St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-12-05

sioner deserves and will receive the eternal
gratitude of the American people for the
splendid work he has done for his country
in uncovering the corrnptions OF the land
office, and that, too, in the face OF every
conceivable sort of opposition from the most
graeeless set of land thieves who ever went
unhung. This organized band of robbers,
together with the aid of hireling press,
for months has been heaping abuse upon
the head of the honest commissioner, and
malgning him and attempting to make him
the butt of public ridicule, and all because
they could not bend him to their purposes.
And more recently, when it leaked
out that the commissioner was going
to make public exposure of the Iottenness
of the land department., this same gang of
public plunderers, with the bold effrontery
of a DICK TURPIN or JESSE JAMES, at
tempted systematic intimidation with the
hope of frightening the commissioner from
his purpose. Fortunately for the country
the commissioner was made of sterner stuff
than to yield to the base influences which
were brought to bear upon him, and as the
result we have his report, making public
the iniQuitouS administration of the land
Office by his predecessors.
The recommendations made by the COM
missioner concerning the changes which
should be made in the laws relating to the
public lands deserve the prompt attention
of congress, and earnest and energetic ac-
ton on the part of that body. In the opin-
ion of Mr.. SPARKS all the laws regulating
Of ho do
main should be repealed, except the home
stead law, and that should be restricted in
its provisions. He advises the repeal of
the presumption law, the timber land act,
the desert land act, and all laws for dispos-
ing of the public land except under the pro-
visions of the homestead laws. His recon-
mendation that the homestead should be
restricted to single filing and that the law
be so amended as to secure actual in
habitancy, improvement and cultivation, as
precedent conditions of any rights there
under, is one which will commend itself to
congress as being according to the spirit and
true intent of homestead law. There is
something refreshing in Mr.. SPARKS prac-
teal suggestion as to the proper method for
breaking up speculation in the public lands.
All the corruption of the land department
has grown out of the opportunities which
the land laws afforded for speculation.
Under the present system there is a per-
petual temptation for the land sharks to
crowd into and around the public land Of
fees. Consequently Mr.. SPARKS PROPOSE
ton is to remove these temptations by elm
mating everything from the law which gives
an opportunity for speculation. He recon-
mends requirement that actual homes
should be established and permanently
maintained on homeSteads taken up under
the homestead act and should be made i'm
perative. and evasion of the law or merely
constructive compliance with its provisions
should work an absolute forfeiture of the
HON estead privilege. He goes further and
recommends that the sale of relinqulsh
| ments as a matter of business or specula
| ton should be made penal offense, and
attorneys or land brokers buying or selling
homestead accomplishments or otherwise
engaged in specializing in homestead rights,
or knowingly aiding in such speculatiOns,
should be disbarred from practicing before
the land offices or inhibited from access to
the records.
1t is not fair to assume that all entries of
public land are fraudulent, but the evidence
he has of so many fraudulent entries JUS
titles him in the caution he exercises in
Withholding all grants until each case has
been carefully examined into and the de-
partment satisfied that no fraud has been
perpetrated. Because of this prudent
action on his part the commissioner has
been subjected to a great deal of harsh criti-
cism. But the honest Judgment of his
countrymen will be that it is wiser to be
over-cautious than over-reckless, as his
predecessors have been.