey and plat to be made of such city or town, and thereafter the lots in the same shall be disposed of as required by such provisions, with this exception, that they shall each be at an increase of fifty per centum on the minimum of ten dollars per lot.
SEC. 2385.  In the case of any city or town in which the lots may be variant as to size from the limitation fixed in section twenty-three hundred and eighty-two, and in which the lots and buildings, as municipal improvements, cover  [**9]  an area greater than six hundred and forty acres, such variance as to size of lots or excess in area shall prove no bar to such city or town claim under the provisions of that section; but the minimum price of each lot in such city or town which may contain a greater number of square feet than the maximum named in that section, shall be increased to such reasonable amount as the Secretary of the Interior may by rule establish.
SEC. 2386.  Where mineral veins are possessed, which possession is recognized by local authority, and to the extent so possessed and recognized, the title to town lots to be acquired shall be subject to such recognized possession and the necessary use thereof; but nothing contained in this section shall be so construed as to recognize any color of title in possessors for mining purposes as against the United States.
In a town site platted and disposed of under sections 2382 to 2386, inclusive, United States Revised Statutes, the procedure is as follows:
1.  Survey and plat. -- The occupants, at their own expense, must cause a survey of the land into lots, blocks, streets and alleys to be made, and the plat and field notes thereof to be filed with the recorder [**10]  of the county in which the land is situated. The plat must show (1) that the land does not include an area in excess of 640 acres, unless the lots, buildings, and improvements cover a greater area, and then only to the extent so occupied and improved; (2) that the boundaries of the land are correctly shown and described thereon according to the lines of the public surveys, or if not so surveyed, then that the exterior lines of the town-site survey are tied to a designated, permanent, and thoroughly identified monument; (3) that the streets,  [*110]  squares, blocks, lots, and alleys, the dimensions of the same, with measurements, courses, and area of each municipal subdivision, and the name of the town are correctly delineated thereon; and (4) the exterior lines of all existing railroad rights of way and station grounds.  The lots should not exceed 4,200 square feet, except in cases where the configuration necessitates a different area.  The above-required facts should be verified by the oath of the surveyor entered upon the margin of the plat.
A statement of the extent and general character of the improvements on the land must be filed with the plat and field notes, and such plat [**11]  and statement must be verified by the oath of the party acting for and in behalf of the occupants of the land.
2.  Transcript of plat and statement. -- Within one month after filing such plat, field notes, and statement, a transcript thereof in duplicate, each duly verified by the certificate of the county recorder, and accompanied by the testimony of two witnesses that such town has been established in good faith, and showing the number of inhabitants thereof, and when it was so established, shall be filed with the register of the land district in which the town site is located, who will immediately transmit the same to the General Land Office for consideration, and upon the approval thereof one of said duplicate plats and statements will be returned to the register for his files.
3.  Notice of filing plat. -- On filing such plat and statement the register will prepare and conspicuously post in his office a notice to the effect that the official plat of such town site has been filed and that he is ready to receive applications by lot occupants to make proof for and purchase the lots occupied by them, respectively.  The newspapers in the vicinity should be given copies of the notice [**12]  as an item of news, and such other publicity should be given it as can be done without expense.
4.  Adjustment to lines of public survey. -- When the town site is upon land over which the township surveys have not been extended, the district cadastal engineer will be notified of the town-site survey and be furnished by the General Land Office with an outline plat showing the exterior lines thereof, with courses and distances, the date of the survey and the approval thereof, and thereafter when the township surveys have been extended over the land the exterior lines of the town site may be adjusted thereto where it can be done without impairing vested rights.
5.  Department may make town-site survey. -- Refusal or failure to file such transcript, plat, field notes, and statement, with the testimony, as above required, within twelve months from the establishment of a town on the public domain, will authorize the Secretary of the Interior to cause a survey and plat to be made thereof, the  [*111]  lots in which shall be disposed of at an increase of fifty per centum on the minimum price.
6.  Price of lots. -- The minimum price for all lots of 4,200 square feet or less is $ 10 per [**13]  lot, except in cases where the Secretary of the Interior causes the survey into lots and blocks to be made by the Government, in which case the minimum price is $ 15 per lot for such lots.  The minimum price for all lots in excess of 4,200 square feet will be computed by adding to said minimum price of $ 10 or $ 15, as the case may be, the sum of $ 4 for each additional 1,000 square feet or fractional part thereof in excess of 4,200 feet in the absence of special provisions in a particular case.
7.  Preemption claims. -- A preemption right of purchase at the minimum price, at any time before the day fixed for the public sale, of not exceeding two lots, is accorded an actual resident, to secure which he must file in the district office his application therefor, and therein state the date of settlement, the value and character of his improvements thereon, that he is 21 years of age or over or the head of a family, and that he is a citizen of the United States or has declared his intention to become such.  The notice of intention to make proof must be filed and the notice for publication must be issued, published, and posted at the applicant's expense as in ordinary cases and in manner [**14]  and form and for the time as provided in the act of March 3, 1879 (20 Stat. 472).  See 38 L.D. 131; 40 L.D. 459; and 43 L.D. 216.
Where a husband and wife are joint settlers, and the husband purchases two lots, as stated, the wife may also purchase an "additional lot" upon which she has placed substantial improvements.  (39 L.D. 516.)
8.  Preemption proof. -- Preemption proof may be made before the register, or any officer duly authorized by law, and must show by record or documentary evidence where such evidence is usually required, and where not so required by the testimony of witnesses, (1) due publication of the register's notice; (2) the claimant's age; (3) his citizenship; and (4) his actual residence upon one lot and substantial improvements on the second lot, if two lots be included in the application.  The proof must embrace the testimony of the applicant and of at least two of his advertised witnesses.  The purchase price for the lot or lots must be paid when the proof is made.  Entry of public lands under other laws, or in other town sites, or ownership of more than 320 acres, will not disqualify an applicant from making such entry.  No entry can be made of an improved [**15]  lot on which the claimant does not reside unless his residence lot is included in the same or a previous entry.
9.  Hearings. -- Hearings will be ordered and conducted in accordance with the Rules of Practice where two or more adverse applications  [*112]  are filed for the same lot, or where a sufficient contest affidavit is filed against an application, on or before the day fixed for making proof, but no purchase money will be collected from the applicants until the final determination of the case, whereupon the successful applicant will be required to pay the purchase price within 30 days from notice thereof.
10.  Conflicting mineral claims. -- Mineral surveys, locations, applications, and entries covering lots in such town sites will not prevent the entry of such lots hereunder and the issuance of patent thereon, but such mineral claims, if held under prior and valid mineral rights, are amply protected by the law from prejudice by the allowance of such town-lot entries and patents, and paramount patents may be issued thereafter to such mineral claimants.
11.  Mineral patents. -- Lots wholly covered by outstanding mineral patents are not subject to entry under the town-site [**16]  law, and applications therefor will be rejected.  Lots partly covered by mineral patents may be entered at the price fixed for the whole lot, but the certificate and receipt must contain at the end of the description an exception clause as follows: "Excepting and excluding the portion of said lot (or lots) embraced in mineral patent (or patents) heretofore issued."
12.  Mill sites. -- The continued use and occupation within a town site of a duly located mill-site claim under section 2337, United States Revised Statutes, from a time prior to a settlement and occupation thereon for town-site purposes, will defeat the rights of the claimant under the town-site laws to any part of the land within such mill site.
13.  Railroad rights of way. -- Railroad rights of way and station grounds, when approved by the department, are subject to all valid rights existing at the date of filing the application for such rights of way or station grounds.
14.  Forfeiture of preemption right. -- All right to preempt and purchase occupied and improved lots for which no entry has been allowed prior to or on the date fixed for the public sale will be forfeited unless a contest be pending thereon as hereinbefore [**17]  provided, and such lots will be offered for sale together with the unoccupied lots.  When notified of the date fixed for the public sale, the register will refuse to receive or consider any such application for entry where due publication could not be had and proof made thereon prior to the date so fixed for the public sale.
15.  Public sale. -- The public sale will be conducted in the form and manner herein provided for the sale of town lots under section 2381, United States Revised Statutes, except that no lots shall be sold for less than the minimum price herein fixed therefor, and such lots as may not be so disposed of shall thereafter be liable to private entry  [*113]  at such minimum, or at such reasonable increase or diminution as the Secretary of the Interior may order from time to time after at least three months' notice.
TOWN SITES ENTERED BY TRUSTEES
(United States Revised Statutes)
SEC. 2387.  Whenever any portion of the public lands have been or may be settled upon and occupied as a town site, not subject to entry under the agricultural preemption laws, it is lawful, in case such town be incorporated, for the corporate authorities thereof, and, if not incorporated,  [**18]  for the judge of the county court for the county in which such town is situated, to enter at the proper land office, and at the minimum price, the land so settled and occupied in trust for the several use and benefit of the occupants thereof, according to their respective interests; the execution of which trust, as to the disposal of lots in such town, and the proceeds of the sales thereof, to be conducted under such regulations as may be prescribed by the legislative authority of the State or Territory in which the same may be situated.
SEC. 2388.  The entry of the land provided for in the preceding section shall be amde, or a declaratory statement of the purpose of the inhabitants to enter it as a town site shall be filed with the register of the proper land office, prior to the commencement of the public sale of the body of land in which it is included, and the entry or declaratory statement shall include only such land as is actually occupied by the town, and the title to which is in the United States; but in any Territory in which a land office may not have been established, such declaratory statements may be filed with the surveyor-general of the surveying district in which [**19]  the lands are situated, who shall transmit the same to the General Land Office.
SEC. 2389.  If upon surveyed lands, the entry shall in its exterior limit be made in conformity to the legal subdivisions of the public lands authorized by law; and where the inhabitants are in number one hundred, and less than two hundred, shall embrace not exceeding three hundred and twenty acres; and in cases where the inhabitants of such town are more than two hundred, and less than one thousand, shall embrace not exceeding six hundred and forty acres; and where the number of inhabitants is one thousand and over one thousand, shall embrace not exceeding twelve hundred and eighty acres; but for each additional one thousand inhabitants, not exceeding five thousand in all, a further grant of three hundred and twenty acres shall be allowed.
* * * * *
SEC. 2391.  Any act of the trustees not made in conformity to the regulations allueded to in section twenty-three hundred and eighty-seven shall be void.
* * * * *
SEC. 2394.  The inhabitants of any town located on the public lands may avail themselves, if the town authorities choose to do so, of the provisions of sections twenty-three hundred and eighty-seven,  [**20]  twenty-three hundred and eighty-eight, and twenty-three hundred and eighty-nine; and, in addition to the minimum price of the lands embracing any town site so entered, there shall be paid by the parties availing themselves of such provisions all costs of surveying and platting any such town site, and expenses incident thereto incurred by the United  [*114]  States, before any patent issues therefor; but nothing contained in the sections herein cited shall prevent the issuance of patents to persons who have made or may hereafter make entries, and elect to proceed under other laws relative to town sites in this chapter set forth.
ADDITIONAL ENTRIES
 
