The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-10-06

| presence of water upon the land in suf-
Hclent quantities to produce a crop, as
shown by the testimony of witnesses.
10 honestly carry out the requirements
imposed by the law a man must have an
| upques toned water right of sufficient
volume and, as experience has proved,
make an expenditure of at least $40 an
acre to put this water upon the land in
sulnc1ent quantities to raise a crop of
some kind which would not otherwise
nave grown upon his claim. 1t is a no.
ferrous fact that thousands of desert
CLAIMS are filed where there is no pos
slDlllty of securing the necessary water.
1t is an equally notorious fact that the
law is used in nearly every instance to
prevent others from settling upon the
iand to secure monopoly of live stock
ranges or to monopolize water holes and
water fronts in such a way as to pre-
vent DINERS from using the public range
IN that vicinity.
The manner in which many of the final
PROOFS are made upon these desert claims
is almost incredible. In numerous in
stances no attempt is made to water the
Iand at all, the principal effort being
expended In the securing Of witnesses who
VIII swear to a statement of alleged facts
required by the land office before patent
issues. 10 ease the conscience of some Of
these witnesses men have been known to
ence pour 1t upon the land so the state
ment can be made that they have seen
water running upon the claim The
pluioing OF d1tcheS sworn to in the final
proof generally means the blowing OF
single burrows across each FORTY acres
SO as to comply with the law in regard
70 each legal subdivision, forty being
the smallest tract recognized in the sur
sVeyS of the public land.
IN other Well-known and now populous
valleys of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana
New Mexico, Arizona and in fact. In ali,
the arid states, enough water to irrigate
forty acres has been used to obtain title
TO thousands of acres. Each claim has
speen proved upon by the use of this tiny
stream being diverted from one claim
TO another in succession, as demanded
Dy the witnesses who We're to swear as
TO the reclamation of the land 1t may
DE stated without eXaggeration that near
~ all of the large land holdings. or
ranches, in the arid West have been
punt up by fraudulent use of the land
laws, and notably by the fraudulent use
of the desert land act In the first few
years of its operation each claimant was
allowed GAO acres, and under this law
great valleys and plains were absorbed
en- bloc by individuals and corporations
VINO employed people to use their desert
land rights, all for the benefit of the sin
gle establishment. The amount of land
etnat can be taken under the desert
iaho law has since been reduced to $40
acres, but the same method is still pur-
sueo IN monopolizing the ranges and
Lfauoulently acquiring title to the public
CONAN. The agricultural population of
the arid states is not increasing in nearly
the ratio with which the government Is
olsposlng of its estate, thus showing that
the big live stock companies are ex
IT,, ~
mess, process which will result in time
in the entire absorption of land which
IS now looked upon as available for set
tlement by an increasing population.
Many of the men who have availed
of these possibilities are of
high standing, and who would indignant
~ resent the idea that they were dis
honest in any particular. 1t has become
the custom for man who desired to Sc
cure lot of land to let it be understood
that such land was worth so much per
acre to him as soon as title could be
conveyed. The result of such an an
nouneement is to bring in a lot of ire
sponsible people, who file upon the tract
which the rancher desires to secure bor-
row from him the money to prove up,
and after title is completed convey the
Hand for a small consideration above the
Indebtedness to the man desiring the large;
land holding. The existence of land laws
which can be evaded by form of per- 1
has a generally deteriorating effect upon
the public morals. 1t has come to such
a pass that few men seem to hesitate to
strain their consciences to cover gov
eminent land transaction. This perjury
is open, ayowed and notorious When
the land office attempts to investigate a
claim to title before title is allowed to
pass the investigation does not seem to
produce any real results. For apparently
any number of witnesses can be secured
who will! swear to an unlimited number
Of falsehoods when a government LAND
transaction Is to be made.
If the desert land act was resulting in
the building up of homes upon the arid
domain of the United States a. certain
element of fraud might be overlooked in
view of greater benefits derived But the
law as it stands today is simply an agen-
cy for the monopoly of the country by
powerful industrial and political combi-
nations, and should be removed from the
statute books without delay. Not only
should this be done. but If necessary .spe-
cial legislation should be enacted where
by all lana now held under the desert act
should be inspected as to the possibili-
ties OF making final proof and the good
intentions of those who are holding it,
with the view of restoring the same to