LOUISIANA LANDS [Reported, 51 L. D. 86] CIRCULAR No. 991 INSTRUCTIONS UNDER THE ACT OF FEBRUARY 19, 1925 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Washington, April 2, 1925. REGISTER AND RECEIVER, Baton Rouge, La. GENTLEMEN: The act of February 19, 1925 (43 Stat. 951), entitled "An act granting to certain claimants the preference right to purchase unappropriated public lands," provides: That the Secretary of the Interior, in his judgment and discretion, is hereby authorized to sell, in the manner hereinafter provided, any of those lands situated in the State of Louisiana which were originally erroneously meandered and shown upon the official plats as water-covered areas and which are not lawfully appropriated by a qualified settler or entryman claiming under the public land laws. That any citizen of the United States who, or whose ancestors in title in good faith under color of title or claiming as a riparian owner has, prior to this act, placed valuable improvements upon or reduced to cultivation any of the lands subject to the operation of this act, shall have a preferred right to file in the office of the register and receiver of the United States land office of the district in which the lands are situated, an application to purchase the lands thus improved by them at any time within 90 days from the date of the passage of this act if the lands have been surveyed and the plats filed in the United States land office; otherwise within 90 days from official notice to such claimant of the filing of such plats. Every such application must be accompanied with satisfactory proof that the applicant is entitled to such preference right and that the lands which he applies to purchase are not in the legal possession of an adverse claimant or in the actual possession of a person, or persons, who have improved the property and have attempted to enter same in compliance with the laws and regulations of the United States land office That upon the filing of an application to purchase any lands subject to the operation of this act, together with the required proof, the Secretary of the Interior shall cause the lands described in said application to be appraised, said appraisal to be on the basis of the value of such lands at the date of the appraisal, exclusive of any increased value resulting from the development or improvement thereof for agricultural purposes by the applicant or his prede cessor in interest, but inclusive of the stumpage value of any timber cut or removed by the applicant or his predecessor in interest. That an applicant who applies to purchase lands under the provisions of this act, in order to be entitled to receive a patent, must within six months from receipt of notice of appraisal by the Secretary of the Interior pay to the receiver of the United States land office of the district in which the lands are situated, the appraised price of the lands, and thereupon a patent shall issue to said applicant for such lands as the Secretary of the Interior shall determine that such applicant is entitled to purchase under this act. The proceeds derived by the Government fronr the sale of the lands hereunder shall be covered into the United States Treasury and applied as provided by law for the disposal of the proceeds from the sale of public lands. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to prescribe all necessary rules and regulations for administering the provisions of this act and determining conflicting claims arising thereunder. SEC. 2. That all purchases made and patents issued under the provisions of this act shall be subject to and contain a reservation to the United States of all the coal, oil, gas, and other mineral in the lands so purchased and patented, together with the right to prospect for, mine, and remove the same. Applications to purchase under the above act must be sworn to and may be executed before any officer having a seal and authorized to administer oaths in the county or land district in which the lands are located, and must be filed with the register and receiver of the local land office in that district within 90 days from the passage of this act, if the lands have been surveyed and plats filed in the local office, otherwise within 90 days from the filing of such plat. The applicant must show that he is either a native-born or a naturalized citizen of the United States, and, if naturalized, file record evidence thereof; must describe the land which he desires to purchase, together with the land claimed as the basis of his preference right to the lands applied for if he applies as a riparian owner, or if claiming otherwise, under what color of title his claim is based; in other words, a complete history of the claim, and that the lands applied for are not lawfully appropriated by a qualified settler or entryman under the public land laws, nor in the legal possession of any adverse applicant; the kind, character, and value of the improvements on the land covered by the application; when they were placed thereon; the extent of the cultivation, if any, and how long continued. Such application must be supported by the affidavit of at least two persons having personal knowledge of the facts alleged in the application. Upon receipt of such application the local officers will assign a current serial number thereto. If the land applied for is surveyed and is vacant, the local officers, after noting the application on their records, will suspend action thereon and will promptly forward it to the division