AN ACT Respecting the limits of reservation for town sites upon the public domain
* * * * *
SEC. 4.  It shall be lawful for any town which has made, or may hereafter make entry of less than the maximum quantity of land named in section twenty-three hundred and eighty-nine of the Revised Statutes to make such additional entry, or entries, of contiguous tracts, which may be occupied for town purposes as when added to the entry or entries theretofore made will not exceed twenty-five hundred and sixty acres: Provided, That such additional [**21]  entry shall not together with all prior entries be in excess of the area to which the town may be entitled at date of the additional entry by virtue of its population as prescribed in said section twenty-three hundred and eighty-nine.
Approved, March 3, 1877 (19 Stat. 392).
1.  Segregation of town-site settlement. -- Public lands settled upon and occupied as a town site are thereby segregated from entry under the agricultural land laws, and may be entered under sections 2387 to 2389, subject to the restrictions contained in sections 2386 and 2391 to 2393, inclusive, United States Revised Statutes.
2.  By whom entry may be made. -- If the town is incorporated the entry must be made by the corporate authorities or by the mayor or other principal officer authorized so to do by resolution or ordinance of the town board or city council.  If the town is not incorporated, the entry must be made by the judge of the county court upon petition addressed to him therefor, signed by such number of actual occupants of lots therein as may be required by the laws of the State or Territory in which the town is situated. Private individuals, organizations, or corporations are not authorized to  [**22]  make such entries.
3.  Trust. -- The entry must be made in trust (1) as to the occupied lots, for the several use and benefit of the occupants thereof according to their respective interests, and (2) as to the unoccupied lots, for the use and benefit of the municipality, the public, or the occupants collectively as a community.  Such entries can not be made for the benefit of one individual, or organization, or corporation, but only for the benefit of the actual inhabitants and occupants of an established town.  Prospective town sites can not be so entered.
4.  Execution of trust. -- The execution of the trust as to the disposal of the lots and the proceeds of sales is to be conducted under regulations prescribed by the State or Territorial laws.  Acts of trustees not in accordance with such regulations are void.
5.  Area that may be entered. -- The amount of land that may be entered under this act is proportionate to the number of inhabitants.  [*115]  One hundred and less than 200 inhabitants may enter not to exceed 320 acres; 200 and less than 1,000 inhabitants may enter not to exceed 640 acres; and where the inhabitants number 1,000 and over an amount not to exceed 1,280 acres [**23]  may be entered; and for each additional 1,000 inhabitants, not to exceed 5,000 in all, a further amount of 320 acres may be allowed.  When the number of inhabitants of a town is less than 100 the town site shall be restricted to the land actually occupied for town purposes, by legal subdivisions.
6.  Entry of unsurveyed land. -- Unsurveyed public land upon which a town has been established may be entered hereunder.  In such case a special survey should be procured by application to the district cadastral engineer therefor, the cost of which survey will be paid out of the general appropriations for public surveys.  When the plat of such survey is filed in the district office, application may be made to enter the land described therein.
7.  Declaratory statements. -- Declaratory statements may be filed as the initiatory step for the entry of the land in all cases where the occupants are not ready to apply for entry, and should be so filed in order to protect their rights.  The statement should be signed and filed by the officer entitled to make entry under the law, and should show the number of inhabitants, that the land is occupied for trade, business, and other town-site purposes,  [**24]  and the date when first so occupied, and declare the purpose of the occupants to enter it under the town-site laws.  It should include only such lands as the town is entitled to enter by Government subdivisions where surveyed, and if not surveyed the land should be described so it may be easily identified.
8.  Proof. -- The notice of intention to make proof must be filed and the notice for publication must be issued, published, and posted at the applicant's expense as in ordinary cases, and in manner and form and for the time provided in the act of March 3, 1879 (20 Stat. 472).  (See 38 L.D. 131; 40 L.D. 459; and 43 L.D. 216.) The proof may be made before the register or any officer duly authorized by law, and must show, by record or documentary evidence, where such evidence is usually required, and where not so required, by the testimony of at least two of the advertised witnesses, (1) due publication of the register's notice; (2) if an incorporated town, proof of incorporation, which should be a certified copy of the order of incorporation, or if by legislative enactment, a citation to such act; (3) certified record evidence of the election, qualification, and the authority of  [**25]  the officer making entry; (4) the number of town-site occupants and claimants on each occupied Government subdivision; (5) the number of inhabitants in the town site; (6) the character, extent, and value of town-site improvements located on each Government subdivision; and (7) the date when the land was first used for town-site purposes.
 [*116]  9.  Area enterable. -- Entry can not be made hereunder of a greater quantity of ladn than 2,560 acres, unless the excess in area is actually settled upon, inhabited, improved, and used for business and municipal purposes.
10.  Conflicting mineral claims. -- Under said sections 2386, 2392, and section 16 of the act of March 3, 1891 (26 Stat. 1101), the title to lands acquired hereunder will be subject to all valid prior rights to unpatented mining claims or possessions held under existing law, and paramount patents may be issued thereafter to such mineral claimants, notwithstanding the prior town-site patent.
All lands covered by patented mineral claims must be omitted from town-site entries hereunder.  Government subdivisions of land, made fractional by the omission of such patented claims, will be designated by lot numbers on segregation [**26]  diagram prepared by the district cadastral engineer.
11.  Public reservations. -- Reservations for the use of the United States Government are not subject to entry hereunder.
12.  Mill sites. -- The continued use and occupation within a town site of a duly located mill-site claim under section 2337, United States Revised Statutes, from a time prior to a settlement and occupation thereof for town-site purposes, will defeat the rights of the claimant under the town-site laws to any part of the land within such mill site.
13.  Railroad rights of way. -- Railroad rights of way and station grounds, when approved by the department, are subject to all valid rights existing at the date of filing the application for such rights of way or station grounds.
14.  Change in method of entry. -- Where proceedings have been had for the entry of lots under sections 2382 to 2386, inclusive, United States Revised Statutes, but no patent has issued thereunder, the occupants may avail themselves, if the town authorities choose to do so, of the provisions of said sections 2387 to 2389 and make proof and entry thereunder; provided, however, that in addition to the minimum price for the land applied for [**27]  there shall be paid, before patent issues therefor, by the parties applying for such change of entry, all costs of surveying and platting such town site and expenses incident thereto incurred by the Government under the provisions of said sections 2382 to 2386.  On application to this office the applicants will be informed of the amount of said expense to be paid in excess of the purchase price of the land in order to effectuate such change of entry.
15.  Additional entries. -- Where town-site entry has been or may hereafter be made, under the provisions of said sections 2387 to 2393, additional entries may be made, under the provisions of section 4 of the act approved March 3, 1877 (19 Stat. 392), of such contiguous tracts as may be occupied for town-site purposes, but such additional  [*117]  entry shall not, together with all prior entries made for such town site, be in excess of the area to which the town may be entitled at date of the additional entry by virtue of its population as prescribed in said section 2389; provided, however, that such area shall not exceed 2,560 acres. Such additional entries will be made in the same manner and under the same regulations as are herein [**28]  provided for entries under said sections 2387 to 2393, inclusive.
16.  Entry and payment. -- When town-site proof has been submitted hereunder the register will, if he approves the same, forward it to the General Land Office with his recommendation thereon, without collecting the purchase money and without issuing the final papers.  If the proof so submitted is found satisfactory, the register will be notified thereof, and if no objections exist in his office he will notify the applicant thereof, and on payment of the minimum price fixed by the law for the purchase of the land he will issue the final papers.
TOWN SITES IN RECLAMATION PROJECTS
 
AN ACT Providing for the withdrawal from public entry of lands needed for town-site purposes in connection with irrigation projects under the reclamation act of June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and two, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior may withdraw from public entry any lands needed for town-site purposes in connection with irrigation projects under the reclamation act of June seventeenth, nineteen  [**29]  hundred and two, not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres in each case, and survey and subdivide the same into town lots, with appropriate reservations for public purposes.
SEC. 2.  That the lots so surveyed shall be appraised under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior and sold under his direction at not less than their appraised value at public auction to the highest bidders, from time to time, for cash, and the lots offered for sale and not disposed of may afterwards be sold at not less than the appraised value under such regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe.  Reclamation funds may be used to defray the necessary expenses of appraisement and sale, and the proceeds of such sales shall be covered into the reclamation fund.
SEC. 3.  That the public reservations in such town sites shall be improved and maintained by the town authorities at the expense of the town; and upon the organization thereof as municipal corporations the said reservations shall be conveyed to such corporations by the Secretary of the Interior, subject to the condition that they shall be used forever for public purposes.
SEC. 4.  That the Secretary of the Interior shall, in accordance [**30]  with the provisions of the reclamation act, provide for water rights in amount he may deem necessary for the towns established as herein provided, and may enter into contract with the proper authorities of such towns, and other towns or cities on or in the immediate vicinity of irrigation projects, which shall have a water right from the same source as that of said project for the delivery of such water supply to some convenient point, and for the payment into the reclamation  [*118]  fund of charges for the same to be paid by such towns or cities, which charges shall not be less nor upon terms more favorable than those fixed by the Secretary of the Interior for the irrigation project from which the water is taken.
* * * * *
Approved, April 16, 1906 (34 Stat. 116).
 
