on irrigation charges made on that basis. Adjustment of deficiencies in payment of construction or operation and maintenance charges should await the approval of the board report and the determination of the irrigable area by the Secretary as to each legal subdivision.

It is desired that you make your letter to the field officer conform to the opinions herein expressed.

CREDIT TO HOMESTEAD SETTLERS AND ENTRYMEN FOR MILITARY SERVICE IN INDIAN WARS EXTENDED TO SOLDIERS' WIDOWS

[Circular No. 1296]

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, D.C., March 31, 1933.

REGISTERS, UNITED STATES LAND OFFICES:

The act of March 3, 1933 (47 Stat. 1424), provides as follows: "That the provisions and limitations of the Act entitled 'An Act to allow credit to homestead settlers and entrymen for military service in certain Indian wars', approved April 7, 1930, are hereby extended to the widow of any person who would be entitled to make homestead entry or settlement and receive credit in connection therewith for military service under the provisions of such Act, if such widow is unmarried and otherwise qualified to make entry of public lands under the provisions of the homestead laws of the United States and has heretofore made or shall hereafter make such entry: Provided, That in the event of the death of any such widow prior to perfection of title, leaving only a minor child or children, patent shall issue to the said minor child or children upon proof of death, and of the minority of the child or children, without further showing or compliance with law."

This act extends the benefits of the act of April 7, 1930 (46 Stat. 144), explained in Circular No. 1218 (53 I.D. 102), to the unmarried widow of a soldier who served in an Indian war mentioned in said. act of April 7, 1930, and who died possessed of a homestead right or who may be considered as restored to such right under existing laws. If such widow shows her qualifications and makes her homestead entry, in perfecting title to the land included therein she may deduct the period of her deceased husband's military service from the three years' residence required, subject to compliance with the requirements of the law for at least one year.

The widow must make the same showing to establish evidence of the military service as the husband would have been required to make had he become a homestead applicant for public land. Therefore evidence of military service must be furnished as explained in said Circular No. 1218 and in addition the widow must file an affidavit showing that she is the soldier's unmarried widow and that

at the time of his death he was possessed of the right to make a homestead entry or that the existing laws may be invoked to restore such right. If he ever made a homestead entry data sufficient for this office to identify the same must be furnished.

If such widow makes a homestead entry and dies prior to perfection of the title to the land included therein, leaving only a minor child or children, patent will issue to such minor child or children upon proof of her death and of the minority of the child or children, without further showing of compliance with law, but publication and posting of notice of intention to submit proof must be had and evidence thereof filed in support of the request for the issuance of the patent to the child or children of such deceased homesteader. C. C. MOORE, Commissioner.

Approved:

JOHN H. EDWARDS,

Assistant Secretary.

EXCHANGE OF LANDS IN NEW MEXICO UNDER ACT OF JUNE

15, 1926

[Circular No. 1295]

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, D.C., April 1, 1933.

REGISTERS, UNITED STATES LAND OFFICES,

LAS CRUCES AND SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO.

1. By the act of Congress approved June 15, 1926 (44 Stat. 746), it is provided as follows:

"That section 10 of the Act entitled 'An Act to enable the people of New Mexico to form a constitution and State government and be admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States; and to enable the people of Arizona to form a constitution and State government and be admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States,' approved June 20, 1910, be, and the same is hereby amended, subject to the consent to the terms hereof by the State of New Mexico, by adding the following: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized in his discretion to accept on behalf of the United States, title to any land within the exterior boundaries of the national forests in the State of New Mexico, title to which is in the State of New Mexico, which the said State of New Mexico is willing to convey to the United States, and which shall be so conveyed by deed duly recorded and executed by the Governor of said State and the State land commissioner, with the approval of the State land board of said State, and as to land granted to the said State of New Mexico for the support of common schools with the approval of the State superintendent

of public instruction of said State, as to institutional grant lands with the approval of the governing body of the institution for whose benefit the lands so reconveyed were granted to said State, if, in the opinion of the Secretary of Agriculture, public interests will be benefited thereby and the lands are chiefly valuable for national forest purposes, and in exchange therefor, the Secretary of the Interior, in his discretion, may give not to exceed an equal value of unappropriated, ungranted, national forest or other government land belonging to the United States within the said State of New Mexico, as may be determined by the Secretary of Agriculture and be acceptable to the State as a fair compensation, consideration being given to any reservation which either the State or the United States may make of timber, mineral, or easements.

That authority is hereby vested in the President temporarily to withdraw from disposition under the Act of June 25, 1910 (Thirty-sixth Statutes at Large, page 847), as amended by the Act of August 24, 1912 (Thirty-seventh Statutes at Large, page 497), lands proposed for selection by the State under the provisions of this Act.

Sec. 2. Where sections 2, 16, 32, and 36, within national forests, legal title to which sections is retained in the United States under the provisions of section 6 of the said Act of June 20, 1910, and which sections are administered as a part of the said national forests for the benefit of the said State of New Mexico, have not already been tendered as base for indemnity selection under sections 2275 and 2276, United States Revised Statutes, and where such sections of land, in the opinion of the Secretary of Agriculture, are chiefly valuable for forest purposes, upon surrender by the State of New Mexico of the right to make lieu selections and of all claim, right, or interest in or to said sections upon and in the event of elimination from the national forests, the Secretary of the Interior, in consideration of such surrender, may, in his discretion, give to the State of New Mexico not to exceed an equal value of unappropriated, ungranted, national forest or other government land belonging to the United States within the said State of New Mexico, as may be determined by the Secretary of Agriculture and be acceptable to the State as a fair compensation, consideration being given to any reservation which either the State or the United States may make of timber, mineral, or easements.

