The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1886-01-07
SPEECH
OfHOnorable James Laird the
House Of Representatives,
December 1S, 1885.
A Manly Defense Of the Settler
Mr.. Sparks Roughly
Handled.

WI. SPARKS ROU0llly
Handled.
The house having under c~onsidera-
ton the report of the committee OF the
revision of the rules
Mr.. Laird said:
Mr.. Speaker-Thcre is ii question Of
great m to the country which I
have the honor to represent and to the
country west of the Missouri river, and
for that matter to the entire country.
On the Sd of April, 1885, the commits,
sinner of the general land Office issued
the following order:
SUSPENSION CT ENTRIES.
Final action in this Office upon all en-
tries of the public lands, except private
cash entries and such scrip locations as
are not dependent upon acts of settle
ment and civilization, is suspended in
the following localities, namely:
All west Of the first guide meridian
west in Kansas. All west of range II
west in Nebraska. The whole of Col
orado except land in the late Ute rcser-
walton. All of Dakota, Idaho, Utah,
Washington, New Mexico, Montana, Wy
oming and Nevada, and that portion of
Minnesota north of the indemnity limits
of the Northern Pacific railroad and east
of the indemnity limits of St. Paul,
Minneapolis and Manitoba railroad.
In addition, final action in this office
will be suspended upon all timber en-
tries under the act of June Sd, 1873,
also upon all cases of desert land entries.
W. y. j. SPARKS,
April 3, 1885. Commissioner.
AS appears by the report of the COM
missioner of the general land Office, the
number of presumption entries made
during the year was 1915, which he
says would cover 1911, 800 acres of
land. The number of homestead en-
tries made during the year is placed at
80, S77, embracing an area of 7,415,-
$50 acres The number of presumption
entries Enacted upon under the opera
tion of the foregoing order at the close
OF the fiscal year was 32,374, and the
number Of homestead entries Enacted
on was 2S,S11-making a total of set
tiers claims Enacted on of 61,1S5, which
would represent 6, $4,000 acres of land.
The commissioner states that final
proof was made in %, 0G6 of the 50,S77
homestead entries, but does not state
that patents issued in any of such cases.
1t is fair, therefore, to presume that no
patents have issued to any of the D.
066 homesteaders who have made final
proof. This would give 3,530,560 acres
to add to the 9,7s0,G00 making a total
of Is, 800, lG1 acres Of homestead and
presumption land suspended.
To any one conversant with the land
laws of the United States, it is known
that any homesteader or pre-emptor of
the public lands, having complied with
the laws as to settlement and improve
ment of the tract taken by him, can
make final proof on the same at the ex-
piration of six months, and on the pay
ment of the minimum or double mini
nun price, as the case may be. receive
a final receipt on the land, which final
receipt, upper the decisions of the Unit
ed States and the decisions of the state
supreme courts, has always been treated
as absolute title, and would be treated
SC now but for this order, which oper-
ates as an impeachment of title, as well
as an impeachment of the good faith of
S4,251 settlers making the settlements
and proof thereof.
As the report of the commissioner re
lates to the Both Of June, 1885, all of
the persons who had made entries by
that time would now be entitled to make
final proof and receive their final re-
ceipts for these lands, if they could
show, as most can. compliance with the
law as to settlement and improvement.
This would make the number of home
stead and pre- emption settlers IN the
public domain of the United States now
entitled to patent, or to claim patent.
as shown by the report, S4,251-that is
81, PSI persons, heads of families, rep
resenting at a fair estimate a popula-
ton of 252, 1913 persons, under the ordi-
nary operations of the law entitled pri-
ma facie to an absolute title to -, 320,-
100 acres of land, and now deprived of
their rights by the order cited.
But for this order the government
would have received from the sale of
these lands to these settlers the sum of
$15,650,2 200; this being at the minimum
rate of $125 per acre for the 1920
100 acres of land chung up" under the
order, and the settlers would under fair
circumstances have been able to procure
credit on these same lands of from $16,-
Gao. 200 to S23. 30. go over and above