The Saint Paul globe., 1902-11-24
TO THESE is THE REPORT OF
THE SECRETARY OF THE IN
TERROR DEVOTED MAINLY
Mr.. HITCHCOCK DOWN
ON ILLEGAL FENCING
He Has a Good Deal to Say on the
interminabIe Question of the Chip
pewa Lands in Minnesota Great
Value of the Forest Preservation
Movement Already Demonstrated.

retary of the interior, says:
'.'There were disposed of during the
fiscal year ended June 80, 1902, public
lands aggregating 19,48S,535.30 acres,
classified as follows: Cash sales,
j 1,757, ,59263 acres; miscellaneous en-
| tries, embracing homesteads, land war
rants scrip locations, state selections,
swamp lands, railroad and wagon road
selections, Indian allotments, ETC., IT,
| 614,792.55 acres, and Indian lands, 49,
1902 acres showing an increase of
3,925,7 acres, as compared with the
aggregate disposal for the preceding
fiscal year.
"The total cash receipts during the
fiscal year from various sources, in
Guiding disposal of public land, aggre-
gate $6,261, 1,927.18, an increase Of
| $1,2S9, 1863 over the preceding fiscal
year. The total expenses of district
land offices for salaries and commits
sions of registers and receivers. Incl
dental expenses and expenses of de-
posting public moneys were $81S,
1880, an increase, as compared with
| the fiscal year ended June 3d. 1901, of
| $44 ,880.61. .afS
sThe net surplus remaining in the
after deducting from the total cash re-
ceipts the entire amount of expenses
and liabilities incident to the adminis-
tration Of the public land system.
equaled $4,3S0, 338.7S, an increase over
| the surplus remaining at the end of the
preceding fiscal year of $1,221,S ,Ss7.11.
| Public Land Area.
| ''The total area of the public lands
may be stated to be approximately
| 1,809,539,840 acres, of which S93, ,955,476
acres are undisposed OF, 151, ,161 ,638
acres have been reserved for various
purposes, and 764,422,726 acres have
been appropriated"
Of the unappropriated land Mime
sofa has 3,553,143 acres, North Dakota
15,071,47 South Dakota 11.3S3,4 Alb,
Montana 61,439,514, and Wisconsin
| 1924
"An average of fifty-e eight spe-
| cial agents were employed In the in
vestigation of fraudulent land entries.
and in otherwise protecting the public
| lands from Illegal appropriation and
timber trespass; 2,010 cases were re-
ferred to them for Investigation: hear
ings were ordered in 213 cases; .1,051
| entries were held for cancellation; 921
were Cancelled; and $40 examined and
passed. Final action was taken on
| 1,97S cases, and there are now pend
! ing 5,468 cases.
Illegal Fencing.
| ."There is now pending before con-
gress a bill entitled "A bill to provide
for the leasing, for grazing purposes,
of the vacant public domain, and re-
serving all rights Of homestead and
mineral entry, the rentals to be spe-
cial fund for irrigation Should that
bill become law, the public domain in
the 16 states and territories mentioned
| therein, aggregating an area of 525,-
100000 acres, practically all Of the va
cant public domain west of the Mis-
sissippi 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 1864
original homestead entries and 27,904
| final homestead entries, embracing over
| 12,000,0 900 acres and affecting $3.50
persons; and during the present fiscal
| year indications are that more entries
will be made, affecting more people,
and embracing greater acreage. It
| is needless to say that such bill, If
enacted into law, would place the last
| acre Of desirable public land out of the
reach of the homeseeker and defeat
the purpose of the government to pre-
serve the public domain for homes for
actual settlers.
TT would also defeat the operations
| of the reclamation act approved June
IL last, and make possible the forma-
ton of a land monopoly never contem-
plated by the public land system. but
which, on the contrary, 1t is one of
the purposes Of that system to pre-
vent.
During the past year the localities
in which the largest number of cases
of unlawful fencing have been found
were the state Of Nebraska and the
| territory of New Mexico. In Nebraska
it is alleged that large part of the
public domain is under fence in some
manner or other, and that the home
stead law is practically a dead letter
What is known as hobo fling the
making of entries by tramps and other
| irresponsible persons in the interest
of those desiring to obtain large guam
| titles of public lands for grazing pur-
poses, SO it is averred, is there resorted
| to. The department is using every ef-
fort, with the limited force at its COM
mand, to break up this practice, have
the fences removed and the land lille
gally inclosed thrown open to occupa-
ton by actual settlers, and the tres
passers brought to justice.
Timber on Unreserved Lands.
For several years this department
| has been urging the enactment of leg
| islation to regulate the sale and use Of
timber on the inappropriate and un-
reserved public lands. The need of the
| passage of such an act is so imperative
| that | earnestly recommend that the
| pending bill, H. r. 4371, with the
amendments suggested by this deprat-
| ment, be enacted into law at the ear
On the subject of forest reserves the
| report says:
There are now 54 forest reserves,
| created by presidential pfoclamations
under section "a of the act of March 8.
1891, embracing 60,175,765 acres. Dur
| ing the last fiscal year four existing
| reserves have been enlarged, four have
been reduced, and fifteen additional
have been established.
'"The fact that the forest fires that
have ragged with such devastation dur,
ing the past season throughout the
West have been confined almost
wholly to the unreserved timber lands,
speaks volumes for the efficiency of
| the patrol system which has guarded
and preserved the forest reserves from
that destructive element, and Of itself
has no doubt resulted In the saving of
public property the value of which is