The Republic of Texas and the State of Texas succeeded to these mineral rights, but the State has, by legislative enactment, relinquished its right to minerals to the owners of the soil. If the United States acquired these mineral rights from the sovereigns, however, applications to locate the vast petroleum fields in Texas under the United States mineral-land laws would follow.

The second corrollary is that the State statutes of limitations quieting title under adverse possession could not begin to run until the legal title has passed from the United States by patent or otherwise. The applicants admitted that they were not in possession of the land for which patents were sought and argued that they were kept out of possession through the failure of the United States to issue patents.

It is possible that the presentation of this unique proposition to the department is preliminary to a campaign in the courts.

WOOD AND PASTURE RESERVES, OKLAHOMA.

Under the act of June 5, 1906 (34 Stat., 213), the wood and pasture reserves in the former Kiowa, Comanche, Apache, and Wichita Indian Reservations, Okla., were opened to homestead entry under sealed bids, to the highest bidders, the price of the land to be not less than $5 per acre. There was much competition, and the prices bid were high. Awards were made to these bidders of 380,790.69 acres for a total of $4,015,385.25, or an average of $10.50 per acre. The purchasers found themselves unable to meet the payments as they fell due, and numerous extensions of time to make payments were granted by Congress, the last one on August 1, 1914 (38 Stat., 598). This act contained the further provision that "no forfeiture of entry shall be declared except for fraud." It was held that the effect of this legislation was to limit the cause of forfeiture to fraud, and that a contest brought on the ground that the entryman was not complying with the law was insufficient and must fail. It clearly appeared from correspondence that a number of entrymen were not complying with the law, several of them never having established residence on the land.

To remedy this situation the act of March 3, 1919 (40 Stat., 1318), was passed. This act authorized the contesting and cancellation of the entries referred to where a noncompliance with law in the matter of residence, cultivation, and improvement is alleged and proven, and also made provision for giving settlers on the lands for two years prior to the cancellation of the entry a preference right to enter the land. The regulations under this act allowed entrymen six months from the anniversaries of their entries in 1919 (occurring mostly in March and April), within which to submit the regular proof of compliance with the law.

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ABANDONED MILITARY RESERVATIONS.

There are a number of abandoned military reservations that will probably be disposed of during the present fiscal year. Most of these reservations are subject to disposal under the act of July 5, 1884 (23 Stat., 103), which provides for the public sale of the lands for cash at not less than the appraised price. The lands in several of the reservations have been surveyed and appraised and will be offered for sale as soon as the regulations governing their disposal can be prepared and approved. Among the lands thus to be disposed of is a reservation comprising nearly 26 acres at Bayside, also known as Point Comfort, in Monmouth County, N. J.; Batton Island, situated near the mouth of St. Johns River, near Jacksonville, Fla.; a reservation comprising 77.80 acres situated on the north side of the entrance to Gig Harbor near the city of Tacoma, Wash., placed under the control of the Interior Department on August 22, 1917; and reservations numbered 23 and 24, comprising 1,239.20 acres, also near Tacoma, Wash., subject to disposal under the act of July 3, 1916 (39 Stat., 342).

Fort Sabine in Cameron Parish, La., is probably the largest reservation to be disposed of. The lands in this reservation have been surveyed with a view to their disposal under the act of July 5, 1884, and the lands are being appraised. Especial interest is attached to this reservation because it is near the Beaumont, Tex., oil fields.

There are also 10 small reservations in Louisiana, comprising 6,172.79 acres which have been surveyed and appraised, but the offering of the lands has been suspended pending proposed legislation granting the lands to the State.

The lands in the Three Forks Owyhee Reservation in Idaho and Oregon have been surveyed and appraised and a report as to the character of the land has recently been received from the United States Geological Survey. These lands will probably be offered for sale during the coming year.

The Fort Grant Reservation in Arizona has been surveyed and appraised and a report as to the character of the lands has also been received from the Geological Survey. This reservation comprises 9,036.41 acres and will probably be offered during the present fiscal

year.

Lands withdrawn for a military road in connection with the Fort Bayard Reservation, N. Mex., were appraised with a view to their disposal and public sale under the act of 1884. The department held however, on May 6, 1919, that these lands were not a part of a permanent military reservation within the letter and spirit of said act, and therefore were not subject to disposal under said act. These lands will first be opened to entry under the homestead laws and then to entry under the other public-land laws.

INDIAN ALLOTMENTS.

Trust patents have been issued during the year on 2,433 allotments of a total area of 395,549.95 acres. With the exception of large reservations in New Mexico and Arizona and the mission reservations in California, the great bulk of lands held in common by the several tribes has now been divided among the individual Indians entitled thereto.

The 25-year trust period prescribed by the act of February 8, 1887, has expired in the case of many thousand allotments, but the trust has been extended by the President except in such cases as investigation has shown that, in furtherance of the departmental policy of making the Indians self-sustaining, the patent in fee should issue to the Indian allottee or the purchaser. Three thousand two hundred and seven of said fee patents have been issued during the past year, of a total acreage of 410,529.79 acres. The issuance of the patent in fee to an Indian makes him a citizen of the United States.