AN ACT Providing for the subdivision of lands entered under the reclamation act, and for other purposes
* * * * *
SEC. 3.  That any town site heretofore set apart or established by proclamation of the President, under the provisions of sections twenty-three hundred and eighty and twenty-three hundred and eighty-one of the Revised Statutes of the United States, within or in the vicinity of any reclamation project,  [**31]  may be appraised and disposed of in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress approved April sixteenth, nineteen hundred and six, entitled "An act providing for the withdrawal from public entry of lands needed for town-site purposes in connection with irrigation projects under the reclamation act of June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and two, and for other purposes"; and all necessary expenses incurred in the appraisal and sale of lands embraced within any such town site shall be paid from the reclamation fund, and the proceeds of the sales of such lands shall be covered into the reclamation fund.
SEC. 4.  * * * Providing that the limitation on the size of town sites contained in the act of April sixteenth, nineteen hundred and six, entitled "An act providing for the withdrawal from public entry of lands needed for townsite purposes in connection with irrigation projects under the reclamation act of June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and two, and for other purposes," shall not apply to the town sites named in this section; and whenever, in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior, it shall be advisable for the public interest, he may withdraw and dispose of town sites [**32]  in excess of one hundred and sixty acres under the provisions of the aforesaid act, approved April sixteenth, nineteen hundred and six, and reclamation funds shall be available for the payment of all expenses incurred in executing the provisions of this act, and the aforesaid act of April sixteenth, nineteen hundred and six, and the proceeds of all sales of town sites shall be covered into the reclamation fund.
* * * * *
Approved, June 27, 1906 (34 Stat. 519).
 
AN ACT Providing for the reappraisement of unsold lots in town sites on reclamation projects, and for other purposes
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized, whenever he may deem it necessary, to reappraise all unsold lots within town sites on projects under the reclamation act heretofore or hereafter appraised under the provisions of the act approved April sixteenth, nineteen hundred and six, entitled "An act providing for the withdrawal from public entry of lands needed for town-site purposes in connection with irrigation projects under the reclamation act of June seventeenth, nineteen hundred [**33]  and two, and for other purposes," and the act approved June twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred and six, entitled "An act providing for the subdivision of lands entered under the reclamation act, and for other purposes"; and thereafter to proceed with the sale of such town lots in accordance with said acts.
SEC. 2.  That in the sale of town lots under the provisions of the said acts of April sixteenth and June twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred and six, the Secretary  [*119]  of the Interior may, in his discretion, require payment for such town lots in full at time of sale or in annual installments, not exceeding five, with interest at the rate of six per centum per annum on deferred payments.
Approved, June 11, 1910 (36 Stat. 465).
1.  Withdrawals -- Surveys. -- The Commissioner of Reclamation shall from time to time recommend to the Secretary of the Interior, through the Commissioner of the General Land Office, the withdrawal and reservation of such lands for town-site purposes, under the acts of April 16 and June 27, 1906 (34 Stat. 116 and 519), as he may deem advisable.  He shall, when in his judgment the public interests require it, from time to time, cause not less than a legal [**34]  subdivision, according to the official township surveys, of the lands so reserved to be surveyed into town lots, with appropriate reservations for public purposes.  The plats and field notes of such surveys shall be prepared in triplicate for each town site, and shall be submitted for the approval of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, who, after such approval, shall submit the original plat for the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
2.  Time and place of sale, appraisements, etc. -- The Commissioner of Reclamation shall from time to time recommend to the Secretary of the Interior the sale, the time and place of sale, the appraisement, the appraisers to be appointed, the officer to superintend the sale, and the compensation of the appraisers and superintendent, and the newspapers for the publication of the notice of sale, of such portions of the surveyed lots as in his judgment the public interest may then require to be appraised and sold.  The recommendations in this regulation above required shall be submitted through the Commissioner of the General Land Office for his concurrence or dissent.  The Commissioner of the General Land Office shall prepare and submit [**35]  to the Secretary of the Interior the details and appointments of the appraisers and the superintendent of sale in accordance with the approved recommendations, and when detailed or appointed he shall give them all necessary instructions; and he shall also prepare and transmit the notice of sale for publication.  The report of the appraisers shall be transmitted to the Secretary of the Interior through the Commissioner of the General Land Office. The sale will be conducted in accordance with the general regulations under section 2381, United States Revised Statutes, and subject to the special regulations herein prescribed.
3.  Installment payments. -- Whenever the Secretary of the Interior, in the exercise of the discretion conferred upon him by section 2 of the act of June 11, 1910 (36 Stat. 465), shall order the payment of the purchase price of lots, sold in town sites created under the laws in said act mentioned, to be made in annual installments, the same will be done under such regulations as may be issued in each particular instance.
 [*120]  4.  Reappraisements. -- In all cases where the Secretary of the Interior shall direct the reappraisement of unsold lots under the first [**36]  section of the said act of June 11, 1910, the reappraisement will be conducted under the regulations provided for under the original appraisement of lots in town sites created under the laws in said act mentioned.  The lots to be reappraised will not, from the date of the order therefor, be subject to disposal until offered at public sale at the reappraised value, which offering will be conducted under the regulations providing for the public sale of lots in such town sites.
5.  Additional town sites. -- The Commissioner of Reclamation from time to time in like manner may cause one or more additional legal subdivisions of the lands so reserved for town-site purposes to be so surveyed into town lots, with appropriate reservations for public purposes; and he shall submit such further recommendations for appraisal and sale, in accordance with these regulations, as he may deem necessary or advisable; and he may in like manner submit recommendations for the reappraisal and sale of lots previously offered for sale and remaining unsold, as authorized by act of June 11, 1910 (36 Stat. 465).
6.  Public reserves. -- The public reservations in each town shall be improved and maintained by  [**37]  the town authorities at the expense of the town; and upon the organization thereof as a municipal corporation, said reservations shall be conveyed to such corporation in its corporate name, subject to the condition that they shall be used forever for public purposes.  To secure such conveyances the municipality shall apply through its proper officer for a patent to such reservations, and furnish proof in manner, form, and substance as required under the regulations in this circular for patents to public reserves in Oklahoma town sites under section 22 of the act approved May 2, 1890 (26 Stat. 91).
 
GRANT OF LANDS IN RECLAMATION TOWN SITES FOR SCHOOL PURPOSES
 
AN ACT Granting lands for school purposes in Government town sites on reclamation projects
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby authorized, upon application by the proper officers of a school district located wholly or in part within the boundaries of a project of the United States Reclamation Service, to issue patent conveying to such district such unappropriated undisposed of lands, not exceeding [**38]  six acres in area, within any Government reclamation town site situated within such school district as, in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior, are necessary for use by said district for school buildings and grounds: Provided, That if any land  [*121]  so conveyed cease entirely to be used for school purposes title thereto shall revert to and revest in the United States.
Received by the President, October 20, 1919.  Referred to as act of October 31, 1919 (41 Stat. 326).
[NOTE BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE. -- The foregoing act having been presented to the President of the United States for his approval, and not having been returned by him to the House of Congress in which it originated within the time prescribed by the Constitution of the United States, has become a law without his approval.]
At any time after the approval of the survey of any Government reclamation town site and the subdivision thereof into town lots, with appropriate reservations for public purposes, a school district, in order to obtain title under the act of October 31, 1919, should file, through its proper officers, its application for patent to the unreserved, unappropriated, undisposed of lands it [**39]  may desire, not exceeding 6 acres in area, therein specifically describing the same by lot and block numbers, as delineated and designated on the approved town-site plat; submit sufficient and satisfactory reasons showing that the area applied for is needed for its use; that the land is unappropriated and subject to disposition under the act, in order that this department may be fully advised that there is no adverse claim for the land applied for; and therewith furnish the certificate of the superintendent of public instruction, or other officer performing such function, having jurisdiction over the county in which the town site is situate, showing that the district is a duly organized district under the laws of the State and entitled to hold real estate in its corporate name.
The applicant must also procure and file with the application, at the time of the filing of the same or as early as practicable after the filing of such application, a statement by the project manager of the Reclamation Service having charge of the project in which the land is located, showing that the disposal of the land applied for will not in any manner interfere with said project, such statement having [**40]  been previously approved by the Commissioner of Reclamation.
There is no limit to the number of applications which may be filed by a qualified school district, the only limitation being that the total acreage which may be patented to such a district shall not exceed 6 acres in area within any Government reclamation town site situated within such school district.  Whenever, therefore, more than one application is filed by the same applicant, such applicant should refer by serial number to all previous applications filed by it.
The application and proof must be filed in the district land office wherein the land applied for is situate, and if the register thereof finds the same sufficient under these regulations, and if the Reclamation Service makes favorable report upon the said application, the  [*122]  register will issue certificate entry, the same to provide that if any land so conveyed cease entirely to be used for school purposes title thereto shall revert to and revest in the United States.
 