inspector for investigation and appraisement of the land in accordance with the provisions of the act. If for unsurveyed land, the local officers will note the application and suspend same transmitting it to the Commissioner of the General Land Office for consideration as to whether or not the lands applied for are in fact public lands and of the class contemplated by the act under which title is sought. During such suspension the lands described in the application shall not be disposed of. When an application is received by the division inspector he will assign same to a field examiner for investigation and appraisement of the land in accordance with the provisions of the act. The examiner will make a written report thereon as to the development or improvement for agricultural purposes and the evidence obtained as to whether or not the lands are of the class contemplated by the act, also recommending the allowance or rejection of the application. If such report is favorable, and the division inspector is of the opinion that the application should be allowed, he will return it to the register and receiver with the appraisement, report, and recommendation to that effect, whereupon the register and receiver will pass upon it in regular order in the light of the report which is to be attached to the record and made a part of the application, and transmit same to the General Land Office with their recommendations. If, however, the division inspector is of the opinion that the entry should not be allowed he will have a full report prepared and transmit the entire record to the General Land Office for consideration and action, advising the register and receiver thereof. If the report justifies such action, this office will direct proceedings against the application under the circular of February 26, 1916, under which the claimant would have the right to apply for a hearing to determine whether or not he is entitled to purchase the lands applied for. If, upon consideration of the application in the General Land Office, with report and appraisement, it shall be determined that the applicant is entitled to purchase the lands applied for, the local office will be authorized to notify the applicant at once, by registered mail, that he must within six months from receipt of notice deposit with the receiver the appraised price of the land or else forfeit all his rights under his application. Upon payment of the appraised price of the land the local officers will issue notice of publication. Such notice shall be published at the expense of the applicant in a newspaper of general circulation designated by the register in the vicinity of the lands, once a week for five consecutive weeks, or 30 consecutive days if in a daily paper, immediately prior to the date of sale, but a sufficient time shall elapse between the date of the last publication and the date of sale to enable the affidavit of the publisher to be filed in the local office." The notice will advise all persons claiming adversely to the applicant that they should file any objections or protests against the allowance of the application within the period of publication, otherwise the application may be allowed. Any objections or protests must be under oath, corroborated, and a copy thereof served upon the applicant. The register and receiver will also cause a copy of such notice of publication to be posted in their office during the entire period of publication. The applicant must file in the local office prior to the date fixed for the sale evidence that publication has been had for the required period, which evidence must consist of the affidavit of the publisher accompanied by a copy of the notice so published. Upon the submission of satisfactory proof, the register and receiver will, if no protest or contest is pending, allow a final entry and issue final certificate, such certificate to contain a stipulation that all the minerals in the lands described in the application are reserved to the United States with the right to prospect for, mine and remove same, transmitting same to the General Land Office, with their regular monthly returns. Very respectfully, Approved April 2, 1925. See instructions of Oct. 19, 1929, p. 1149. WILLIAM SPRY, Commissioner. E. C. FINNEY, First Assistant Secretary. CIRCULAR No. 1065 REGULATIONS RELATIVE TO THE DISPOSITION OF CERTAIN LANDS IN THE LIVE OAK NAVAL RESERVE, LA. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, REGISTER, Baton Rouge, La. GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, May 25, 1926. SIR: Under the act of March 1, 1817 (3 Stat. 347), certain lands in Louisiana were reserved for naval purposes by Executive order of February 29, 1820, because of the "live oak" thereon. The act of February 16, 1923 (42 Stat. 1258), entitled "An act to authorize the Secretary of the Navy to certify to the Secretary of the Interior, for restoration to the public domain, lands in the State of Louisiana not needed for naval purposes," reads, in part, 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 Navy be, and he is hereby, authorized to cause to be certified to the Secretary of the Interior, for restoration to the public domain, the whole or such portion or portions of the several tracts of land in the State of Louisiana heretofore set apart and reserved for naval uses as are no longer required for the purpose for which they were reserved or for any purpose connected with the naval service, and upon such certification the tracts of land described