United States v. Hammers

Citations

• 221 U.S. 220
• 31 S. Ct. 593
• 55 L. Ed. 710
• 1911 U.S. LEXIS 1729

Syllabus

<p>Under the Desert Land Act of March 3, 1877, c. 107, 19 Stat. 377, as added to by the act of March 3, 1891, c. 561, 26 Stat. 1096, a desert land entry is assignable.</p> <p>Where a statute is so ambiguous as to render its construction doubtful the uniform practice of the officers of the Department whose duty has been to construe and administer the statute since its enactment and under whose constructions rights have been acquired is determinatively persuasive on the courts.</p> <p>There is confusion between the original desert land act of 1877 and the act as amended in 1891 as to whether entries can be assigned, and the court turns for help to the practice of the Land Department in construing the act, and that has uniformly been since 1891 that entries were assignable.</p>