The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-08-17
ARE OBJECTS
OF SUSPICION
Interior Department After Wild.
ows of Civil War. Veterans.
ACCUSED OF LAND STEALING
CATTLE KINGS SAID TO HAVE
BEEN INTERESTED.
Especial to The Herald,


III ASHINGTON, Aug. l6.-By rigid
w ~, and, as it believes. intelli-
gently, enforcing that provision
Of the law allowing widows of deceased
soldiers and sailors to make additional
hOmesteads where their husbands failed
10 enter more than 100 acres Of land,
the interior department has succeeded
IN putting stop to one of the most
Migrant forms Of land grabbing ever
attempted by western cattle kings.
Under an unprecedented construction OF
the law laid down by Assistant Secre-
tary Reynolds I'm the last year of the
second Cleveland administration, ia
what is known as the Ella /. Dickey
case. local land officers. as we'll as thu
interior department I'm Washington,
held that the soldiers additional home
stead law permitted widows. when
qualified. 20 make additional home
stead entries without esta blishing resi-
dence on the land. This practice was
IN vogue when BingeT Hermann became
commissioner Of the general land Of
flee. and throughout his six-year term
the practice was continued. month
after William a. Richards Of Wyoming
took up the reins OF Office he called the
attention of Secretary Hitchcock to the
peculiarly loose. and, as he termed it.
unjustifable. construction Of the law
with the result that the department i'm
AirAiHNtlN dlopltu a. UOlcN contrary 10
thdt OF longstanding. and has subse-
quently required widows to establish
actual residence upon lands entered UNI
der the soldiers clause CT the home
stead act. Since it's adoption this new
construction Of the law has never been
questioned.
Residence Not Required.
Immediately following the decision in
the Dickey case i'm March 1896. the in
fprinr dAfbn.f fr- ions
10 all local land officers to the effect
that widows making additional home
stead entries must identify them
selves with the tracts claimed, by some
personal act of settlement thereon, in
dicativC of their claims. but need not
reside on the land" The instructions
further stated that cultivation of the
land should be recognized as sUbstan-
tial compliance with the law. If proof
OF cultivation was duly furnished
The cattle kings were quick to reCOg-
nize the opportunity afforded by this
Interpretation of the law. and at fire.
Quent intervals widows. or alleged
widows. of deceased soldiers and sail
ors We're hired to make application for
hOmesteads. Their only act was to
present themselves at the local land
office, make out the necessary papers
and furnish required dffidavits: the
cattle companies did the rest and saw
10 it that sufficient cultivation was
proven 20 meet the requirements of the
, department As soon as the widows
acquired patents the lands were trans
ferred to the stock companies, the wild
oWs receiving nominal compensation |
Tor their services. In this way extern !
sive tracts. particularly in western
Kansas. passed from the control of the
government into the hands Of cattle ]
barOns. and the practice was never
questioned until the entries were made !
i'm such profUsion as TO arouse the sUs-
piciOn of the public and of the depart
ment. BY this time cattle companies
were shipping widows into Nebraska /
by the carload. and it was Invariably
noticed that they vanished immediate
" after making filings.
The New Ruling.
Then it was that the department took
COguiZance of the extensive operations /
under the additional homestead law.
and eventually. at the instigatiOn of
Commissioner Richards, abandoned the
practice of the past seven years and
promulgated new ruling. requiring
very widow To i'm good faith establish !
md maintain an actual residence upon
the land for such period of time as J
coupled with her deceased husbands
service in the army or navy would |
make "a fun period Of five years. L
was held that under the statute such |
a widow cannot perfect her claim if il |
Is made directly or indirectly for the !
benefit Of another, and not exclusively |
with view to securing a home for 4
herself II is only in cases where the !
husband would be entitled to take an /!
additional homestead. and dies without |
doing so. that the widow becomes quail |
fed with the right.
Local land officers throughout the |
country have been advised OF the new /
regulations governing widows home /
stead entries, and are particularly eau /
TONED to require proof of actual resi- 4
cenCe. rs well as cultivation and inn !
pTovement. Since the issuance of the /
new instructions but few decisions of \
local land officers have been reversed. !
and rarely is a widows entry now held I
FOR cancellation because OF non-resi- !
dence. As the law is now being en-
forced, the general land office has au
opportunity TO check up all entries
passed upon by local officers. and il |
the lower offices have not required /
lroof of actual residence. the shortage
is discovered i'm Washington and such /
entries are held for cancellation unless
the deficiency in proof is supplied.