Chapter 166. For the relief of settlers on lands in Sherman County, in the State of Oregon
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CHAP. 166.— An Act For the relief of settlers on lands in Sherman County, in the State of Oregon. February 26, 1904. [[S. 277](/us/bill/58/s/277).] [[Public, No. 27](/us/pl/58/27).] *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*, The Eastern Oregon Land Company. Relief of settlers on lands claimed by. That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to investigate and ascertain the reasonable value, respectively, of the lands settled upon arid heretofore claimed by the respective persons whose names arc set out in full in Senate Document Numbered Eight, second session Fifty-sixth Congress, and in Senate Document Numbered Two hundred and forty, first session Fifty-seventh Congress, and in which documents are also specifically stated an accurate description of the lands claimed by each of such persons, respectively, and such other persons who settled upon and improved sale lands after their restoration to entry by order of the Secretary of the Interior, but who were unable to get their claims of record, and whose names do not appear in the two executive documents herein before named, all of said lands being in the county of Sherman, in the State of Oregon.
And it shall be, and is hereby, made the duty of the Secretary ofSecretary of the Interior to investigate claims of settlers. the Interior to investigate and ascertain the names, respectively, of all settlers who entered on said lands and settled upon the. same, and the value of the different classes as hereinafter specified of all of said lands and improvements as follows: First, in all cases where said settlers have been dispossessed of their lands it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to ascertain the reasonable value of such lands, respectively,52 as of the date of the ouster of such settlers, respectively, from said lands by either The Dalles Military Wagon Road Company or the Eastern Oregon Land Company, successor in interest to The Dalles Military Wagon Road Company, in pursuance of the judgment and decree of the Supreme Court of the United States a fleeting the title to said lands; and it is hereby made the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to ascertain the dates, respectively, when such settlers, or any of them. first made settlement upon said lands, and also to ascertain the dates when they or either of them were, respectively, dispossessed of their lands; and in all cases where any of such settlers are still in the possession of the lands so claimed by them, respectively, the reasonable value of the same and the improvements thereon shall be determined by the Secretary of the Interior as of the date of the passage of this Act.
And it is hereby made the duty of the Secretary of the Interior toPurchases made after decision of Supreme Court. ascertain whether any of such settlers, and if so, their names, respectively. have since the date of the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, herein before referred to, purchased from said Dalles Military Wagon Road Company, or the Eastern Oregon Land Company, their right to the lauds so settled upon, the dates of such purchases, respectively, a description of the lands so purchased, and trie amount of money or other compensation paid, respectively, by each thereof to said wagon road companies or either of them.
Sec. 2. That it shall be further the duty of the Secretary of theImprovements made between dates of entry and ouster, etc.Vol. 26, p. 496.Vol. 27, p. 59.Vol. 28, p. 15. Interior to ascertain the names of all persons who made entries of said lands under the provisions of section three of the Act of September twenty-ninth, eighteen hundred and ninety (Twenty-sixth Statutes, page four hundred and ninety-six), and the amendments thereto, and a description of the lands so entered, respectively, mid to ascertain the value of the improvements made thereon by such entrymen, respectively, between the date of the restoration of said lands to entry and the date of ouster, or, in the event there has been no ouster, then as of the date of the passage of this Act.
Sec. 3. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the InteriorRelinquishment price to settlers. further to ascertain for what price and on what terms the Eastern Oregon Land Company, successor in interest of The Dalles Military Wagon Road Company, would relinquish to the settlers the lands claimed by them, respectively, together with the improvements thereon. Sec. 4. That it is hereby made the duty of the Secretary of theReport. Interior to make a full and specific report to Congress, on or before the first day of the next session, in pursuance of the jurisdiction and duties imposed on him by this Art.
Approved, February 26, 1904.