the circular of August 30, 1826 (Vol. 2, Laws, Instructions & Opinions, page 466): For each township or fractional township containing a greater quantity of land than three-quarters of an entire township, (that is to say, more than 17,280 acres) one section is to be reserved. For each fractional township containing a greater quantity of land than one-half and not more than three-quarters of a township, (that is to say, more than 11,520 acres, and less than 17,280 acres) three-quarters of a section are to be reserved. For each fractional township containing a greater quantity of land than one-quarter, and not more than one-half of a township, (that is to say, more than 5760 acres, and not more than 11,520 acres) a half section is to be reserved. For each fractional township containing a greater quantity of land than one entire section, and not more than one-quarter of a township, (that is to say, more than 640 acres, and not more than 5,760 acres) one-quarter section is to be reserved. Upon inquiry at your office it is learned that this method of calculation has been uniformly followed and after careful consideration of the matter is adhered to. Applied to the case in hand, the adjustment made by your office was correct and the decision appealed from is affirmed. SURVEY-NOTICE-CIRCULAR OF OCTOBER 21, 1885. The instructions of October 21, 1885, requiring that notice shall be given of the receipt and filing in the local office of approved plats of the survey of any township before applications for entry of lands included in the survey will be received, are applicable in the matter of the filing of the plat of survey of an island, or other fragmentary tract of public land, made after the regular survey of the township in which such tract is situated, the same as in the case of the survey of an entire township. Secretary Hitchcock to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, (S. V. P.) July 2, 1903. (C. J. G.) March 18, 1903, your office directed the local officers at St. Cloud, Minnesota, to withdraw from the files of their office the plat of survey of an island in Fish Trap Lake, in Sec. 18, T. 135 N., R. 28 W., and Sec. 13, T. 135 N., R. 29 W., pending notice of the filing of said plat in pursuance of the regulations contained in the instructions of October 21, 1885 (4 L. D., 202). March 24, 1903, your office returned to the local officers at St. Cloud, an application of Allen F. Ferris, assignee of Elizabeth Case, widow of John Case, to enter under section 2306 of the Revised Statutes, lot 9, Sec. 18, T. 135 N., R. 28 W., and lot 5, Sec. 13, T. 135 N., R. 29 W., situated on said island in Fish Trap Lake, for the reason that the application was prematurely received, and with instructions that Ferris might renew the same upon the refiling of the plat of sur vey and after the requirements of your office of March 18, 1903, were complied with. An appeal has been filed by Ferris from the said decision of your office, it being alleged, among other things, that the instructions of October 21, 1885, supra, require that notice shall be given only when the plat of the survey of any township is filed in the local office, and that the prevailing practice in the local offices in Minnesota has been to allow entries of islands immediately upon the filing of the plats of survey thereof, when they are situated in townships that have been 'surveyed. It appears that the survey of the island in question was made upon the application of one Louis M. Osborn, dated February 14, 1902. The survey was approved by your office January 19, 1903, and the plat thereof filed in the local office January 30, 1903. The application of Ferris to make soldier's additional homestead entry was received in the local office January 31, 1903, and transmitted to your office February 5, 1903. It appearing that the local officers had failed to give any notice of the filing of the plat of survey of said island, the action herein before referred to was taken by your office. The instructions of October 21, 1885, supra, require that notice. shall be given of the receipt and filing in local offices of approved plats of the survey of any townships, and it is specifically stated therein how publicity shall be given, by posting notices and otherwise, that said plat will be filed on a day named," which shall not be less than thirty days from the date of such notice." Until this is done the plats are not to be regarded as officially received. And it is only after such notice has been given that local officers are authorized to receive applications for the entry of lands included in the survey. The object of such notice is undoubtedly to give all persons who may have claims to or desire to enter the lands an equal chance to present their claims. All the reasons for the regulations contained in said instructions are equally as potent and applicable in the matter of the filing the plat of survey of an island, or other fragmentary tract of public land, made after the regular township survey has been made. Whatever may have been the practice heretofore in local offices, it is clearly in keeping with good administration to require that before entry is allowed in this case, or in similar cases, proper publicity should be given of the filing of the plat of survey, as contemplated by the instructions referred to. The decisions of your office appealed from are hereby affirmed. TOWNSHIP SURVEY-NOTICE-CIRCULAR OF OCTOBER 21, 1885. INSTRUCTIONS. The circular of October 21, 1885, requiring notice to be given of the receipt and filing in the local office of approved plats of survey of townships before applications for entry of lands included in such survey will be received, embraces all public land surveys of a township, whether made in whole or in part, and the same notice will be required of the survey of fragmentary portions of a township made after the regular township survey as in the case of original township surveys. Secretary Hitchcock to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, (S. V. P.) July 2, 1903. (E. F. B.) The Department is in receipt of your letter of June 16, 1903, transmitting a proposed amendment to the circular of October 21, 1885 (4 L. D., 202), relative to the filing in the local office of plats of public land surveys. It is understood that the amendment (which is to the effect that said circular applies to the plats of surveys of islands, or other fragmentary portions of the townships, as well as to other township surveys) was proposed because it has been brought to your notice that the prevailing practice in the local offices in Minnesota has been to allow entries of islands immediately upon the filing of the plats of survey thereof, when they are situate in townships that have been surveyed. The Department sees no necessity for the proposed amendment. The circular as it now stands embraces all public land surveys of a township, whether made in whole or in part, and the reason for giving the notice prescribed by the circular is equally