Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1885-11-26

TaERE has been considerable agitation
among the people settling up the western
territories ever since the present com.
missioner OF the general land office,
Sparks, assumed the executive manage
msnt of that Office. Whether the busi-
ness Of that office had been run too much
at lncSa enda before or whether thu ~raa
ent commissioner Il zoo technical III his
Interpretation of the public land laws ls
an open question. While ignorance OF
the law excuses no one, to be mislcd into
violation of it by the prevailing custom
which had the sanction Of PERMISSION BY
the department Is certainly 4 strong pal
liatlng circumstance IN favor of the
double chain holdels. Technically and
judlcially, solely IS question of aw,
Commissi .ner Sparks ls no doubt we'll
fortified in his position, and the prevail
ing custom being. wrong it Is time tc call
. halt. and better low than later. There
are, however, morsl and equitable .ques-
tions connected with the subject, which,
though they canr't be urged to vary the
application of the sw, are proper SUBJ
jects for congressional consideration and
should be justly protected by additional
and special Legislation. These relate to
the settlers who, nder the prevailing
custom, have tskenlands under both the
pre.emption and hmestead acts, many
of whom have spet two or three years
labor and expeuded:he,r all 10 improving
their homestcads fter having acquired
title to another piec Of land by pre- emp.
tion. Thousands settlers, honest in
their intentions cmtsrtably Axel and
coed and valuable tizens, would be ut
ter]y ruined and thir families rendered
homeless by tie APPLICATION of commits
sioncr Sparks deIslon. To provide
against this, which would be almost :
calamity, congress should give appro-
pirate legislation an 60 doubt will if the
facts and circum mstnces are presented.
To assure this tie pople Of the territories
should memorislize nat body on the SUBJ
ject. The folbwig telegram was re.
ceutly sent out fromW ashington by the
associated press and will give the people
| q correct idea d the scope and force of
the decision:
ut has beenI Icustmary for the general
land Office to GLOW man who has taken
quarter sect4n of and under pre- emp
ton to take abtherluarter section un-
der homesteadact ad thus get 32o acres
of,public donlin foI $500 plus the fees
! of the two entities. case has recently
come before (omminoner Sparks whore
man IN theI Devils Lake district, Da-
kota, took ~ acres lnder the pre-emp.
ton law and Then tok l20 acres under
the HOMESTEAD law, nd at the expiration
of the statu,ky six lontbs after making
the entry hdcommted it for cash. A
commuted Iomestld is precisely the
same thing las re-emptlon, and the
commissions has ceided that this mans
homestead bntry inconsequencc of his
attempt to ommute,t is inyslid. The !
decision dds not goso far ss to say that
. man canbt enjoyhe benefits of Doth
homesteadhnd presmption laws if he
perfects hi homestsd title by five ears
residence |hstead BY cash commuta-
tions, but is undetood that the COM !
missioner Iegards 1t homestead as bav-
ing been kssed as substitute, or at !
least an s)ernative or the pre-. .emption
oct, and at ms cannot enjoy the
benefits o)hoth actsunder any clrcum-
stances, 1nd . deAien to that effect
will prob bly, be Promulgated before long.