Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-11-24
Sec'y Hitchcock's Report Made
Public Today, Recommends
Immediate Legislation
RESERVES BEING RUINED
Favors Modification of the Pending Bill
Relating to Lease of Public Lands for
Grazing Purposes-Soldiers' Widows
in Nebraska May Be indicted for
Fraud in Matter of Homestead Entries

Washington. Nov. 24.-In his annual
cock makes an earnest recommends
ton for the enactment of legislation
calculated to regulate the sale of tim
Der on the unatpropriated and unre-
served public lands. He says that I'M
less the present laws are repealed or
radically amended, they well result I'LL
timately in the complete destruction of
the timber on such lands.
For several years the department of
on these lines, and there is now pend
ing in the lower house a bill intended
to prevent depredations on timber on
public lands. The report says: THE
need of the passage of such an act is
so imperative that I earnestly recon-
mend that the pending bill, with the
amendments suggested by this DEPART
ment, be enacted into law, at the earl
lest possible date"
There are 4S2 cases of depredations
on public lands reported during the
~
of 81, 435, 1856, recoverable to the govern
ment, including one case of trespass on
coal lands involving 100000 tons of
coal, at the estimated value of $664,27S.
One hundred and seven civil suits We're
recommended to recover damages es-
timated at SS72,562. One hundred and
thirty-one propositions of settlement
were accepted to the amount of S33.1bo,
and there was received from sales of
timber cut unlawfully from public lands
the sum of s11625. There were also LA
criminal suits recommended.
On the unlawful fencing OF pubic
lands for grazing purposes, the report
says that notwithstanding the law and
the efforts of this department to en-
force it, the abuse has continued and
the benefciaries thereof have grown so
bold and arrogant that they practically
defy the efforts of the department and
the government to execute the law.
There is now pending before congress
a bill entitled "A bill to provide for the
leasing, for grazing purposes, OF the va
cant public domain, and reserying all
rights of homestead and mineral entry,
the rentals to be a special fund for ir-
rgation.'
Should the bill become a law, the pub
lie domain in the sixteen states and
territories mentioned therein, aggre-
eating an area of 525,000.000 acres,
practically all of the vacant public do
main west of the Mississippi, would be
subject to lease at 2 cents per acre for
ten years, with a privilege of renewal
for ten years more. During the last
fiscal year there were made within that
area 1854 original homestead entries
and 27,904 final homestead entries EN-
bracing over 100000 acres and affect
ing S5,55S persons; and during the pres
ent fiscal year indications are that more
entries will be made, affecting more
PEOPLE, and embracing greater acre
age. 1t is needless to say that such a
BILL If enacted into law, would place the
last acre of desirable public land out OF
the reach of the home seeker and defeat
the purpose of the government to pre-
serve the public domain for homes for
actual settlers.
1t would also defeat the operations OF
the reclamation act approved June II
last, and make possible the formation OF
a Land monopoly never contemplated by
the public land system, but which, on
the contrary, it is one of the purposes
Of that system to prevent.