The intent and purpose of the act is to avoid delay and inconvenience to public-land claimants by having someone in the land office at all times who is authorized to administer oaths in publicland cases. Under the provisions of the act the acting register may administer oaths at any time, whether the register is present or absent, and no report is required to be made to this office when he performs such service, but nothing contained therein shall be construed to permit the acting register to perform any other duties required to be performed solely by the register when the latter official is on duty, nor to relieve the acting register from the duty of reporting to this office the same as heretofore the exact date and hour of the beginning and termination of his service as acting register at such times as the register may be absent from the office for a day or longer. The act does not in any way relieve the register of his responsibility for the proper performance of the duties imposed upon him by law, and it is not expected that he will permit private interests to interfere with his active attention to official business, and he is expected to remain on duty at all times except when absent on leave previously granted by this office. Very respectfully, WILLIAM SPRY, Commissioner. [Reported, 51 L. D. 572] CIRCULAR NO. 884 (REVISED)* OFFICERS AUTHORIZED TO ADMINISTER OATHS IN PUBLIC LAND CASES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, September 3, 1926. Registers, United States Land Offices. SIRS Section 2294, Revised Statutes, as amended by the act of March 11, 1902 (32 Stat. 63); the act of March 4, 1904 (33 Stat. 59); and the act of February 23, 1923 (42 Stat. 1281), provides: That hereafter all proofs, affidavits, and oaths of any kind whatsoever required to be made by applicants and entrymen under the homestead, preemption, timber-culture, desert-land, and timber and stone acts, may in addition to those now authorized to take such affidavits, proofs, and oaths be made before any United States commissioner or commissioner of the court exercising Federal jurisdiction in the Territory or before the judge or clerk of any court of record in the county, parish, or land district in which the lands are situated: Provided, That in cases where because of geographic or topographic conditions there is a qualified officer nearer or more accessible to the land involved, but outside the county and land district, affidavits, proofs, and oaths may be taken before such officer: Provided further, That in case the affidavits, proofs, and oaths hereinbefore mentioned be taken outside of the county or land district in which the land is located, the applicant must show by affidavit, satisfactory to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, that it was taken before the nearest or most accessible officer qualified to take such affidavits, proofs, and oaths; but such showing by affidavit need not be made in making final proof if the proof be taken in the town or city where the newspaper is published See Circulars Nos. 894, p. 1032, and 1074, p. 1034. in which the final proof notice is printed. The proof, affidavit, and oath, when so made and duly subscribed, or which may have heretofore been so made and duly subscribed, shall have the same force and effect as if made before the register and receiver when transmitted to them with the fees and commissions allowed and required by law. That if any witness making such proof, or any applicant making such affidavit or oath, shall knowingly, willfully, or corruptly swear falsely to any material matter contained in said proofs, affidavits, or oaths, he shall be deemed guilty of perjury, and shall be liable to the same pains and penalties as if he had sworn falsely before the register. That the fees for entries and for final proofs, when made before any other officer than the register and receiver, shall be as follows: For each affidavit, 25 cents. For each deposition of claimant or witness when not prepared by the officer, 25 cents. For each deposition of claimant or witness prepared by the officer, $1. Any officer demanding or receiving a greater sum for such services shall be guilty of misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished for each offense by a fine not exceeding $100. The act of May 17, 1926 (44 Stat. 558), provides: That'a qualified employee of the Department of the Interior who has been designated to act as register of any United States land office pursuant to the provisions of the act of October 28, 1921, "An act for the consolidation of the offices of register and receiver in certain cases, and for other purposes" (Forty-second Statutes at Large, page 208), may at all times administer any oath required by law or the instructions of the General Land Office in connec tion with the entry or purchase of any tract of public land, but he shall not charge or receive, directly or indirectly, any compensation for administering such oath. The act of July 3, 1926 (44 Stat. 830), provides : That in all cases in which, under the laws of the United States, oaths are authorized or required to be administered, they may be administered by notaries public Culy appointed in any State, District, or Territory of the United States, by clerks and prothonotaries of courts of record of any such State, District, or Territory, by the deputies of such clerks and prothonotaries, and by all magistrates authorized by the laws of or pertaining to any such State, District, or Territory to administer oaths. As a result of the enactment of the said acts of May 17 and July 3. 