The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1886-01-07

written on the 18th of this month from
a constituent 1000 miles away, the
writer is an intelligent man, located in
the heart of the agricultural district in
Nebraska, which is affected.
DEAR SIR: The actions and rulings
of Commissioner Sparks in regard to
the issuing of patents as affecting deed
ing and mortgagins land on final re-
ceipts will almost depopulate southwest
Nebraska unless it is reversed. The idea
of prohibiting people from obtaining
money enough to live on while they are
trying to improve this Great Ameri-
can Desert" appears to NJ most ridicu-
leus. The effect of the whole matter
will be to force the homcsteaders to sell
their claims for whatever they can get
and leave the country and go back to
the densely populated east; and of
course the lands will fall into the hands
of the cattle s%yndicates. 1t would look
very much like this was the intention
of the commissioner Ito a man up a
tree but the more charitable view to
take Of the case is that Commissioner
Sparks has never lived, with a wife and
half dozen ragged children, in a sod
house for four or five years trying to
prove up on a homestead. Yours sin
cerely, --.
The order in question, it will be no.
ticed, applies t, all lands west of the
first guide meridian west, in Kansas,
and all west of range II west in Nebras-
ka. An examination of any map of
those states will show that the suspen-
sion affects fully n half of the area of
each of those states named. More than
this, the order, it will be observed, OPP
crates to withdraw from settlement in
the states and territories west, south
west, and northwest. All the lands
owned by the government now being
sought for settlement by the people, ex-
cept those in the south, are practically
unavailable to the people wanting
homes.
1t must be born in mind that million
aires do not migrate to Nebraska, Kan
sas, or Colorado. The people that GO
there go much as the first settlers came
to the colonies in the old time. They
bring neither gold nor silver. They are
without resources; their only property
is their willingness to work. Their
wealth is in the future. They are sur
rounded by nc ~splendor except that of
hope. They are sustained alone by the
faith of things not seen.
In the light of the extraordinary con-
sequences Of evil to the present and fu-
ture of the states and territories affect
ed by this order, it becomes pertinent
to inquire upon what authority of law
and what warrant of fact this wholesale
slaughter of the rights of 252,753 citi-
zens of this country is based ? The au-
thority of law is raised by construction,
by implication, and that is raised by
what is called evidence furnished by the
published report of eighteen special
agents who are relied upon to impeach
the sworn evidence of SO, 241 claimants
and 1G5,5O2 disinterested witnesses, and
who must have sworn for them, and in
addition to this the official finding of the
trusted local land officers of the govern
ment.
Some of the evidence (reports) of the
special agents would seem to commend
itself to the ridicule of all reasonable
men by statements Of this kind:
Il give it as my opinion that in Kan
sas, Nebraska and Dakota the proper
ton is 90:per cent. to 10 per cent. of
bona fde and possibly successful cul-
tivators."
Here the gentleman is speaking of
timber culture claims, and, on the
strength of this opinion of a man hired
to hunt down these settlers of the from
tier. an order issues pending not only
to timber culture patents. but all patents.
When before, with the approval of civ
men, was the opinion of all in
taken as ground for the suspen-
sion of the due course of law? No one
from the west, that region which has
suffered most from the aggressions of
the landed corporations, but will sympa-
with the commissioner in his effort
to protect the public domain from the
Entertainments of the corporations of all
whether cattle kings, so called, Or
railroads.
We do not object to the suspension
Of timber culture entries or to the sus-
pension of any entry of whatever kind
whenever a specific charge of fraud is
made against hat entry. We do pro-
test against a cloud being cast upon the
honest claims of settlers on the agricul-
tural lands of Nebraska and other states
md territories by the dust raised by IS
,,,o, -Lo,o oGo,,l ho,ls how. ,.on 81,