The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-10-27

IIhe Homestead Law is all Right,
But the Communication Clause is
all Wrong.
For more thar forty years the phrase,
Homestead Law" has been pleasantly
familiar to American ears. 1t opened
the way for millions of people to get a
foothold upon the land. The idea was
that as long as there was any portion
lof. the public domain fit for agriculture
and not otherwise appropriated, any
l~citizen, or even any alien who had de-
Iclared his intention to become a citizen.
might obtain $50 acres of it by filing his
Iclaim, paying certain nominal fees
and settling upon it to make his home
in good faith.
It was a beautiful act of paternalism
-Uncle Sam, the rich and loving faith
Ter. dividing his estate among all his
children, natural and adopted. And the
plan worked as beautifully as it sound
ed so long as there were farms to be
mad in that part of the public domain
which receives a good annual rainfall.
practically the last of such land has
now passed away from the government.
There is a yast empire vet left
AN empire in which tens
of millions will sometime dwell-but
every acre of it must be irrigated before
it will be fit for homes. When this is
done, n acre will be equal in produc-
tive capacity to fOur acres depending on
rainfall.
TO BUILD A HOME.
The central thought in the Homestead
Law. as it's name implies, is that a fam
lily shall settle down to the enjoyment
OF an independence from the permanent
Itilling of the soil. When it is used for
any other purpose it becomes a mis-
nomer and a disgrace.
The law sought to make sure of the
Ipermanence of the settlers home by
providing hat he should live upon and
l~cultivate. his homestead entry for five
Years before getting final title. If a
family could remain that length Of time
on a Quarter-section. it would certainly
become established and attached to the
soil. In the view of the lawmakers,
neither less nor more could be asked as
a demonstration of good faith.
But the Communication Clause goes
very far to nullify this wise provision
of the law in regard to q five years
continuous residence n cultivation.
Under this clause, title may pass to
the settler at the end of fourteen
months on payment of $1.25 per acre.
CHANCE TO EVADE THE LAW.
NJ o. ~1,--
unnecessary to the settler who intends
to comply in perfect good faith with the
Iletter and spirit of the Homestead Law.
While it would be going too far to say
that no one has ever awaited himself of
this meal of shortening his residence
upon the land for a worthy rpo it
is a fact that the method is chiefly use
iful to those who wish to evade the
real intent of the law.
There is a great struggle for valua-
BILE pasture lands in the West. The
country continues to grow, and with
lit the demand for beef and mutton
The public pasture available for i've
lstock does not grow, but becomes rel
~atively less. Stockmen see the shadow
of coming changes in land laws when
they will no. longer be able to use the
JIdISS WITHOUT IeSlI1ClIOIS anu NlluOut
price. Naturally enough, they desire
to make themselves secure in the pos
~isession of as much good grazing land
as possible. There is a way in which
this may be done. and this is by means
of the Homestead Law and convenient
dummies to. makes entries under it.
HOMESTEAD ENTRIES OF TODAY
LARGELY FRAUDS.
AS the law requires actual residence,
it is desirable to have the required pc
IriOd as brief as possible. Residence
upon it is usually nothing more than a
"bluf a claim Shanty is erected and
the owner does we'll if he sleeps there
as often as one night in six months
Five years residence woul give title
for a nominal price, but the claimant
would rather commute after fourteen
months and pay $1.25 per acre. Having
obtained title, the entryman can imme-
diately sell his land to any one he
lchooseS-which is frequently the indi-
vidual or corporation for whose bene-
fit his filing was really made. In such
cases the money has been advanced by
the interested parties, while the man
who has loaned his rights of citizen
ship receives modest stipend for the
accommodation. Considered as a home
making proposition, the whole proceed
ing is a farce.
The Homestead Law is all right. but
the Communication Clause is all wrong
The honest settler does not need it;
and the country does not need the other
kind Of settlers. The president has
urgently demanded the repeal Of this
feature of the law, and booked by an
enlightened and insistent public opin-
ion. his advice ought speedily 70 carry
with congress.
WILLIAM E. SWYTHE-