section 24 of the Federal water power act with respect to lands of the United States heretofore or hereafter reserved or classified as power sites which are applied for, or occupied and used for, transmission line purposes only, the commission voted as follows:

(a) That where lands of the United States have heretofore been, or hereafter may be, reserved or classified as power sites, such reservation or classification being made solely because such lands are either occupied by power transmission lines or their occupancy and use for such purposes has been applied for or authorized under appropriate laws of the United States, and such lands have otherwise no value for power purposes, and are not occupied in trespass, the commission determines that the value of such lands so reserved or classified. or so applied for or authorized, will not be injured or destroyed for the purposes of power development by location, entry or selection under the public land laws, subject to the reservation of section 24 of the Federal water power act.

(b) That when notice is given to the Secretary of the Interior of reservations made under the provisions of section 24 of the Federal water power act, such notice shall indicate what lands so reserved, if any, may, in accordance with the determination of the preceding paragraph, be declared open to location, entry, or selection subject to the reservation of said section 24.

The exception from the effect of this determination of lands withdrawn for transmission lines which are occupied in trespass by such lines does not imply that the commission is opposed to the restoration to entry of lands so occupied. Where you found that lands applied for are occupied in trespass, the application should be referred to this office for such action as it deems to be appropriate to the particular circumstances existing in the case. It is believed that all other lands withdrawn for transmission line purposes can be handled directly by your office under the above determination.

AMENDING CIRCULAR NO. 729 OF NOVEMBER 20, 1920 (47 L. D. 595), RELATIVE TO SECTION 24 OF THE FEDERAL WATER POWER ACT OF JUNE 10, 1920 (41 STAT. 1063)

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, December 14, 1925.

Registers, United States Land Offices.

SIRS: So much of Circular No. 729, of November 20, 1920 (47 L. D. 595) (Federal water power act of June 10, 1920) (41 Stat. 1063), which reads "If the application alleges discovery or location prior to the date of the act, it should be accompanied by corroborated affidavit, attesting the fact, and transmitted to this office for consideration, without allowance," is hereby amended so as to read:

If the application alleges a valid location made prior to the date of the act and is accompanied by corroborated affidavit attesting the fact, the patent pro

ceedings may be prosecuted to completion. The proof should be considered upon its merits, and, if found regular, final certificate may issue although a protest may have been filed by the division inspector; but the claimant should be advised in such cases that patent will be withheld by the General Land Office pending a report by the division inspector upon the bona fides of the claim; also, that when the case is adjudicated in the General Land Office determination will be made whether or not the claim is subject to the provisions of section 24 of the act.

Registers, United States Land Offices.

SIRS: The executive secretary of the Federal Power Commission has agreed to adopt, and unless unforeseen obstacles arise, to continue indefinitely the following practice:

When applications under the Federal water power act involving public lands are filed with field representatives of the commission, copies of the application will be forwarded to the executive secretary, who will immediately notify the General Land Office of such filing, and of the date it was received by the commission, which will be considered as the date of priority for purposes of land withdrawal. A copy of the letter to the General Land Office will be mailed directly by the executive secretary to the register of the United States land district in which the public lands affected are located.

You will, upon receipt of such letter, make notation on your records to the effect that the public land described is withdrawn from entry, location, or other disposal until otherwise directed by the commission or by Congress, as provided by section 24 of the Federal water power act, the effective date being the date the power project application was filed with the commissioner. You should at once make careful examination of your records for applications, selections, entries, or other disposition of the lands affected filed or allowed after the effective date of priority, and prior to the receipt of the notice of withdrawal in your office, and report to this office any such conflict. If no such conflict exists, you should so state in your report.

Very respectfully,

THOS. C. HAVELL,

Acting Commissioner.

