Evening star., 1901-09-28
THE HOMESTEAD LAW
Is Obsolete Now, But Has Accom-
plished a Great Work.
BUT is STILL USED FRAUDENTLY
Should be Amended to Fit New
Conditions.
THE COMMUTATION EVIL
pecial Correspondence of The Evening Star.

! Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
! DENVER, Col, September q. 1901.
| The homestead law. after having accom-
| piished magnificent work in bringing
| about the settlement of the western states,
| has outliyed its usefulness In its present
| form. The public land area to which the
homestead law applied in spirit as well as
| letter was practically exhausted several
years ago. In futile attempt to render
less onerous the provision requiring five
years residence upon a homestead claim
before title passed from the government
| Congress nuiiified the original intention of
/ the law by making 1t subservient to the
purposes of land grabbers and spectators.
This was done by the so-caIled commuta-
tion provision which at first allowed a
homesteader to obtain title to his claim
after six months residence and by the pay
ment of s1.25 or $3.50 per acre, as the case
might be. Later on this Communication priv
| ilege was changed so as to require at least
! thirteen months residence before the land
could be bought from the government. But
! even this still allows the homestead right
f, to be used in a manner not contemplated
by the law or in the interest of good gov
ernment.
The law as It now stands gives the settler
acquire title to 160 acres of land practically
free Of cost by establishing and maintain
| Ing residence thereon and improving ana
! cultivating the land for continuous period
| of five years. He may on the other hand,
| at the end of fourteen months of such con-
| tinuous residence. improvement and culti-
| walton, secure patent from the govern
ment by paying 1.25 per acre for his land
| if it lies without the limits of railroad
grants or 81 so per acre within such limits.
| In either case actual residence, improve
| ment and cultivation is theoretically re-
quired. He must, according to the law,
make application for this land in honesty
| and good faith Not as an agent for
| others, but in the honest intention to make
| home, and all agreements to sell prior to
| the issuing of the patent are forbidden.
! Money or It's Value.
In paying for this land he can use cash.
| military bounty land warrants agricultural
| college scrip or private land scrip. 1t is a
| well-known fact that without an excep-
| ton the homestead law is used today en-
| tirely in the arid region, where honest
| and continuous residence and cultivation
| from the beginning is a practical impossi-
| bility. One exception may be made to this
| sweeping generalization and that is where
/ a homestead is filed In the arid region un-
der some canal or other water works con-
| structed for the purpose of furnishing lr-
rigation water to incoming settlers. There
are few cases of this kind, however. for
! the reason that before such canals are
built the companies take good care to
| secure title to all irrigable lands. as
such land Is worth far more with water
| right than the price charged by the gov
| ernment.
| The commissioner of the land office in
his annual report which will be published
| next month will call attention in spirit of
| congratulation to the enormous number of
homestead filings recorded in the fiscal
| year ending June 30. 1901. He will show
| that during that year there were 6S.64S
! original homestead entries covering 9,491,-
275 acres of land, this being an increase
| Of about ten per cent over the number of
| filings In any year since the enactment of
| the homestead law in 1862 The commits
sioner will also show that about 1900
homesteads covering about 100000 acres
of land were commuted during the past
! year. The government received for these
commuted homesteads over 800 600 in cash.
which viewed from a narrow business
| standpoint might be said to be satisfac-
tory, but when considered in the light of
the real intentions of the government, the
purpose of the law, the morality of the
communities in which these homesteads are
secured, and the welfare Of the states and
territories in which they are established,
1t is a most undesirable showing During
the year 1901 the original homestead en-
tries, final proofs and commuted home
steads amounted to Ill 800 entries, covering
10, 5,455,057 acres, or more land than has
been segregated from the public domain in
any one year since the foundation of this
government.
In the Arid Regions.
Those who are familiar with the present
condition of the public domain and its
practical restriction to the arid region
may well inquire whence comes this boom
in homestead location upon land which is
practically uninhabitable without the ex-
penditure of an average of $40 per acre
for securing the necessary water. What
is more, 1t is also known that thousands of
these filings are made upon lands where ir-
rigation is an impossibility at the present
stage Of the country's development.
Since the passage of the homestead act
In 1862 there have been about 1,345.o0o
original homestead filings, covering about |
1So,OO0,OO0 acres. During this same period |
the government has issued 637. 900 patents |
000. 600 acres. 1t is evident, therefore that |
about 80 per cent of those who make origi- |
nal homestead filings carry the process
through to completion and receive title to |
the land
The truth of the matter is that this re- |
markable increase in the number of home |
stead filings means that fraud is becoming
more common and apparently easier to ac-
complish. The men who control the big !
cattle and sheep ranges realize more keen |
ly each year the encroachments of the |
settlers upon their land. To check this |
settlement and prevent their ranges from |
being curtailed they find 1t necessary to |
secure some shadow of title to land con-
trolling the water and valley meadows The |
pre-emption, timber culture and private |
sale OF lands by the government having |
been done away with, there are but two |
or three ways in which monopoly can be !
upheld, and 1t may be said in all conserv-
atism that the homestead law. with fits /
Communication clause, is now doing more |
real damage to the prospects of the west
ern states than It is good. |
Legislation Needed. |
There is. crying need for national legisla- |
tion upon the subject. The Communication /
clause Of the homestead act should be |
promptly repealed; an amended homestead |
PITTrTING THE nru