Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1888-10-23
LAND REVIEW.

Annual Report Of the Commissioner of
the General Land Office Recommend.
atioA that the Presumption aud Tim.
btr.Culture Laws Should be Repealed
Reasons Why.
The annual report of the Commits
sioner of the General Land Office is
III the hands OF the printer and will
be given to the public in a few days
Like several of his predecessors in
office, MIR. Stockslager recommends
legislation for the prevention of frauds
in relation to the requirement of title
to public lands, and expresses, ii, no
uncertain language, the opinion that
the presumption, timber culture, des-
ert land, and homestead laws SO far
as relates to the Communication clause,
should be repealed or greatly modl-
fed, and that the public domain
should be devoted exclusively to the
use and benefit of persons who in
good faith desire the same for actual
homes.
An enormous array of testimony is
introduced tending to show that the
laws above mentioned admit Of the
preparation Of frauds, are detriment-
al to the settlement Of the country,
and operate to defeat the best inter
ests OF the government which demand
that the lands shall be actually occu-
pied by bona fde citizens and settlers
owning their homes.
The repeal of the pre- emp,ion, des-
ert land and Communication clause of
the homestead laws is advocated be-
cause they afford opportunities by
which INSCRIPTIONS spectators, with
the aid of constituencies confederates
used as dummy settlers, are enabled
to acquire title to vast areas of land
to be held for sale at advanced prices
or to be leased to families who by
reason of their greed are prevented
from securing homes OF their own.
They tend to the erection In this
country of landlord and tenant
system similar to those of some Eu-
ropean countries, inconsistent with
the principles of our government, and
to build up landed arlstocracy.
The timber. culture law is denounc,
ed, not because title to land is fire.
quently fraudulently secured under
the same, but because it operates to
reserve the lands from settlement for
a period Of years without any-equiva-
lent to the government, and with but
little cost to the timber-culture entry
man. The entry of lG0 acres costs
but small sum as fee and commits
sions. Nothing is required of the
entryman for one year, then he must
break FIVE acres of the land-at a
trif'ing cost. During the next year he
must cultivate the FIVE acres already
broken and break another FIVE acres.
The next year he is required to plant
five acres to timber and cultivate the
other FIVE. The next he must plant
the second FIVE acres to timber.
Thus, at a trifling expense, the
party may for four years exercise COM
plete control Of a-quarter section Of
land without violating or evading the
law, and sell REIMBURSEMENT of his
entry for good round sum, the in
crease in value rendering the privil-
egc of entering the land very valu-
able.
The Registers and Receivers OF
nearly all Of the district Land Offices,
in letters to the Commissioner, con-
cur in the opinion that the majority
of public land frauds are perpetrated
under the laws named.
1t is almost certain that the Com
missioner's report, with its convincing
testimony, will secure at the next
session Of Congress, if not at this, a
repeal of the redemption and timber
culture, ard at least a modification OF
the desert land laws.
HENRY N. Corr.