Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1903-04-23
PUBLIC LANDS LOST
CONGRESS AGAIN FAILS TO RE-
PEAL CERTAIN LAWS
GREED OF THE GRADERS
Five Years More Likely to Quite Ex-
haust the Peoples Domain-Plea
of Many Presidents in the Past
PitifuIIy Isnored-Good Homestead
Act Needed.

No progress was made at the ses-
sion of congress just closed toward
! preventing lanG grabbing Futile eff
fort were made to repeal the timber
and stone act, the desert land act and
the communication clause of the home
stead act. Originally these laws were
passed to enable settlers and home
seekers to procure government lands
at nominal price, provided they
would agree to cultivate and improve
them.
During the last twenty-five years,
numerous abuses of this privilege
have grown up. With the advent of
convenient railway lines in the west
ern states the timber lands, particu-
larly on the Pacific coast became val
liable property. Under the law they
have been and are still sold at $3.50
an acre Hundreds Of cases are known
where Ostensible settlers have filed on
these lands and shortly afterward
sold out their interest to SPECTATORS,
who have made immense fortunes out
Of the timber which they obtained for
practically nothing.
The desert land act has been violat.
ed fiagrantly. The law defines desert
lands to be such as are incapable of
producing crops except grass without
irrigation but under its provisions eX-
tensive bodies of land have been ac-
Quired which are capable of producing
immense crops of hay and grain. Men
and women have been employed in
numerous instances to take up land in
continuing bodies from 5000 to 800
600 acres and to turn them over to land
propTietors who use them for graz
ing purposes.
The homestead communication provi-
sion has also been reduced to a spec
ulative proposition which results in
the enrichment of capitalists. During
the first ninety days of the present
fiscal year 100000 acres of govern
ment land were filed upon. Should
this ratio be maintained between 25-
100000 and 30,000,000 acres will be
taken from the public domain before
the end of the year.
If the present system of land acts is
continued five years longer the entire
public domain suitable for settlement
will be exhausted. Presidents have
repeatedly urged congress to remedy
this condition of affairs but without
avail. The passage of bill repeal
J. l. 70 in,
report recently submitted by Sena-
tor Gibson from the committee on
public lands, which concludes:
INSTEAD of following the injunc-
tions of Jackson, Lincoln, Grant.
Cleveland, Harrison and Roosevelt we
are making all possible haste to turn
over to wealthy men and corporations
this rich heritage of the people. The
population of the United States today,
800O0,000, will doubtless reach 130
100000 in the next twenty-five or
thirty years Where Will this rapidly
increasing population find homes up
on the land if we permit the public do
main to pass into the possession of
men seeking to own and control im-
mense landed estates?
"There should be but one act upon
our statute books under which public
lands can be acquired and that one act
should be a genuine homestead act,
which imposes a residence Of five
years and continuous cultivation of
the soil-an act having no commuta-
ton provision attached to it"