TOWN SITES IN FORMER INDIAN RESERVATIONS IN OKLAHOMA
 
AN ACT To provide a temporary government for the Territory of Oklahoma, to enlarge the jurisdiction of the United States Court [**41]  in the Indian Territory, and for other purposes.
* * * * *
SEC. 22.  That the provisions of title thirty-two, chapter eight of the Revised Statutes of the United States n1 relating to "reservation and sale of town sites on the public lands" shall apply to the lands open, or to be opened to settlement in the Territory of Oklahoma, except those opened to settlement by the proclamation of the President on the twenty-second day of April, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine: Provided, That hereafter all surveys for town sites in said Territory shall contain reservations for parks (of substantially equal area if more than one park) and for schools and other public purposes, embracing in the aggregate not less than ten nor more than twenty acres; and patents for such reservations, to be maintained for such purposes, shall be issued to the towns, respectively, when organized as municipalities: Provided further, That in case any lands in said Territory of Oklahoma, which may be occupied and filed upon as a homestead, under the provisions of law applicable to said Territory, by a person who is entitled to perfect his title thereto under such laws, are required for town-site purposes, it shall [**42]  be lawful for such person to apply to the Secretary of the Interior to purchase the lands embraced in said homestead or any part thereof for town-site purposes.  He shall file with the application a plat of such proposed town site, and if such plat shall be approved by the Secretary of the Interior, he shall issue a patent to such person for land embraced in said town site, upon the payment of the sum of ten dollars per acre for all the lands embraced in such town site, except the lands to be donated and maintained for public purposes as provided in this section.  And the sums so received by the Secretary of the Interior shall be paid over to the proper authorities of the municipalities when organized, to be used by them for school purposes only. 

n1 Secs. 2380 to 2394, inclusive.
 
Approved May 2, 1890 (26 Stat. 81, 91).
 
AN ACT To provide for the disposal of public reservations in vacated town sites or additions to town sites in the Territory of Oklahoma
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the [**43]  United States of America in Congress assembled, That in all cases where a town site, or an addition to a town site, entered under the provisions of section twenty-two of an act entitled "An act to provide a temporary government for the Territory of Oklahoma, to enlarge the jurisdiction of the United States court in the Indian Territory, and for other purposes," approved May second, eighteen hundred and ninety, shall be vacated in accordance with the laws of the Territory of Oklahoma, and patents for the public reservations in such vacated town site, or addition thereto, have not been issued, it shall be lawful for the Commissioner of the General Land Office, upon an official showing that such town  [*123]  site, or addition thereto, has been vacated, and upon payment of the homestead price for such reservations, to issue a patent for such reservations to the original entryman.
If the original entryman shall fail or neglect to make application for the reservations within six months from the vacation of such town site, or from the passage of this act, the reservations shall be subject to disposal under the provisions of section twenty-four hundred and fifty-five of the Revised Statutes [**44]  of the United States, as amended by the act approved February twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five.
SEC. 2.  That if a patent has already issued, or shall hereafter issue, for any such reservation, to any town or municipality, such town or municipality, upon the vacation of the town site or addition thereto, as aforesaid, may sell the same at public or private sale to the highest bidder after thirty days' public notice of such sale, and convey said lands to the purchaser by proper deed of conveyance, and cover the proceeds of such sale into the school fund of such town or municipality: Provided, That where, by reason of the vacation of an entire town site and all its additions, the municipal organization has ceased to exist, the reservations in such vacated town site which may have been patented to the town may be disposed of as isolated tracts under the provisions of section twenty-four hundred and fifty-five of the Revised Statutes of the United States, as amended by the act approved February twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five.
SEC. 3.  That all laws and parts of laws, in so far as they conflict with this act, are hereby repealed.
Approved, May 11, 1896  [**45]  (29 Stat. 116).
 
AN ACT Providing for the commutation for town-site purposes of homestead entries in certain portions of Oklahoma
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That that portion of section twenty-two of the act approved May second, eighteen hundred and ninety, entitled "An act to provide a temporary government for the Territory of Oklahoma, to enlarge the jurisdiction of the United States court in the Indian Territory, and for other purposes," providing for the commutation for town-site purposes of homestead entries in certain instances, be, and the same is hereby, made applicable to the lands in the Territory of Oklahoma ceded to the United States by the Wichita and affiliated bands of Indians and the Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache tribes of Indians, under agreements, respectively, ratified by the acts of Congress of March second, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and June sixth, nineteen hundred.
Approved, March 11, 1902 (32 Stat. 63).
1.  Town-site entries. -- The entry of lands in former Indian reservations in Oklahoma for town-site purposes is governed by section 22 of the act of May 2, 1890 (26 [**46]  Stat. 81, 91), and the act of March 11, 1902 (32 Stat. 63).
Town-site entries made under section 22 of the act of May 2, 1890, must conform to the applicable regulations herein provided for entries under sections 2380 to 2394, inclusive, United States Revised Statutes, but in addition proof of the requirements made in the said  [*124]  section 22 and in the special regulations issued thereunder approved August 7, 1909 (38 L.D. 92, 115), must be furnished.  The regulations are not reprinted here because there is but little present need for reference thereto.
2.  Entry of public reserves in existing Oklahoma town sites. -- Applications for patents to the tracts reserved for public purposes in all towns in Oklahoma created under said section 22 or under any other act where tracts have been reserved for such purposes under said section 22, may be filed on behalf of the municipalities whose corporate limits cover the land in which such reservations are situated. The application should be made by the mayor or other proper municipal officer and describe the reservations to be patented according to the approved plats of said town site, and the same should be accompanied with the proof [**47]  of the municipal organization of the town similar to that above provided for the disposition of the proceeds derived from the commutation of homestead entries for town-site purposes under said section 22, and proof must also be filed therewith of the authority of the officer filing the application to make the same with the proper record evidence of his election and qualification as such officer.  The application and proof must be filed in the district land office; and if the register thereof find the same sufficient under these regulations, he will issue the certificate of entry in the form provided therefor.
3.  Entry of public reserves in vacated Oklahoma town sites. -- Under the act approved May 11, 1896 (29 Stat. 116), where a town site or an addition to a town site in a homestead commuted to a town-site entry under the second proviso of section 22 of the act approved May 2, 1890 (26 Stat. 91), has been vacated under the laws of Oklahoma and patents for the public reservations therein have not been issued such reservations will be disposed of in the following manner:
(1) Application and proof by the original entryman. -- Application for a patent to such reservations may be filed [**48]  by the original entryman within six months from the vacation of the town site, and proof must be filed by him, with the register, of the due vacation of such town site in accordance with the requirements of the laws of Oklahoma, which proof must consist of a copy of the record evidence of such vacation duly certified.  Such proof must also be accompanied with evidence that the corporate authorities of the municipality, if one be organized, in which the reservations were situated prior to such vacation, have been personally served 30 days prior to making such proof with notice of the application and of the date  [*125]  the proof will be made.  If the proof be found sufficient the entry will be allowed for the reservations as described in the town-site plat upon receipt of the payment of the homestead price.  If the municipality is represented at the time of making proof, it may be heard in opposition to the application and decision be rendered thereon subject to appeal as in other cases.
(2) Reservations disposed of as isolated tracts. -- In case of the failure of the original entryman to apply for patent to such reservations within six months from the vacation of such town site,  [**49]  or in case such reserves have been patented to the municipality and it has ceased to exist by reason of such vacation, the reservations will be disposed of as isolated tracts under the provisions of section 2455, United States Revised Statutes, and the acts amendatory thereof, and the regulations issued thereunder.
4.  Sale of patented public reserves in vacated Oklahoma town sites. -- Reservations may be sold by an existing municipal corporation, upon the vacation of the town site, where patent has been issued to such municipality therefor, the proceeds of such sale to be covered into the school fund of such corporation.  See City of Enid (30 L.D. 352).
 
TOWN SITES IN FORMER INDIAN RESERVATIONS IN MINNESOTA
 
AN ACT To extend the provisions of chapter eight, title thirty-two, of the Revised Statutes of the United States, entitled "Reservation and sale of town sites on the public lands," to the ceded Indian lands in the State of Minnesota
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That chapter eight, title thirty-two, of the Revised Statutes of the United States, n1 entitled "Reservation and sale of town sites [**50]  on the public lands," be, and is hereby, extended to and declared to be applicable to ceded Indian lands within the State of Minnesota.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage. 

n1 Secs. 2380 to 2394, inclusive.
 
