The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-06-05
HONEST SETTLERS sArz.

THEHoNEsT SETTLERS SAFE.
Commissioners SPARKS Explains ths Scope
Of the Late Order suspending Final Ac-
ton on Land Entries.
Washington Special:-Tho order issued by
the commissioner of the general land office,
dated April 3, declaring that tinal action upon
all entries of the public land, except private
cash entries and such scrip locations as are not
dependent upon settlement and cultivation,
should hereafter be suspendedi IN Colorado, Da-
kota, Idaho, Utah, Washington Territory, New
Mexico, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada and a
small part of Kansas, Nebraska and Minnesota,
and also declaring that final action should be
suspended upon all timber entries throughout
the country, has caused great controversy in
the territories named and decided opposition
from the agents and attorneys at Washington
and elsewhere, who are engaged in the busi-
ness OF securing patents for claimants.
1t 1s claimed that the order in .ques-
parts OF the country and doing great injury to
settlers who wish tc prove up on their claims
SO that they can borrow money to so on with
tho improvement Of their lands. COMMISSIONS
Sparks said recently, when asked for his
opinion upon this point:
That order was intended to cover what term
infested districts. have written q number Of
letters to people who are complaining about it,
and want it thoroughly understood that there
is no disposition on my part to do honest set
tiers an injury. 1t Is only the knaves and
thieves that l am after. I have dozens of let
tiers from persons living in these districts who
approve of tho order. They say that in many
regions not one entry in fifty is bona fde: that
get a title to land. Timber entries are almost
uniformly fraudulent Now it is to catch these
people that I have said that we should sus-
pend final action On claims. This whole Office,
/ inclT1HinO tho assistant crpp,iaosrna. xho low,
clerk and the various chiefs, are In harmony as
to the necessity and wisdom Of that order. We
talked it all over and thought of various means
to be employed for the end desired. One was
to close the local land offices; but in that event
settlers arriving in the district would find
themselves unable to locate. That plan would
not work. Then it was suggested that we
close the land Office here, but that would be
obviously unadvisable. So there was nothing
for me to do except to say that l would not ask
the secretary of the interior nor the president
to approve and sign patents when I believed
that fully one-half of them were fraudulent. In
this way ! bclIeve l have saved the public
domain,
FULLY A MILLION ACRES
of land since April 8. The charge has been
made that the order was political and geograph-
zeal in it's character, that the south was ex-
cepted. There are but four states in the south
where the United States has land offices-Flor-
ida, Alabama, Louisiana and Arkansas. Texas
owns her own lands. l fancy there is some
fraud in Florida. In due time I willreach that.
1t cannot be said that the south is excepted be-
cause Secretary LAMAR is asouthern man. The
south WAS excepted because the bulk of frand is
not in the South. There is five times as much
territory in the North that il rot included in
the order. Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, nearly
all of Minnesota, Nebraska and Kansas are not
included, and In two of these states-Michigan
and Wisconsin, know there is fraud that we
ought to look after. TWAS not the intention to
PROSTATE the land business all over the country.
Nothing OF the kind has been done. What we
are really after is to prevent the public domain
from going into the hands of ranchmen and
spectators. The bona tide settler can borrow
just as much money on his certificate of entry
or his duplicate papers as he can upon the pat
emit All the first-eiass loan and trust COM
panies of the East desire to know is that the
borrower should be q bona fide settler and that
he will be entitled to a patent. 1t is the knave
who wants his patentrnshed through in twenty
nois forty out Of every one hundred entrymen
have never COTTON their patents. They lie here
in this office, and the settlers were satisfied to
have simply the duplicates. But you will find
that the Louisina backbone patents were taken
out of this office promptly. Just as you will find
patents have been taken in all cases where
there is fraud.
THE
WhenI I'm satisfied that there is good faith
on the part of the settler, there will be 10 diff
ficulty in his getting a patent l shall satisfy
myselfb y means of special agents and detec-
tives whom l can thoroughly trust and upon
them / shall put such checks and counter de-
lection as win make it absolutely certain that
no false swearing or fraud can secure a pat
tent. ! see that the fight is begun upon me
from the land Office lawyers here and all
over the vest and that the newspapers large
ly interested in the whole subject of land
Office business have opened fire upon me;
but l have determined to stand by the order.
Meanwhile, bona f1de settlers all over the west
and go on with their improvements. Tie land
is theirs just as much during the five years
which the law requires them to stay upon it as
it ever can be, and if they arc worthy people
there win be no difficulty in their borrowing if
to relieve these people of some anxiety, I
should allow thieves and rascals to take MIL
lions of the public domain by false swearing.