In conformity with the regulations approved by the department April 15, 1918, it has been necessary to reject many applications for allotment of public lands heretofore filed by or for married Indian women, no provision having been made for them. As provision is made in the new regulations that an Indian applicant who has not complied with the law as to use of his land should be allowed two years from notice to show such use, notice to that effect has been issued during the past year in many cases. If the notice is not heeded, the applications will ultimately be rejected. Seven hundred and fifty-five applications have been finally rejected and 912 have been accepted during the year.

LOGGING OPERATIONS CEDED CHIPPEWA INDIAN LANDS, MINNESOTA.

Owing to the shortage of labor, unsatisfactory conditions in the lumber market, and the fact that most of the timber has been cut, there was little done during the past year in Chippewa logging operations under the act of June 27, 1902 (32 Stat., 400). Only 1,524,120 feet of timber were cut last year, for which the purchasers paid $9,030.62, as compared with 11,788,200 feet, valued at $85,821.77, cut the previous year. The total amount cut up to July 1, 1919, under said act, is 1,283,025,956 feet, for which the purchasers paid $9,084,839.44.

Three companies that purchased large amounts of timber did not cut any timber during the last year. According to Government estimates, 51,485,300 feet of timber remain to be cut by these three companies. The actual amount of timber remaining to be cut is proba

bly 25 per cent in excess of the Government estimate. These three companies have requested further extensions of time for three years within which to complete the cutting of the timber. In accordance with the terms of the last extensions of time granted these companies, they have paid interest amounting to $32,029.14 for the period from July 1, 1916, to July 1, 1918, on the value of the timber still standing on said dates.

With an improvement in labor conditions and the lumber market, logging operations will probably increase very much during the present year and the operations will probably be closed within the next three years.

MINNESOTA DRAINAGE.

The process of reclaiming vast areas of swamp lands surrounding the head waters of the Mississippi River in the State of Minnesota has come to be known as "Minnesota drainage." By the provisions of the act of May 20, 1908 (35 Stat., 169), known generally as the Volstead Act, the National Government has permitted the State of Minnesota to make the public lands in that State subject to the State's drainage system. Under this system one or more counties in the State under a legal proceeding lays out a territory to be drained by a proposed ditch or canal, approximates the cost and assesses this cost against all lands benefited, as drainage taxes. The payment of this drainage tax is usually spread over a term of 20 years. These taxes become a lien against all lands, public and private. The collection of these taxes against public lands is initiated by the State selling its tax lien at public auction. These sales are held annually, beginning on the second Monday in May. Purchasers at these annual sales are given certificates of tax-judgment sale. The holders of these certificates are entitled to make an application to purchase not to exceed 160 acres of land under the act of May 20, 1908, by depositing the certificates, the purchase price of the land, and all fees and commissions in the office of the register and receiver of the local land office in the district where the land is located.

By means of laterals a single ditch or canal is made to drain a large area. Along the banks of these canals roads have been laid out and the excavated matter from these canals is said to make an excellent roadbed.

The popularity of this reclamation process is shown by the great number of inquiries that pour into the office from practically every State in the Union. After a territory is drained, the land cleared, the virgin soil broken and sweetened, its fertility, it is claimed, compares favorably with land that sells in the older settlements at from $100

to $150 per acre. No residence, improvements, or cultivation is required in this class of entries, the improvement by way of drainage and paying the consideration price being, presumably, in lieu thereof. There seems to be nothing in the act of May 20, 1908, to prevent speculators buying up any number of these tax certificates at the annual sales and selling this right to enter the land at as great a profit as possible. There is in the office a letter from an entryman stating that he has been induced by a speculator to purchase 160 acres of land in a drainage district, for $1,250. The entryman discovered that the speculator paid into the local land office as purchase money, fees and commissions, the sum of $222.80. The difference between $1,250 and $222.80 represented the speculator's profit, a clear gain of about 500 per cent. The office receives many complaints along this line. It is true that entrymen could save themselves this financial loss usually by making proper inquiry at the county auditor's office, and at the General Land Office, unless they desire specific tracts covered by outstanding certificates; yet it would seem proper to throw every safeguard possible about those who become purchasers under this act. This protection would be practically provided by an amendment to the Volstead Act specifically limiting the acreage on which tax-lien certificates might be purchased by any person, company, or corporation.

On August 13, 1918, regulations were formulated governing entries by persons who had purchased entered lands at the annual tax sales. The regulations provide for giving notice to the entrymen of the expiration of the period of redemption, as provided by the laws of the State of Minnesota. Upon the filing of a certificate showing that the State requirements have been complied with, the entry is canceled and the purchaser at the tax sale has 90 days within which to pay for the land and make his entry, as provided in the Volstead act.

During the past year legislation has been enacted by Congress validating a number of entries in cases where lands have been assessed for drainage charges and sold prior to the date the land was opened to settlement and entry. Under the act of May 20, 1908, lands in Minnesota were not subject to drainage charges until opened to entry. Assessments thus made were, therefore, illegal, and special legislation was necessary to protect innocent purchasers where the land was subsequently opened.

There have been approved for patenting during the year 1,118 entries subject to drainage taxes under the Volstead act. These mostly were for 160 acres each, or an area of approximately 176,320 acres, as against 146,240 acres the previous year. A total area of 766,920 acres has been patented under said act.