Approved, February 9, 1903 (32 Stat. 820).
NOTE. -- Town sites on ceded Indian lands in Minnesota will be disposed of in accordance with regulations herein prescribed for town sites created or disposed of under sections 2380 to 2394, inclusive, United States Revised Statutes.
TOWN SITES IN FORMER INDIAN RESERVATIONS IN STATES OTHER THAN OKLAHOMA AND MINNESOTA
Authority for the survey and disposal of town sites in former Indian reservations, in States other than Oklahoma and Minnesota, is contained in the acts of Congress authorizing the survey and disposal of lands in such reservations.
 [*126]  Below is noted a list of reservations and the acts of Congress authorizing the establishment of town sites therein: 
RESERVATION	ACT OF CONGRESS	
Blackfeet, Mont	Mar. 1, 1907 (34 Stat. 1015, 1039).	
Cheyenne River, S. Dak	May 29, 1908 (35 Stat. 461, 463).	
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho	June 21, 1906 (34 Stat. 325, 337).	
Colorado River, Ariz. and Calif	Apr. 30, 1908 (35 Stat. 70, 77).	
Colville, Wash	Mar. 22, 1906 (34 Stat. 80, 82).	
Crow, Mont	Apr. 27, 1904 (33 Stat. 360, 361).	
Flathead, Mont	June 21, 1906 (34 Stat. 325, 354).	
Fort Belknap, Mont	Mar. 3, 1921 (41 Stat. 1355, 1356).	
Fort Berthold, N. Dak	June 1, 1910 (36 Stat. 456, 457).	
Fort Hall, Mont	May 31, 1918 (40 Stat. 592).	
Fort Peck, Mont	May 30, 1908 (35 Stat. 561, 563).	
Pine Ridge, S. Dak	May 27, 1910 (36 Stat. 440, 441).	
Rosebud, S. Dak	Mar. 2, 1907 (34 Stat. 1230, 1231).	
Rosebud, S. Dak	May 30, 1910 (36 Stat. 448, 449).	
Shoshone, Wyo	Mar. 3, 1905 (33 Stat. 1020, 1021).	
Spokane, Wash	May 29, 1908 (35 Stat. 458, 459).	
Standing Rock, N. Dak. and S. Dak	May 29, 1908 (35 Stat. 461, 463).	
Standing Rock, N. Dak	Feb. 14, 1913 (37 Stat. 675, 676).	
Uintah, Utah	Mar. 3, 1905 (33 Stat. 1048, 1069).	
Walker River, Nev	May 27, 1902 (32 Stat. 245, 261).	
Wind River, Wyo	Mar. 3, 1905 (33 Stat. 1020, 1021).	
Yuma, Ariz	Apr. 30, 1908 (35 Stat. 70, 77).	
 [**51] 
TOWN SITES ON MINERAL LANDS n1 

n1 Also see sec. 2386, United States Revised Statutes.
 
(United States Revised Statutes)
SEC. 2392.  No title shall be acquired, under the foregoing provisions of this chapter, to any mine of gold, silver, cinnabar, or copper; or to any valid mining claim or possession held under existing laws.
AN ACT To repeal timber-culture laws and for other purposes
* * * * *
SEC. 16.  That town-site entries may be made by incorporated towns and cities on the mineral lands of the United States, but no title shall be acquired by such towns or cities to any vein of gold, silver, cinnabar, copper, or lead, or to any valid mining claim or possession held under existing law.  When mineral veins are possessed within the limits of an incorporated town or city, and such possession is recognized by local authority or by the laws of the United States, the title to town lots shall be subject to such recognized possession and the necessary use thereof and when entry has been made or patent issued for such town [**52]  sites to such incorporated town or city, the possessor of such mineral vein may enter and receive patent for such mineral vein, and the surface ground appertaining thereto: Provided, That no entry shall be made by such mineral-vein claimant for surface ground where the owner or occupier of the surface ground shall have had possession of the same before the inception of the title of the mineral-vein applicant.
* * * * *
Approved, March 3, 1891 (26 Stat. 1095-1101).
 [*127]  The general town-site laws, comprised in sections 2380 to 2394, United States Revised Statutes, authorize the entry of town sites, or the sale of lots therein, upon public lands which may include unpatented mineral claims, but the rights of mineral claimants upon any land entered or sold under said town-site laws are expressly protected by sections 2386 and 2392.  These two sections recognize the superior rights, as against any town-site claimant -- whether corporate, community, or individual -- of all claimants for mineral veins possessed agreeably to local custom, or for any valid mining claim or possession held under existing law.  The precedence and superiority so accorded to mineral claims, however, depend [**53]  in final analysis upon the question of fact whether, at date of town-site entry or lot sale, the lands claimed under the mining laws were "known to contain minerals of such extent and value as to justify expenditures for the purpose of extracting them" (39 L.D. 356). Where an affirmative showing in such behalf is made in due course by the mineral claimant, his right to a patent for the land (subject to the distinction hereinafter noted as to incorporated towns) will not be prejudiced by any previous town-site entry, deed, or patent covering the same land (26 L.D. 144; 29 L.D. 426; 32 L.D. 211; 34 L.D. 276 and 596).
Under said general town-site laws, as construed by the department and the courts, an entry including unpatented mineral lands may be made for an incorporated town as well as for an unincorporated town, the law requiring that in the former case the entry shall be made by the corporate authorities, and in the latter by the county judge (34 L.D. 24). While such general right of entry by or for incorporated towns and cities is therefore independent of anything contained in section 16 of the act of March 3, 1891 (26 Stat. 1095), it will be seen that that section in terms  [**54]  announces the right to enter mineral lands.  The protection afforded to mineral claims by the body of section 16 is similar to that given generally in said sections 2386 and 2392, Revised Statutes, but the proviso to section 16 is as follows:
Provided, That no entry shall be made by such mineral-vein claimant for surface ground where the owner or occupier of the surface ground shall have had possession of the same before the inception of the title of the mineral-vein applicant.
The department has never viewed said proviso as warranting, under any circumstances, the allowance of entry for a mineral vein independently of "the surface ground appertaining thereto," nor is such an entry provided for in the general mining laws.  But said proviso creates one distinction between unincorporated and incorporated towns as regards the relative rights of town-site occupants  [*128]  and mineral claimants, which is, that whereas the town-site patent will, in either case, carry absolute title to any mineral not known to exist at the date of town-site entry, the adverse rights of mineral and town-lot claimants within incorporated towns are hinged upon priority of initiation.  That is to say, that [**55]  after entry is made for such town, no entry by a mineral-vein applicant will be allowed for any land owned and occupied under the town-site law by a party whose possession antedated the inception of the mineral applicant's claim, even though such land was known, at date of the town-site entry, to contain valuable minerals.
Subject to the distinction above noted, the foregoing principles apply to all mineral claims within town sites entered or disposed of under any of the laws above mentioned, and also to mineral claims within town sites disposable under special acts containing no reference to the rights of mining claimants.
The law does not require that town-site entries shall exclude any mineral claim or possession except such as may have been patented (29 L.D. 21). Mineral claims which have not been patented may be excluded from a town-site entry at the option of the town-site applicant, who must, in that event, furnish satisfactory proof that the exclusion covers a "valid mining claim or possession held under existing law" (33 L.D. 542). The exclusion of a mill-site claim from a town-site entry is necessary only in cases where the mill-site claimant shall have been in occupation [**56]  of the ground, under regular location, from a time antedating its occupation for town-site purposes.  The issue of priority in such cases may be raised by the town-site applicant, the mill-site claimant, or the Government.
COUNTY-SEAT TOWN SITES
(United States Revised Statutes)
SEC. 2286.  There shall be granted to the several counties or parishes of each State and Territory, where there are public lands, at the minimum price for which public lands of the United States are sold, the right of preemption to one quarter section of land, in each of the counties or parishes, in trust for such counties or parishes, respectively, for the establishement of seats of justice therein, but the proceeds of the sale of each of such quarter sections shall be appropriated for the purpose of erecting public buildings in the county or parish for which it is located, after deducting therefrom the amount originally paid for the same.  And the seat of justice for such counties or parishes, respectively, shall be fixed previously to a sale of the adjoining lands within the county or parish for which the same is located.
NOTE. -- The instructions contained in circular of Aug. 7, 1909 (38 L.D. 92, 107),  [**57]  will be followed in connection with applications for county-seat town sites. The regulations are not reprinted here because there is but little present need for reference thereto.
 [*129]  LIMITS OF RESERVATIONS FOR TOWN SITES
 
AN ACT Respecting the limits of reservation for town sites upon the public domain
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the existence or incorporation of any town upon the public lands of the United States shall not be held to exclude from preemption or homestead entry a greater quantity than twenty-five hundred and sixty acres of land, or the maximum area which may be entered as a town site under existing laws, unless the entire tract claimed or incorporated as such town site shall, including and in excess of the area above specified, be actually settled upon, inhabited, improved, and used for business and municipal purposes.
SEC. 2.  That where entries have been heretofore allowed upon lands afterwards ascertained to have been embraced in the corporate limits of any town, but which entries are or shall be shown, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of the General Land [**58]  Office to include only vacant unoccupied lands of the United States, not settled upon or used for municipal purposes, nor devoted to any public use of such town, said entries, if regular in all respects are hereby confirmed and may be carried into patent: Provided, That this confirmation shall not operate to restrict the entry of any town site to a smaller area than the maximum quantity of land which by reason of present population it may be entitled to enter under said section twenty-three hundred and eighty-nine of the Revised Statutes.
SEC. 3.  That whenever the corporate limits of any town upon the public domain are shown or alleged to include lands in excess of the maximum area specified in section one of this act the Commissioner of the General Land Office may require the authorities of such town, and it shall be lawful for them, to elect what portion of said lands, in compact form and embracing the actual site of the municipal occupation and improvement, shall be withheld from preemption and homestead entry; and thereafter the residue of such lands shall be open to disposal under the homestead and preemption laws.  And upon default of said town authorities to make such selection [**59]  within sixty days after notification by the commissioner, he may direct testimony respecting the actual location and extent of said improvements to be taken by the register and receiver of the district in which such town may be situated; and, upon receipt of the same, he may determine and set off the proper site according to section one of this act, and declare the remaining lands open to settlement and entry under the homestead and preemption laws; and it shall be the duty of the secretary of each of the Territories of the United States to furnish the surveyor general of the Territory for the use of the United States a copy duly certified of every act of the legislature of the Territory incorporating any city or town, the same to be forwarded by such secretary to the surveyor general within one month from date of its approval.
* * * * *
Approved, March 3, 1877 (19 Stat. 392).
LANDS NOT SUBJECT TO TOWN-SITE RESERVATION OR ENTRY
(United States Revised Statutes)
SEC. 2393.  The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to military or other reservations heretofore made by the United States, nor to reservations  [*130]  for lighthouses, customhouses, mints, or such other public [**60]  purposes as the interests of the United States may require, whether held under reservations through the land office by title derived from the Crown of Spain, or otherwise.
RIGHTS OF TRANSFEREES OF TOWN LOTS
 