herein shall be duly restored to and become a part of the public lands of the United States; and a preference-right entry for a period of six months from the date of this act shall be given all bona fide settlers who are qualified to enter under the homestead law and have made improvements and are now residing upon any agricultural lands in said reservations and for a period of six months from the date of settlement, when that shall occur, after the date of this act: Provided, That persons who enter under the homestead laws shall pay for such lands the value heretofore or hereafter determined by appraisement, not less than the price of the land at the time of entry; and such payment may, at the option of the purchaser, be made in five equal installments, at times and at rates of interest to be fixed by the Secretary of the Interior. ** * Certification of such lands to the Secretary of the Interior was made effective by a letter from the Acting Secretary of the Navy, dated March 30, 1923, whereby the restoration to the public domain of all those several tracts of land in the State of Louisiana which were reserved and set apart for naval purposes by said order of the President of February 29, 1820, was accomplished. The said act of February 16, 1923, provided further for confirmation of title to lands covered by certificates of purchase issued by the Opelousas land office which certificates were specifically enumerated in said act. Instructions relative to the confirmation of title to such lands were issued July 3, 1923. All such lands have been confirmed to the purchasers under such certificates and patents issued therefor. The lands in such Live Oak naval reserve, situated in St. Mary and St. Martin Parishes, La., that are not embraced in the confirmed claims and are subject to homestead entry have been appraised as follows. The appraised price per acre is at the rate of $1.25 for the land and $2 per M. for the timber. (Schedule of appraisements omitted.) The merchantable timber is comprised of tupelo, cypress, red oak, and willow on each tract containing timber. The appraisers reported no surface indication of mineral upon any of these lands, but that there was a possibility that oil may be found underneath, for the reason that lands in the vicinity have been leased for oil and a number of test wells have been sunk near by. Application for such lands must, therefore, be made in accordance with and subject to the provisions and reservations of the act of July 17, 1914 (38 Stat. 509). The lands above described will become subject to entry under the homestead law, and as provided by said act of February 16, 1923, at not less than the appraised price thereof by ex-service men of the war with Germany, under the terms and conditions of Public Resolution No. 29 of February 14, 1920 (41 Stat. 434), as amended by Public Resolution No. 36, approved January 21, 1922 (42 Stat. 358), Circular No. 822, for a period of 91 days, beginning with the 28th day from the date hereof. Thereafter, any of said land remaining unentered will be subject to settlement and homestead entry by the general public. Subsequent to the approval of these regulations, and prior to the date of restoration to general disposition as herein provided for, no rights may be acquired to said land by settlement in advance of entry, or otherwise, except strictly in accordance herewith. Persons having valid existing rights or equitable claims may avoid confusion by asserting such rights during the 20 days preceding the soldiers' preference-right period. Ex-service men should file certified copies of their certificates of discharge with their applications, and persons claiming preference rights should file affidavits supporting such claims with their applications. Entryman may, at his option, commute after 14 months from the date of settlement with full payment in cash. In all cases where 3-year proof is submitted and after its acceptance, entryman may pay for the land the full amount of the appraised value thereof without interest, or he may make payment in five equal installments, the first payment to be made one year after the acceptance of his final proof, and the subsequent payments to be made annually thereafter, interest to be charged at the rate of 5 per cent per annum from the date of acceptance of final proof until all payments are made. In case the full amount is paid after 14 months from the date of settlement, you will, if the proof is satisfactory, issue cash certificate, and in the event that regular final proof is made and the full amount then paid, you will issue final certificate, but when partial payments are made, you will issue a receipt only for the amount of the principal and the interest paid, and at the time the last payment is made, you will issue final certificate. In issuing final papers you will make the proper annotations thereon, as well as on the applications and abstracts, to show that the entry covers land in the Live Oak naval reserve. Where, upon submitting final proofs, the entrymen elect to make payment for the lands entered in five annual installments, you are authorized to make the usual charges for the testimony reduced to writing, but as the final certificate can not be issued until the last payment is made, you can not charge the final commissions until said final payment is made. Therefore, if the proofs submitted are acceptable, you will make proper notes on your records showing that satisfactory proofs have been made and the date upon which |