That the Secretary of Agriculture may establish regulations and a procedure for appraising the values of the lands owned by the United States and by the State and for carrying out the provisions of this Act.

Sec. 3. That all lands acquired by the State of New Mexico under the provisions, and all the products and proceeds of said lands, shall be subject to all the conditions and trusts to which the lands conveyed or surrendered in lieu thereof are now subject. All lands conveyed to the United States under this Act shall, upon acceptance of title, become parts of the national forests within which they are situated.

Sec. 4. That pursuant to section 10, Article XXI, constitution of the State of New Mexico, the consent of the United States is hereby granted for amendment of the constitution of the State of New Mexico in accordance with the provision of this Act."

Evidence has been furnished of the amendment to the constitution of the State of New Mexico, as provided by this act.

2. All preliminary negotiations relating to an exchange under this act are to be conducted with the local representatives of the Forest Service, and the State must file with the Regional Forester, Albuquerque, New Mexico, an informal application describing the land

to be conveyed as well as that to be selected, which lands must be described by legal subdivisions, or by entire sections, and nothing less than a legal subdivision may be surrendered or selected. The lands selected in any one application should not exceed 6,400 acres. The conveyed lands must be within the exterior boundaries of a national forest, and the selected lands may be within a national forest or may be from the unreserved and unappropriated surveyed public lands within the State.

3. Where the lands proposed for selection by the State as aforesaid, under the provisions of said act of June 15, 1926, are outside of national forests and form a part of the unappropriated, unwithdrawn, unreserved, surveyed public lands, a list of such lands should be promptly forwarded by the State to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, with the request that a withdrawal thereof be made under the act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 847), as amended by the act of August 24, 1912 (37 Stat. 497), and in aid of said proposed selection by the State under said act of June 15, 1926.

4. The application for exchange should show in detail every reservation of mineral, timber, or easements previously granted or to be made by the State to which the offered lands are subject, and should also show the reservations of timber, minerals or easements which are acceptable to the State and are to be made by the United States.

The act requires that the value of the selected lands shall not exceed that of the offered lands, consideration being given to any reservations of timber, mineral, or easements which may be made by the State or the United States. The values of both offered and selected lands shall be determined by the Secretary of Agriculture. To meet that requirement of law, both the offered and selected lands will be examined and appraised by officers of the Forest Service, in conformity with the principles and procedure governing examinations of lands offered or selected under the provisions of land exchange laws as set forth in the National Forest Manual. If such examinations disclose inequalities of value, the State will be so advised and opportunity afforded for adjustments which will bring the exchange within the provisions of the law.

After agreement as to values has tentatively been arrived at by the State officials and officers of the Forest Service, the Chief of Field Division of the General Land Office at Santa Fe, New Mexico, will be furnished with two copies of each report and appraisal covering lands to be selected from the unreserved public domain, for comment and recommendations. If no objections to the proposed exchange are known to the Chief of Field Division, he will so endorse the reports, returning one copy to the Regional Forester and forwarding the other to the Commissioner of the General Land

Office at Washington, D.C. If the Chief of Field Division has valid objections to the tentative agreement, the Regional Forester will endeavor to consider and adjust them. If the report meets with the approval of the Chief of Field Division, the Regional Forester will forward the copy of the report returned by the Chief of Field Division, together with the application and other related papers, to the Forester at Washington, D.C.

5. If, in the case of selection of unreserved public lands of the United States, a joint examination for appraisal is requested through the national forest officers, arrangements for such examination may be made with the Chief of Field Division of the General Land Office. Where, for any reason, other or further examination is found necessary or desirable by the Department of the Interior, the Chief of Field Division will be so instructed.

6. When is has been shown to the satisfaction of the Secretary of Agriculture, through the district forester and the Forest Service at Washington, D.C., that the exchange sought will be in the public interest and that the value of the selected land does not exceed that of the land offered in exchange, the Secretary of the Interior will be so advised. The letter of recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture should specifically describe all reservations of mineral, timber, or easements previously granted or to be made by either the State or the United States. The General Land Office will notify the district land officers that applications for such exchange may be allowed, if in conformity with these regulations.

7. All applications for exchange under the provisions of this act must be filed, by the proper officers of the State, in the district land office of the district in which the lands applied for are situated, accompanied by the following affidavits and certificates:

(a) An affidavit as to the nonmineral and nonsaline character of the land applied for, except where the land is subject to a reservation of mineral rights by the United States. The nonmineral affidavit should also show that said land is unappropriated and is not occupied by and does not contain improvements placed thereon by any Indian.

(b) A certificate of the selecting agent that the selection is made under and pursuant to the laws of the State.

(c) An affidavit that the land selected does not exceed in value that of the land offered in exchange.

8. Where the application is for public lands of the United States outside of national forest boundaries, there must be furnished a corroborated affidavit relative to springs and water holes upon the land applied for, in accordance with existing regulations pertaining thereto in the case of all similar State selections.

9. Payment of fees will be required in the sum of $1.00 for each 160 acres, or fraction thereof, selected by the State.