AN ACT Providing for the issuance of patents to transferees of town lots purchased from the United States at public sale in certain cases
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in all cases where town lots were sold by the United States at public sale, and the purchaser at such sale had transferred his interests in any such lot prior to the eleventh day of October, nineteen hundred and eleven, and patent has not been issued in the name of the original purchaser, the Commissioner of the General Land Office may issue a patent in the name of the transferee where full payment of the purchase price has been made and satisfactory evidence of the transfer has been furnished: Provided, That it be shown that the original purchaser is dead, or that after due inquiry his whereabouts can not be ascertained, and the instrument of transfer given by the original purchaser has been lost or destroyed.
Approved,  [**61]  July 9, 1914 (38 Stat. 454).
The purchaser of a town lot, which is sold on the installment plan, may transfer his equitable interest in the lot, prior to the payment of the last installment of the purchase price, but the Government will not recognize anyone but the original purchaser and will issue all necessary papers and also the patent in his name.  By such course, the Government is relieved of all unnecessary responsibility, and the patent, when issued, inures to the benefit of the transferee.
Formerly patents were issued to transferees, but based on departmental instructions of October 11, 1911, patents are now issued only in the names of the original purchasers, except where their issuance to transferees is authorized by the act of July 9, 1914 (38 Stat. 454), and instructions thereunder approved August 5, 1914 (43 L.D. 361).
TOWN SITES IN ALASKA
Information relative to the special town-site laws which have been enacted relating to the disposition of lands as town sites in the Territory of Alaska is contained in Circular No. 491 (50 L.D. 27, 45).
TOWN-SITE PLATS
Photolithographic copies of town-site plats will be furnished, when available, at the rate of 50 cents each.  [**62] 
 
 [*131]  ACQUISITION OR HOLDING OF TOWN LOTS IN THE TERRITORIES BY ALIENS
 
AN ACT To better define and regulate the rights of aliens to hold and own real estate in the Territories
* * * * *
SEC. 2.  * * * This act shall not be construed to prevent any persons not citizens of the United States from acquiring or holding lots or parcels of lands in any incorporated or platted city, town, or village, or in any mine or mining claim, in any of the Territories of the United States.
* * * * *
Approved, March 2, 1897 (29 Stat. 618).
PARKS AND CEMETERIES
 
SALE OF PUBLIC LANDS TO CITIES AND TOWNS FOR PARKS AND CEMETERIES
 
AN ACT To authorize entry of the public lands by incorporated cities and towns for cemetery and park purposes
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That incorporated cities and towns shall have the right, under rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, to purchase for cemetery and park purposes not exceeding one quarter section of public lands not reserved for public use, such lands to be within three miles of such cities or towns: Provided, That when such city  [**63]  or town is situated within a mining district, the land proposed to be taken under this act shall be considered as mineral lands, and patent to such lands shall not authorize such city or town to extract mineral therefrom, but all such mineral shall be reserved to the United States, and such reservation shall be entered in such patent.
Approved, September 30, 1890 (26 Stat. 502).
1.  Entry of surveyed land. -- The right of entry under the act approved September 30, 1890 (26 Stat. 502), is restricted to incorporated cities and towns, and each of such cities and towns shall be allowed to make entries of tracts of unreserved and unappropriated public land, including land in Alaska, by Government subdivisions, not exceeding, in all entries hereunder by such city or town, a quarter section in area, all of which must lie within 3 miles of the corporate limits of the city or town for which the entries are made.
2.  Entry of unsurveyed land. -- If the public surveys have not been extended over the land sought by any city or town under the provisions of said act, it shall first be necessary for the proper corporate authority to apply to the district cadastral engineer of the district in which [**64]  the tract in question is located for a special survey of the outboundaries of such tract. The application should describe the  [*132]  character of the land sought to be surveyed and, as accurately as possible, its area and geographical location.  Tracts covered by such special surveys must be as nearly as practicable in square form, and entries of the same will not be allowed until after the surveys shall have been approved by the district cadastral engineer and accepted by the Commissioner of the General Land Office. The current appropriation for "surveying the public lands" being applicable to the survey of lines of reservations, as well as to the extension of the ordinary lines of the system of public-land surveys, the cost of the surveys of all unsurveyed lands selected under the provisions of said act of September 30, 1890, will be paid for out of said appropriation, the same as the special surveys of the outboundaries of town sites and for like reasons (see case of Fort Pierre, 18 C.L.O. 117), and the surveyors who execute such special surveys will report whether the land is either mineral in character or within an organized mining district.
3.  Application and proof. --  [**65]  An application for the purposes indicated herein can only be made by the municipal authorities of an incorporated city or town; and in all cases the entries will be made and patents issued to the municipality in its corporate name, for the specific purpose or purposes mentioned in said act.
The land must be paid for at the Government price per acre, after proof has been furnished satisfactorily showing --
(1) Thirty days' publication of notice of intention to make entry, in the same manner as in homestead and other cases.  (38 L.D. 131; 40 L.D. 459; and 43 L.D. 216.)
(2) The official character and authority of the officer or officers making the entry.
(3) A certificate of the officer having custody of the record of incorporation, setting forth the fact and date of incorporation of the city or town by which entry is to be made, and the extent and location of its corporate limits.
(4) The testimony of the applicant and two published witnesses to the effect that the land applied for is vacant and unappropriated by any other party, and as to whether the same is either mineral in character or located within an organized mining district or within a mining region.
(5) In case the land [**66]  applied for is described by metes and bounds, as established by a special survey of the same, that the applicant and two of the published witnesses have testified from personal knowledge obtained by observation and measurements that the land to be entered is wholly within 3 miles of the corporate limits of the city or town for which entry is to be made.
 [*133]  4.  Certificates. -- Where the proof shows that the land is mineral in character, located in a mining district, or is within a region known as mineral lands, the certificate of entry shall contain the following proviso:
Provided, That no title shall be hereby acquired to any mineral deposits within the limits of the above-described tract of land, all such deposits therein being reserved as the property of the United States.
 
SALE OF PUBLIC LANDS TO ASSOCIATIONS AND CORPORATIONS FOR CEMETERIES
AN ACT To authorize the sale of public lands for cemetery purposes
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized to sell and convey to any religious or fraternal association, or private corporation,  [**67]  empowered by the laws under which such corporation or association is organized or incorporated to hold real estate for cemetery purposes, not to exceed eighty acres of any unappropriated nonmineral public lands of the United States for cemetery purposes, upon the payment therefor by such corporation or association of the sum of not less than one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre: Provided, That title to any land disposed of under the provisions of this act shall revert to the United States should the land or any part thereof be sold or cease to be used for the purpose herein provided.
Approved, March 1, 1907 (34 Stat. 1052).
1.  Entry of surveyed land. -- Under the act approved March 1, 1907 (34 Stat. 1052), the right to purchase public land for cemetery purposes is limited to religious, fraternal, and private corporations or associations, empowered to hold real estate for cemetery purposes by the laws under which they are organized.  Such corporation or association shall be allowed to make but one entry of not more than 80 acres of contiguous tracts by Government subdivisions of nonmineral, unreserved, and unappropriated public land, including public land in Alaska.
2.  Entry [**68]  of unsurveyed land. -- If the public surveys have not been extended over the land so sought to be entered, the corporation or association should first apply to the proper district cadastral engineer for a special survey of the exterior lines of the tract desired, describing the topographical character of the land and its area and geographical location as accurately as possible.  Such tracts must be as nearly as practicable in a rectangular form, and after the survey and plat thereof has been made, approved by the district cadastral engineer, accepted by the General Land Office, and filed in the district office, application may then be made for the entry of the land under said act.  The cost of such surveys will be paid out of the current appropriation for "surveying the public lands," and the  [*134]  deputies employed will report whether the land is mineral in character.
3.  Proof. -- The proof must satisfactorily show --
(1) The filing of a notice of intention to make proof, the issuance, in manner and form so far as possible as in other cases provided, of the publication notice, to be published and posted for the time and in the manner provided by the act of March 3, 1879 (20 [**69]  Stat. 472), and the regulations thereunder (38 L.D. 131; 40 L.D. 459; 43 L.D. 216).
(2) The official character of the officer or officers applying on behalf of the association or corporation to make the entry, and his or their express authority to do so conferred by action of the association.
(3) A copy of the record, certified by the officer having charge thereof, showing the due incorporation and organization and date thereof of the association or corporation and its location and address.  The law under which it is organized and by which it derives its authority to hold real estate for cemetery purposes must also be cited.
(4) That the land applied for is nonmineral, vacant, and unappropriated public land, and the extent to which it is used for cemetery purposes, and when first so used, if it is so used, which must be shown by the testimony of the applicant and two of the advertised witnesses.
4.  Price. -- The land must be paid for at such price per acre as shall be determined by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, provided that in no case shall the price be less than $ 1.25 per acre.
5.  Procedure. -- Entries under this act must issue to the association or corporation [**70]  in its corporate name, and the granting clause in the certificate should state that the patent to be issued for the tract described is "for cemetery purposes, subject to reversion 'to the United States should the land or any part thereof be sold or cease to be used for the purpose' in said act provided." Inasmuch, however, as the Commissioner of the General Land Office determines the amount of the purchase price under the existing conditions in each particular case, the register will, when proof is made to his satisfaction, immediately forward such proof to the General Land Office with his recommendation thereon without collecting any money as the purchase price and without issuing the final papers.  If said office finds the proof satisfactory, the commissioner will fix the purchase price, and the register will, on being notified thereof and no objection appearing thereto in his office, notify the applicant of the amount required and allow him 30 days from service of such notice to pay such purchase price, and on receipt thereof cash certificate will be issued.
 [*135]  RECREATIONAL SITES
 
