St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-11-23
Land and Settlers.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22.-Commissioner
Sparks has recently made ruling which is
probably destined to have important intlu-
pnblic lands. He has decided in substance
that Communication of homestead is in
effect and law turning of an entry into a
pre- -einption, and as such is illegal. when
the claimant has previously had the benefit
of pre-emption law. Since the passage of
the homestead law it has become the al
most universal practice for settlers to secure
claims under both that and the presumption
law, in addition to which they have usually
taken the benefit Of the timber culture law,
thus aggregating under three laws mini
mum estate of 4S0 acres to each settler. 1t
has been customary to take up the pre-
emption and tree claim at once, and after
the lapse of the shortest necessary interval
to mortgage the former for enough to pay
the government price of it. Having re-
ceived the title the settler was at liberty to
move away and take the benefit of the
homestead law. The ruling of the com
missioner is calculated to put an
end to this practice 1t leaves the settler
the right to secure either a pre-emption or
a homestead, in addition to his tree claim,
and, as far as the ruling itself goes, it leaves
him the right to secure pre-emptlon claim
in the usual way, and then secure home
stead by living upon the land five years.
But the latter right Sparks does not con-
cede 1t has been stated that he has made
a ruling to the effect that no person is en-
titled to the benefits of both the pre-
emption and homestead laws. This is in
correct. No such ruling has been made.
There is no reason to believe, however,
that when this question comes before him
in a way to demand formal ruling on the
subject he will hold that in passing the
homestead law congress intended only to
give a choice to settlers of limited means
by offering them method of obtaining 160
acres of land without other outlay than pay
ment of the customary fees, in place Of
purchasing under the pre-empuion law.
Such ruling, he says, would be in concur
renee with the views which have inspired
the movement in congress to repeal the pre-
emption law outright, and should the tim
ber culture law be repealed, would have the
effect of restricting the area obtainable by
single claimant to one quarter section.
Gen. Sparks holds that the TWO laws, the
homestead and pre-emptiOn, standing to-
gether and interpreted as they have hereto
fore been. offer temptation to fraud and
place premium upon it. The hope OF
securing second claim is held out by the
one law as an inducement to make settle
ment and to make improvements upon the
first claim of the most temporary and mex
pensive character. simply designed to make
false show and good faith and
to. "swear by" as Immediately
after final proof or communication, as
the case may be, they are to be abandoned
and another residence established upon
Claim No. 2. Gen. Sparks holds that if
congress designed to give the same settler
the benefit of both laws it would not have
imposed upon him requirements to estab-
lsh temporary home in one place, only to
be abandoned for another within a few
months. Should the ruling indicated as
probable never be made, that already made.
in prohibiting Communication Of homestead
claims by persons who have previously been
pre-emptors, will still, he believes, have
important result in preventing, to consid-
erable extent, speculation in claims. The
obligation to live five years upon claim is
a test of good faith to which only actual
farmers, who desire land for their own cul-
tivation, will care to submit.