1926, oaths in public land cases may now be executed before the register or the acting register of the United States land office and, in Alaska, before the receiver (where there is a receiver), or before a United States commissioner, or a notary public, or before a judge or clerk or prothonotary of a court of record, or the deputy of such clerk or prothonotary, or before a magistrate authorized by the laws of the State, District, or Territory of the United States to administer oaths, in the county, parish, or land district in which the land lies, or before any officer of the classes mentioned who resides nearer or more accessible to the land, although he may reside outside of the county and land district in which the land is situated. Where an oath is administered before an officer outside of the county, parish, or land district in which the land applied for is situated, an affidavit must be furnished satisfactory to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, that because of topographic or geographic conditions the officer was nearer or more accessible to the land; but in those States in which there is no United States land office an affidavit may be executed before any qualified officer in the State without any showing as to his nearness or accessibility with reference to any particular county. Except as to the register or the acting register, the official character of any officer not using a seal of office must be certified to under seal by the clerk of court having the record of his appointment and qualifications. Very respectfully, Approved September 3, 1926. WILLIAM SPRY, Commissioner. E. C. FINNEY, First Assistant Secretary. CIRCULAR No. 1167 CHANGING DESIGNATION OF FIELD OFFICERS To all Field Officers: DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, September 28, 1928. By departmental order of September 25, the following changes in designations were made, effective October 1, 1928: Old designation: Inspection service. Division inspector.. Inspector (formerly special agent)--- Carey Act inspector. Timber cruise__ Hearings officers_. New designation: Field Service, General Land Office. Mining engineer (authorized by Irrigation engineer. Timber cruiser. District law officer. All communications to the Chief of Field Service and to the Chiefs of Field Divisions will be addressed as follows: Chief of Field Service, General Land Office, Washington, D. C. Chief of Field Division, General Land Office, WILLIAM SPRY, Commissioner. OKLAHOMA LANDS CIRCULAR No. 8521 REGULATIONS FOR THE OPENING TO ENTRY OF LANDS IN THE EASTERN SALINE RESERVE, OKLA. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, September 22, 1922. REGISTER AND RECEIVER, Guthrie, Okla. GENTLEMEN: Executive Order No. 2685 of August 16, 1917, temporarily withdrew under the authority of the act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 847), as amended by the act of August 24, 1912 (37 Stat. 497), certain lands in Oklahoma, pending determination as to the advisability of reserving said lands for military purposes. Executive Order No. 3705, approved July 1, 1922, revoked said order of August 16, 1917, and the lands withdrawn thereunder were returned to the Department of the Interior for disposition as may be provided by law. Under date of July 24, 1922, copies of said Executive Order No. 3705 were sent your office and you were informed that you would be later advised of the disposition to be made of said lands. The records of this office show that the Easterr Saline Reserve, located in Alfalfa County, Okla., was made pursuant to the act of August 7, 1882 (22 Stat. 349), by presidential proclamation dated August 19, 1893 (28 Stat. 1222). This reservation was restored to the public domain by presidential proclamation of July 27, 1898 (30 Stat. 1779), to be disposed of under the laws relating to the public lands in the Cherokee Outlet, subject to the policy of the Government in disposing of saline lands. The lands in the Cherokee Outlet were subject to disposition under section 10 of the act of March 3, 1893 (27 Stat. 612, 640). Said act provided for the disposition of said lands under section 13 of the act of March 2, 1889 (25 Stat. 1005), said act providing for the disposition thereof to actual settlers under the homestead and townsite laws only. The act of January 31, 1901 (31 Stat. 745), provides that all unoccupied lands of the United States containing salt springs or deposits of salt in any form, and chiefly valuable therefor, are declared to be subject to location and purchase under the provisions of the law relating to placer mining claims. By instructions of November 14, 1901 (31 L. D. 131), local offices were instructed to require an affidavit showing that the lands applied for contained no salt springs or deposits of salt in any form sufficient to render said land chiefly valuable therefor. The lands in said Eastern Saline 1Amended by instructions of Feb. 19, 1929, p. 1041. |