ACQUISITION OR USE OF PUBLIC LANDS BY STATES, COUNTIES, OR MUNICIPALITIES FOR RECREATIONAL [**71]  PURPOSES
 
AN ACT To authorize acquisition or use of public lands by States, counties, or municipalities for recreational purposes
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of American in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and hereby is, authorized, in his discretion, to withhold from all forms of appropriation unreserved nonmineral public lands, which have been classified by him as chiefly valuable for recreational purposes and are not desired for Federal administration, but only after a petition requesting such withdrawal has been signed and filed by the duly constituted authorities of the States or of the county or counties within which the lands are located, and to accept title on behalf of the United States from any States in and to lands granted by Congress to such State, and in exchange therefor to patent to such State an equal quantity or value of surveyed land so withheld and classified, any patent so issued to contain a reservation to the United States of all mineral deposits in the land conveyed and of the right to mine and remove same, under regulations to be established by the Secretary, and a provision for [**72]  reversion of title to the United States upon a finding by the Secretary of the Interior that for a period of five consecutive years such land has not been used by the State for park or recreational purposes, or that such land or any part thereof is being devoted to other use: Provided, That lands so withheld and classified may, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, be also held subject to purchase and may be purchased by the State or county in which the lands are situated, or by an adjacent municipality in the same State, at a price to be fixed by the Secretary of the Interior, through appraisal or otherwise, subject to the same reservation of mineral deposits and the same provision for reversion of title as are prescribed for conveyances to the States in consummation of exchanges hereby authorized, or be held subject to lease and may be leased to such States, counties, or municipalities for recreational use at a reasonable annual rental for a period of twenty years, with privilege of renewal for a like period.  And the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to make all necessary rules and regulations for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this act into [**73]  effect: Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior shall for each year make report to Congress, giving in detail a list of lands exchanged under the provisions of this act.
Approved, June 14, 1926 (44 Stat. 741).
1.  Lands subject to withdrawal. -- Unreserved nonmineral public lands not desired for Federal administration, surveyed or unsurveyed, exclusive of those situated in the Territory of Alaska, may be withheld from appropriation in aid of the classification and disposition or use authorized by the act of June 14, 1926 (44 Stat. 741), upon a proper petition therefor.  Any withdrawal for such purpose will, however, be subject to valid existing appropriations under the public land laws legally maintained.  The land must be surveyed before title may be acquired.  The duration of these withdrawals will depend upon the good faith shown by the petitioners in prosecuting  [*136]  the necessary preliminary work in connection with the recreational project involved.
2.  Petitions. -- Petitions for such withdrawal should be addressed to the Secretary of the Interior and filed in duplicate in the proper district land office, should describe the land desired withdrawn by legal [**74]  subdivisions, if surveyed, or by metes and bounds in conformity with the regulations approved November 3, 1909 (38 L.D. 287), if unsurveyed, and contain a statement that the area is unoccupied and nonmineral and chiefly valuable for recreational purposes.  Such petitions should set forth the plan of recreational development proposed, giving details as to any contemplated improvements, state whether acquisition is sought through exchange or purchase, or whether a lease is desired, and should contain proof or a citation of the authority of the official or officials signing the petition to act for the State or county or counties when a State or county recreational project is involved, or of the authority of either State or county officials to submit the petition in behalf of a municipality when a municipal project is concerned.  In event that acquisition is sought through exchange, the petition of the State seeking the exchange should contain a description of the State land proffered as a basis therefor.  The registers of the district land offices will not assign serial numbers to these petitions and will upon receipt forward them by special letter to the Commissioner of the General  [**75]  Land Office for action.
3.  Action by division inspectors. -- In event of favorable action upon such a petition, the proper division inspector will, if necessary, be instructed to cause an examination to be made to determine whether the withdrawn land is nonmineral and chiefly valuable for recreational purposes and will thereafter submit report to the Commissioner of the General Land Office. The report submitted will also contain information as to the comparative values of the public and State lands involved when an exchange is proposed.  In order that the department may determine a proper charge in case purchase or lease is desired, the division inspector will ascertain and report what is a fair and reasonable price per acre or annual rental for the area, taking into consideration the purpose for which it is to be used.  The Commissioner of the General Land Office will forward such reports to the Secretary of the Interior with recommendation.
4.  Applications. -- The Commissioner of the General Land Office will notify the register of the district land office in which the land is situated of the findings of the department and the register will then advise the State, county, or municipality [**76]  which has requested the withdrawal thereof.  Thereafter, in event the land has been found subject to use or acquisition under the law, such State, county, or municipality may file formal application for the land in the district  [*137]  land office, and all such applications will be given current serial numbers, noted upon the records and transmitted with the returns from that office.  No fixed forms of applications have been prepared, but these instructions should be followed as nearly as possible.
The application of a State for an exchange should follow in so far as applicable the form used by the State in making application for indemnity for losses in its school grant where the land tendered as a basis has been granted to the State by the United States for school or other purposes and has thereafter remained the property of the State.  A deed of relinquishment of the base land must be executed by the proper State officer or officers and duly recorded.  Such deed must be accompanied by a certificate of the officer, or officers, of the State charged with the care and disposal of the land reconveyed, showing that same has not been alienated or contracted to be alienated in any way [**77]  by the State, that the said land is not in the possession of, or subject to the claim of any third party under any law or permission of the State, and that except for such conveyance the title of the State is unimpaired, together with a certificate of the recorder of deeds or official custodian of the records of transfers of real estate in the proper county, or a duly authenticated abstract of title, showing that at the time the reconveyance was recorded the title was in the State making the conveyance and that the land was free from encumbrances of any kind.
There should be tendered with the application of a State, county, or municipality to purchase or lease lands withdrawn under this law the amount fixed as the purchase price or as annual rental therefor.  Such application should contain proof or a citation of the authority of the official or officials signing the application to represent the State, county, or municipality in the transaction.  In so far as applicable the general regulations of the department governing the execution of contracts will be followed in the preparation of leases issued.  The proceeds from sales or leases will be credited to "Sales of public lands" except [**78]  in those instances in which other provision has been made in the laws authorizing disposition of the land.
Applications presented under these regulations not in substantial conformity with the requirements herein made and not accompanied by the prescribed proof will be rejected subject to appeal or curing the defect where possible.
5.  Reservations and conditions. -- Any patent or lease issued to a State, county, or municipality will contain the mineral reservation and forfeiture provision prescribed by the law.  No provision is made at this time for development of the reserved mineral deposits in lands to be conveyed or leased under the terms of this law, and until such regulations shall have issued the reserved deposits will not be subject to disposition.
 
 [*138]  RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS IN RECLAMATION PROJECTS FOR COUNTRY PARKS, PUBLIC PLAYGROUNDS, AND COMMUNITY CENTERS
 
AN ACT To authorize the reservation of public lands for country parks and community centers within reclamation projects, and for other purposes
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and  [**79]  he is hereby, authorized to withdraw from other disposition and reserve for country parks, public playgrounds, and community centers for the use of the residents upon the lands such tracts as he may deem advisable not exceeding twenty acres in any one township in each reclamation project or the several units of such reclamation projects undertaken under the act of June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and two, known as the reclamation act.
SEC. 2.  That subject to the provisions hereinafter contained every such tract of land so set apart shall be supplied with water from the Government irrigation system, the cost thereof to be charged to the remaining lands of the project as a part of the construction charge of such project, and shall be maintained and used in perpetuity by the people upon said reclaimed lands for a pleasure park, public playground, and community center.
SEC. 3.  That for the purpose of carrying out and effecting the objects of this act the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to enter into a contract with the organization formed by the owners of the lands irrigated within said project or project unit pursuant to section six of the act of June seventeenth, nineteen [**80]  hundred and two, stipulating and providing that the organization will maintain and use such of the lands so reserved for the purposes prescribed in this act as such organization may desire, and that upon failure to so maintain and use such lands, or in the event that same shall be permitted to be used or occupied for other purposes than those stipulated in this act, the control of the lands shall revert to the United States.
SEC. 4.  That any of such lands not contracted for in accordance with the provisions of section three of this act within ten years from the time water is available for the same, or sooner, if the Secretary of the Interior may deem it desirable, shall be disposed of in accordance with the public-land laws applicable thereto, and the proceeds from the disposition of lands reverting to the United States under the provisions of this act, and from sales of water rights, shall be covered into the reclamation fund and placed to the credit of the project wherein the lands are situate.
Approved, October 5, 1914 (38 Stat. 727).
 