as important in the filing of plats of fragmentary portions of the township as in the case of original township surveys: to-wit, in order that notice may be given to the public that the lands are open to entry, so that all persons may have equal opportunity to file applications therefor. See case of Allen F. Ferris (32 L. D., 184). It is sufficient that the local officers receive instructions from your office of the scope and purpose of the circular; and in order that a failure to comply therewith may not occur in the future, it is suggested that when plats of survey of fragmentary portions of a township are sent to the local officers their attention should be called to the requirements of said circular, which must in all cases be complied with preliminary to the filing of the plat of survey in the local office. RIGHT OF WAY-INDIAN LANDS-SEC. 1, ACT OF MARCH 2, 1899. ST. PAUL, MINNEAPOLIS AND MANITOBA R. R. Co. v. MINNEAPOLIS, ST. PAUL AND SAULT SAINTE MARIE R. R. Co. The proviso to section 1 of the act of March 2, 1899, which act provides for acquiring rights of way by railroad companies through Indian reservations, Indian lands, and Indian allotments, that no right of way shall be granted under said section for a proposed road parallel to and within ten miles of a constructed road or one in actual course of construction, applies only where a road has been constructed or is in the actual course of construction across the Indian lands, and has no application in a case where a right of way has been granted or is applied for upon the mere survey and platting of the proposed line of road. Acting Secretary Ryan to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, July (S. V. P.) 8, 1903. (F. W. C.) The Department has considered the applications by the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad Company and the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railroad Company, for rights of way under the provisions of the act of March 2, 1899 (30 Stat., 990), through the White Earth Indian reservation in the State of Minnesota. Each company has filed maps of location through this reservation for approval under said act, and in forwarding these applications your office letters of May 13, last, recommend that both applications be approved. The application of the "Soo" company is on account of a projected branch line from Glenwood, a point on its actually constructed and operated line in the State of Minnesota, running in a northerly and northwesterly direction to the south boundary of the White Earth Indian reservation and then almost due north through the western part of said reserve. So far as shown by the record before the Department in connection with these applications no portion of said projected branch line has been constructed or is in actual course of construction further than the surveying of the proposed line of road. Proceeding under the act of 1899 this company applied for permission to survey the line of road through the White Earth Indian reservation, which survey was authorized by this Department February 25, 1903. From the maps now submitted it appears that the survey was made between April 10 and 17, last, and as surveyed the line was adopted by the Board of Directors April 27, last. The application of the Manitoba company is on account of a projected branch line from Fergus Falls, a point on its actually constructed and operated line in the State of Minnesota, running in an almost direct line, nearly due north, through the White Earth Indian reservation to McIntosh, a point of connection on another portion of its actually constructed and operated lines in the State of Minnesota. A portion of this projected branch line, namely, about twenty miles extending northerly from Fergus Falls to Pelican Rapids, is an actually con structed line. The Manitoba company never applied to this Department for permission to survey the line of its road through this reserve but from the maps filed with its application for right of way it appears that the line of the proposed road through this reservation was surveyed between April 16 and 24, last, and that the line of road as surveyed was adopted by the company April 27, last. These two projected lines converge and are only a short distance apart at the point of crossing the south boundary of said reserve and running through the reserve are very close together actually crossing at a point about four miles south of the northern boundary of said reserve. The proposed lines of road are therefore parallel and within ten miles of each other (in fact much less than a mile) through the entire reserve. The "Soo" company first filed for approval its maps of location through this reservation and thereafter protested against the granting of the right of way as applied for by the Manitoba company upon the ground that it was entitled to precedence and that the proviso to the first section of the act of March 2, 1899, which reads as follows That where a railroad has heretofore been constructed, or is in the actual course of construction, no parallel right of way within ten miles on either side shall be granted by the Secretary of the Interior unless, in his opinion, public interest would be promoted thereby barred the granting of the application by the Manitoba company. The Manitoba company also protested against the claim of the "Soo" company to precedence in this matter, urging that at the time of the survey and of the filing of the maps of location by the Manitoba company through this reserve, the "Soo" company had not entitled itself under the State laws to construct its proposed Glenwood branch line, and that until the "Soo" company had fully complied with the State laws no rights were conferred by reason of any prior survey and location, referring in support thereof to the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Washington and Idaho Railway Company v. Coeur d'Alene Railway Company (160 U. S., 77). In this connection the Manitoba company submitted a certified copy of the act of the State legislature approved April 10, 1901, as follows: SEC.-1. That chapter thirty-one (31) of the General Laws of the State of Minnesota for the year 1881, being section 2749 of the General Statutes of 1894, be amended to read as follows: Any railroad corporation may, under the provisions of this chapter, extend its railroad from any point named in its charter or articles of incorporation, or may build branch railroads either from any point on its line of railroad or from any point on the line of any other railroad connecting or to be connected with its road, the use of which other road between such points and the connection with its own road such corporation shall have secured by lease or agreement for a term of not less than ten years from its date. Before making such extensions, or building such branch road, such corporation shall, by resolution of its board of directors, to be entered in the record of its proceedings, designate the route of such extension or branch, a |