St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-12-18
GOVEKNME.a'8 LANDS.
COmmi ssiOner Sparks EIucidates
His Recent Decision.

Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON. Dec. II. - Your cor
respondent had an interview with Gen.
Sparks, in the course of which he made the
following statement:
1t is the general opinion of the people of
the United States that the government should
allow every homeless person to obtain home
of 160 acres on the public lands. 1t
is thought by all that this is not
only beneficent, but absolutely right. 1
cordially think so and would do all in
my power to see this accomplished. 1t is not
known however, by all that the laws have
been construed to allow three times this
amount of land to be obtained by a single
person under the homestead pre-emption and
timber-culture laws, while in states and terri
tories where the timber land act operates 160
acres more, and in the desert land states and
territories $40 acres additional, making pos
sible aggregate of 1880 acres or two
square miles of land for one per-
son under constructions of law. A
party makes pre-emption entry of 160 acres
based upon oaths and proofs Of compliance
with conditions of residence, Improvement
and cultivation. (He cannot get the sland
otherwise.) Then he makes homestead
entry of another 160 acres, also based upon
Oaths and proofs of residence. improvement
and cultivation; and still another entry of a
third 160 acres, based upon the Oaths and
proofs of the planting and cultivation of
timber. He thus gets 4s0 acres. Many
persons doubt the Legality of all this, and
many more doubt its beneticence and wis
dom, arguing that it is unwise to allow one
person to get an absolute title to an area of
land equal to three homes when there are
thousands, yea, millions, who have none
and who, if the public lands were not so
oh irbf of
They think there is great wisdom in
THE PRESIDENTS SUGGESTION
that 1.-THE plan adopted in the disposal of the
public lands should have in view the original
policy, which encouraged many purchasers
of these lands for homes and discouraged the
massing of large areas" 1t is my belief that
the great mass of our homeless people be-
lieve in this, and heartily sympathize with
them in it. Section 2259 of the revised
statutes, granting pre-emption right, provides
that person may purchase not
exceeding 1e0 acres of public land
on which he makes settlement
| in person. and inhabits and improves the
land and erects dwelling upon it, and Sec
ton 1901 provides that person who makes
a homestead entry of not exceeding 160 acres
may purchase the land ION making proof of
settlement and cultivation as provided by
law granting pre-emption rights" A case
| came before me in which a person perfected
pre-empt1on 1or lou acres, unoer secton
| 2,259, and claimed the right also
| to commute homestead claim for
100 acres under section ss601, making in effect
two prescriptions and aggregating $50 acres.
I decided adversely to this, nothing more,
nothing less. and my opinion is that this de-
cision is right. But, fortunately, an appeal
| to higher authority exists, and if the ques-
| ton should there be decided otherwise, that
ends it. My decision. of course, related only
| to the case in hand, but this indicates that If
sustained it would be followed in like cases in
the future. It does not propose to determine
the status of other cases which have been
| differently decided and finally disposed of in
| hQ