LEASING OF PUBLIC LANDS NEAR SPRINGS, FOR ERECTION OF BATH HOUSES, HOTELS, OR OTHER IMPROVEMENTS
AN ACT To authorize the Secretary of the  [**81]  Interior to lease certain lands
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior, upon such terms and under such regulations as he may deem proper, may permit responsible persons or associations to use and occupy, for the erection of bath houses, hotels, or other improvements for the accommodation of the public, suitable spaces or tracts of land near or adjacent to mineral, medicinal, or other springs which are located upon unreserved public lands or public lands which have been withdrawn for the protection of such springs: Provided, That permits or leases hereunder shall be for a period not exceeding twenty years.
Approved, March 3, 1925 (43 Stat. 1133).
 [*139]  The filing of applications under the act of March 3, 1925 (43 Stat. 1133) and action on such applications, will be governed by the following regulations:
1.  Lessees. -- Leases may issue under the act to any responsible persons or associations, which words are construed to include private corporations and municipalities.
2.  Lands to which applicable. -- Leases may issue for surveyed or unsurveyed unreserved public lands [**82]  in the several States, and in Alaska, situated near or adjacent to mineral, medicinal, or other springs, which are located upon unreserved public lands and for public lands which have been withdrawn for the protection of such springs.
3.  Application for lease. -- An application for lease should be made in duplicate, should be under oath, and should cover or include the following:
(a) Applicant's name and address.
(b) If applicant is a private corporation, a certified copy of the articles of incorporation.
(c) If applicant is a municipality, the law or charter and procedure taken by which the municipality has become a legal body corporate.
An application by a private corporation or municipality should show that it is legally qualified to take the lease requested and that the taking of such lease has been duly authorized by its governing body.
(d) An accurate description of the land desired.  If the land is surveyed, it should be described with reference to the public-land surveys.  A lease may be granted for part of a legal subdivision or for more than one legal subdivision, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior.  If the land is unsurveyed, the description thereof [**83]  should conform to requirements set forth in circular of November 3, 1909 (38 L.D. 287).
(e) The names and addresses of three persons to whom reference may be made as to applicant's reputation and business standing and as to his ability, both from a financial standpoint and otherwise, to carry out the contemplated project.
(f) The period of time for which the lease is desired, not to exceed 20 years, and the purpose for which the lease is sought, whether for the erection of a bathhouse, hotel, or other improvement for the accommodation of the public.  It is important that the application should specify all purposes for which it is intended or desired to use the land, as a lease, if issued, will authorize the use of the land only for the purposes specified in the application, and its use for any other purpose will not be permitted.  Thus, if an applicant for a hotel, in addition to using the land for ordinary hotel purposes, wishes to  [*140]  operate a billiard hall or moving-picture theater, etc., on the land, that fact should be disclosed in the application.
(g) Details as to the proposed improvements, including the estimated cost of construction and of subsequent maintenance;  [**84]  also the time when construction work will begin and when it will be completed, if the proposed lease is granted.
4.  Fixing of rates. -- All leases issued hereunder will contain stipulations authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to fix the rates and prices for accommodations and services whenever this is deemed necessary.  The charges which may be made may or may not be regulated by the Secretary of the Interior, as may be deemed proper in the particular case.
5.  Filing of application. -- An application for lease should be filed in duplicate in the district land office, should be given a current serial number, and should be duly noted on the district land office records.  If it appears that the land applied for is not subject to lease, the application should be rejected subject to the usual right of appeal.  Otherwise, after notation, the register should attach to each copy of the application a statement as to the status of the land as shown by the district land office records and should transmit the original copy of the application to the Commissioner of the General Land Office by special letter for notation on the General Land Office records and the duplicate copy to the  [**85]  division inspector for report.
6.  Action by division inspector. -- Upon receipt of an application the division inspector will cause a field examination to be made, if necessary, and thereafter he will submit report to the Commissioner of the General Land Office. The report should include the following information, if it will be of service in the consideration of the case, together with any other information which may be deemed essential:
(a) A topographic map of the areas adjacent to the spring or of the area applied for.  If in the opinion of the division inspector the area should be divided to enable the issuance of more than one lease, a proposed division should be shown.
(b) A determination of the quantity of water available from the spring and a plan of the work that should be done to develop and increase the flow, as well as to protect the spring from pollution or silting, with an estimate as to the cost.
(c) An analysis of the water, which may be procured from the Bureau of Chemistry.
(d) Whether the contemplated use of the land is the highest or best use to which the land may be put, under the act of March 3, 1925.
(e) A statement as to the distance of the land from [**86]  centers of population and as to its accessibility.
(f) A statement as to whether the contemplated project will require closer supervision than can be given by the division inspector.
 [*141]  The report should show whether in the opinion of the division inspector, all things considered, the application should be allowed or rejected.  It should also show the amount of the annual rental which in the opinion of the division inspector should be charged, if the lease is granted.  In order to ascertain a proper charge, the division inspector should determine what is a fair and reasonable rental of the area, taking into consideration the purpose for which it is to be used and the probable value of the lease to the applicant.  The report should also state any conditions or restrictions which in the opinion of the division inspector should be incorporated in a lease, if issued.  In so far as applicable, the general regulations of the department governing the execution of contracts will be followed in the preparation of leases issued hereunder.
7.  Conflicting applications. -- From and after the filing in the district land office of an application for lease, the lands applied for will not [**87]  be subject to other appropriation under the public land laws.  However, applications under other laws may be received and such application will be suspended pending final action on the application for lease, unless a prior right to the land is claimed by settlement or otherwise, in which case the subsequent applications should be transmitted to the General Land Office for consideration.  If the application for lease is subsequently approved, the conflicting suspended applications will be rejected.  On the other hand, if the application for lease is rejected, the conflicting suspended applications will be relieved from the suspension and will be disposed of as though the application for lease had not been filed.
8.  Further action on application for lease. -- When a report has been received from the division inspector, the Commissioner of the General Land Office will make report to the Secretary of the Interior either recommending the allowance or the rejection of the application for lease. If the allowance of the application is recommended, the Commissioner will submit a form of a proposed lease for consideration.  Thereafter, the department will take such further action and will [**88]  give such further directions as are considered proper.
9.  Discretionary authority of the Secretary of the Interior. -- The granting of an application for lease is discretionary with the Secretary of the Interior, and any application may be granted or denied in part or in its entirety as may appear to be warranted in the particular case.
 
WILLIAM SPRY,
Commissioner.
 
Approved:
E. C. FINNEY,
First Assistant Secretary.

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ATTACHMENTS:
 [*142]  APPENDIX
FORMS
SCHEDULE OF APPRAISEMENT
Valuation of lots and blocks in the town site of    , State of    , appraised under --
			Valuation	 	 	
Block	Lot	Area			Character of	Remarks	
					land     	 	
			Dollars	Cents	 	 	

   ,    , 19   .
We, the undersigned, constituting the Board of Appraisers appointed under    , to examine and appraise the surveyed and platted lots described in the foregoing list and designated on the approved plat of the town site of    , do hereby certify that on the     day (or days) of    , 19   , we visited and examined each of said town lots; and that the valuation placed upon each lot as designated in the foregoing list is the fair, just, and full cash value thereof according to the best of our  [**89]  judgment.
 
    Board of Appraisers.
 
Serial No.    .
APPLICATION UNDER SECTION 2387, U.S. REV. STATS.
 
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
LAND OFFICE AT    ,    ,
   , 19   .
   ,    , as    , of     County, State of    , do hereby apply to purchase, under sections 2387 to 2393, inclusive, U.S. Rev. Stats.,    , Sec.    , T.    , R.     of     Principal Meridian, containing     acres, at the sum of $     for the town site of    .
My post-office address is    ,    .
 
   .
I hereby certify that the land above described contains     acres, and that the purchase price therefor is $    .
 
   , Register.
 
 [*143]  Serial No.    .
APPLICATION TO PURCHASE TOWN LOTS
 
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
LAND OFFICE AT    ,    .
   , 19   .
   ,    , of     County, State of    , do hereby apply to purchase, under    , Lot    , Block No.    , in the town site of    ,    , as delineated and designated in the approved plat thereof, containing    , at the sum of $    .
My post-office address is    ,    .
 
   .
I hereby certify that the land above described contains    , and that the purchase price therefor is $    .
 
   , Register.
Serial No.    .
APPLICATION TO PREEMPT TOWN LOTS,  [**90] 
 
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
LAND OFFICE AT    ,    ,
   , 19   .
I,    , of     County, State of    , do hereby apply to purchase, under    , Lot No.    , in Block No.    , in the town site of    ,    , as delineated and designated in the approved plat thereof, containing    , at the sum of $    , basing said application on the following facts: That I am     years of age (and, if under 21 years of age, add, and the head of a family); that I am a native-born citizen of the United States (or have declared my intention to become a citizen of the United States); that my post-office address is    ,    ; and that my settlement, the date thereof, and the value and character of my improvements on said lot are as follows:    .
 
   .
I hereby certify that the lot above described contain    , and that the purchase price thereof is $    .
 
   , Register.
NOTICE OF INTENTION TO MAKE PROOF
 
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
LAND OFFICE AT    ,    ,
   , 19   .
   ,    , as    , having applied to purchase, under        , the    , hereby give notice of     intention to make proof, to establish     right under said law to enter the land above described, before the    , at    ,    , on   [**91]    , 19   , by two of the following witnesses:
 
   , of    ,    .
   , of    ,    .
   , of    ,    .
   , of    ,    .
 
   .
Notice of the above application will be published in the    , printed at    ,    , which I hereby designate as the newspaper published nearest the land described.
 
   , Register.
 [*144]  NOTICE FOR PUBLICATION OF MAKING PROOF
 
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.
LAND OFFICE AT    ,    ,
   , 19   .
Notice is hereby given that    , as    , has filed notice of his intention to make proof of his right to enter, under    , the    , and that said proof will be made before     at    ,    , on    , 19   , and he names as his witnesses in making such proof --
 
   , of    ,    .
   , of    ,    .
   , of    ,    .
   , of    ,    .
 
   , Register.