The Dickinson press., 1884-01-05
DAKOTA ~LAND-GRABBlNG.

DAKOTA LAND.GRABBlNG.
Views and suggestions Of Ex-Congressma"
Willlam,, Now Register at the Water
town, Dak., Land Office.
The action of the government in appointing
special agents, says a New York Tribune cor
respondent from WATERFOWL, Oak, is having
the effect OF terrifying the grabb,rs. The dis.
trlct land ofic rs are themselves almostp pow
er:ess. Elk parte afidavits in proof are sub
m.ttel, aud IN the nature of things accepted
1t is here that the work Of the sp cial agen
begins. In any doubtful or SUSPICIOUS case lii
services are required for investigation, and
Irregularity works forfeiture, and perjury en-.
tails prosecution, whom the law is effectively
administered
Upon this whole subject the views of the
Hon. C.. G. William', representative in con
sress from Wisconsin,, and now register of til
tho United Safes land Office at this place, ma,
be Interesting. Being asked whether he be
lieved that a large amount of fraud had been
perpe.rated upon the government in the entry
o lands in his district, he replied:
"Yes. and no. In the sense of literal com
pliance with law, a large number of eniric
would not stand the test. Take, for instanc,,
the question OF continual residence on home
stead and presumption claims. If the claimant
is required t. i've continuously for Elk month
established farmer would leav. his homestead
a very small proportion OF claimants, even o
those make oath to continuous residence, com
lily with the law. Many unquestlonablv do.
But tho question, as we'll as til, situation, is Il
mixed one. depending, largely. Oh good faiti.
ami the reasonable endeavor of the settler.
1t is easy to say that a man shall live on a
claim six months, or five years. as the Cas-
may be; but tho literal fuiflment Of the
requirement is quit, another matter. Mtny
honest settlers are poor. A largo proportion
of them are young men from twenty-five to
have accumulated meaus enough to get t.
Dakota. TIey enter a piece of land, break
five or tell acres, or hire it broke, build claim
cabin lOxl2, aud dig a we'll: and then theil
means arc exhausted. Large numbers of these
have no teams, Tn"y csnuot work the
30 they seek work elsewhere. living OH their
Gains all they can, and evantua lily making
| them their actual homes. In all such cases,
| where the existence of good faith is estab
lished, 1 think the policy Of the government:
should be-. and is, to favor the claimants.
They are just the parsons in whose int-res
tie law was passed. But the great d fficulty l.
in determining who are the bona fide settlers.
| OF course he amount and value of improve
ments afford some test; but the man of means
| WHO scarcely ever Rte5 HIS CialEl Cau put on
more improvements in thirty days than the
struggling settler cal in six months or five
years.
Sin the last congress l voted for the repeal
of the present law; bu- l am now not so sure
Of the sounlness of tiat policy. know the
| American method, il not maxim of legislation
is: If a law does not op rata exactly to suit
| YOU, repeal it, annihilate 1t utt ,rly. Hence. you
want everything absolutely perfect, and as u
consequence have nothing at all. Ev 'ry posi-
III, guarantee should be thrown around both
the redemption aud homestead laws; and, if
it was possible. ONE be TER method Of testing
final proof should be adopted than the OK parte
afidavits presented at the local offices.
"Yet what can the interior department, the
land commissioner or the local Offices do? We
here i'll Vat .rtown ale dlsposing of fual proofs
at the rate OF twenty a day. To investigate
Der of small law suits. But we can do nothing
of the kind. All we can do is to examine the
face OF the paperA This policy OF sending oft
special agents to go upon the land, if nsces-
sary, is a move in the right direction. Yet IL
sooner does the department attempt to syste-
matlzs the forco aud make it effective than the
cry Of economy is raissh, aud the work of ex-
posing fraud and protecting the governm ent il
'r;;lPHp ale ID the amount o, land I, which one man
should be entitled, l don't think that 48O acres
ia any too much for a bona fde settler. In a
country where capitalists and SPECTATORS ae-
qnire ten, twenty or fifty thousand acres in a
body, l do not regard it a bad policy to help
the honest settler to the possession Of 800,
400, or even 500 acres OIL which to fortify and
battle against these lars. ~est.tas. for in my
| opinion this Territory Is destined to hold the
largest Landed estates IN North America.
"With respect to he timber culture laws, ]
think that if congress had set up forty days and
forty nights 10 fran" a law which should utterly
defeat Itself, they could not more perfec'ly
I-- &l.% ,o,,1t @ho~ L,e Loa,
done by these laws. The practical result is
that lh-re are no trees 1t has become a com.
mon saying that you might as we'll look for q
settler in a CLAIM -hanty as for trees on q tree
claim. While this is an unjus reflection on the
hardy settler, it is an absolute definition so far
rather than the rule, and always viii
defect is embodied in the single Wort
REIMBURSEMENT 1t works in this wise: You
take a tree claim The law requires you tt
break five acres the first year. cultivate tia
third year you must plant tho fret five acres
to trees. And here is whore the difficult,
arises. If you are living in New York @,
Wisconsin, aud do not wish to p!ant the trees
tie law allows you t, sfelinqulsh,' which
amounts to selling your claim. You relinquisl
tit, l paying you 300 or $1,000, as the Cas-;
may be. / make q new eutry on tae land and
commence just where you did. am require,
to break five acres the first year, and so on
When l reach the third year l must plant tree
Or reiil auisb. aud so l re.lnquish 10 some one
Else. He commences whers l did. and 80 it
may pass on %forever. aud the government gets
no trees.
Now this law 1 would amend in two particu,
lars. Under the law there can DO but one tree
claim of l6o acres in each section. and thu
one when rslinqui,hed may bs changed to
homs-tsa al, LEAVING the section without any
tree claim. would provide once a tree ciai.
is always a tree claim. l would allow tn
claimant to assign his claims and improve
men,s at any time for just what he could sc
for them; and l would allow tho assignee to d.
the SANE, aud go on, but ALWAYS holding tn
claim subject 10 forfeiture to the government
for failure t, plant and cultivate the tire 80. A
fhc end of eight years l would GILL time.
Under the law thus amend ID no, only woutt
the tt ees be growing at the end Of eight years
but in less than three years these prairies
would be dotted ov.r with tlrr. fly groves where
) you now see onlv rank WEEDS aud grass Gale!
tree claims Ulder the modification I sug
COST, the motive of the claimant would bs t
grow trees, just az it now is the motive not t
grow them"
!, The Bismarck Capitol is the latest Da
kota daily paper to 60 over the range.
I In Custer City, Boiler, Aiken, West
fall and Miners we're acquitted of muir
! der in killing two cowboys, Diamond