GENTLEMEN: Public No. 499, Sixty-eighth Congress (43 Stat. 1012), an act authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to adjust disputes or claims by settlers, entrymen, selectors, grantees, and patentees of the United States against the United States and between each other, arising from incomplete or faulty surveys in T. 28 S., Rs. 26 and 27 E., Tallahassee Meridian, Polk County, in the State of Florida, approved February 27, 1925, reads as follows:

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 equitably adjust disputes and claims of settlers, entrymen, selectors, grantees, and patentees of the United States, their heirs or assigns, against the United States and between each other, arising from incomplete or faulty surveys in section 31, township 28 south, range 26 east, and in sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21, township 28 south, range 27 east, Tallahassee meridian, Polk County, in the State of Florida, and to issue directly or in trust as may be found necessary or advisable, patent to such settlers, entrymen, selectors, grantees, and patentees, their heirs or assigns, for land claimed through settlement, occupation, purchase, or otherwise in said described area, preserving, as far as he may deem equitable, to those claimants now in possession of public land the right to have patented to them the areas so occupied: Provided, That a charge of $1.25 is to be made for each acre or fraction thereof of Government land patented under this act: Provided further, That rights acquired subsequent to the withdrawal of July 5, 1921, shall not be recognized or be subject to adjustment hereunder.

Sec. 2. That the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to accept any and all conveyances of land for purposes of adjustment and to make all necessary rules and regulations in order to carry this act into effect.

In accordance with the provisions of the above act the following regulations are prescribed to govern the filing of applications preliminary to the adjudication of rights cognizable under said act: 1. Individuals or corporations seeking relief under this act are required to file an application within 90 days from the date of issuance of these regulations with the register and receiver at the Gainesville office, giving the description and area of the lands desired in accordance with the plat of resurvey and the act under which the application is filed, together with a comprehensive statement of the facts constituting the grounds for the relief sought. Where the grounds for relief are based on record evidence of title through purchase or otherwise, there must be filed with the application an abstract of title brought down to a day reasonably near the date of the pres

entation of the application, showing full title in the applicant, who must as soon as practicable thereafter file a supplemental abstract brought down so as to include the date of the filing of the application. No application for patent, based upon a claim which had its inception after July 5, 1921, will be deemed as falling within the purview of the above act. Patent, if and when issued, will be in the name of the applicant. Transfers made subsequent to the date of the application will be disregarded.

2. Under the provisions of the above act only applications based on rights acquired prior to July 5, 1921, the date of the withdrawal, can be considered; and only lands of the United States may be acquired, unless the applicant submits with his application an affidavit from the owner of the land sought authorizing an exchange or other method of adjustment.

3. In order to facilitate the administration of the adjustment the owner of the land on July 5, 1921, should as far as possible include in his application for relief all rights accruing by or through such ownership.

4. With respect to the Hamilton townsite, the advisability of issuing patent in trust to the owner of the land therein on July 5, 1921, for the benefit of transferees or the present owners in possession will be considered.

5. A representative or committee of this office will, if found advisable, be detailed to review the papers and visit the field for the purpose of compromising or otherwise adjudicating the claims to the area involved. Further field investigation will be made if deemed necessary or expedient.

6. The register and receiver at the Gainesville office will assign a serial number to each application and will after the expiration of the time allowed for the filing of applications forward all applications and other matters filed in connection therewith without action to the Commissioner of the General Land Office at Washington, D. C., who will thereafter as soon as may be submit to the department a complete report covering the whole situation pursuant to which the department will render a decision. The usual 30 days will be allowed from the date of such decision within which to apply to the Secretary of the Interior for a rehearing of the decision in case the party concerned has occasion to feel aggrieved thereby.

7. After the expiration of the period for the filing of motions for rehearing the Secretary of the Interior will render a final decision announcing the awards made.

8. Mimeographic copies hereof will in a short time be furnished you for distribution and interested parties may also secure same on request to the Commissioner, General Land Office, Washington, D. C. 9. You will post a copy hereof in your office; forward copies to post offices on or near the land with request that same be posted therein; and you will, furthermore, give all possible publicity to the promulgation of these regulations without expense to the Govern

ment.

Very respectfully, Approved June 13, 1925.

WILLIAM SPRY, Commissioner.

E. C. FINNEY, First Assistant Secretary.