The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1904-01-14
Letter from Washington.
LEGISL ALTON CONCERNING DESERT
LANDS. AN ARREST FOR LAND
STEALING.

are being made in Congress to divert
attention from the necessity for the
repeal of the Desert Land law and other
land laws through the introduction OF
numerous bills amending and modifying
these acts, instead of striking them
from the statute books as was recon-
mended by the Senate Public Lands
committee of the last Congress. One
of these measures which has been
heralded as cure for all the fraud and
land absorption under the Desert Land
act is bill recently introduced by Sen
ator Hanstrough of North Dakota
amending this act.
This Hansbrough bill limits desert
land entry to 100 acres instead of 800
acres as at present. 1t also repeats the
assignment clause to the Desert act,
which clause was added to the act in
the early nineties. While appearing to
he important concessions to the advO-
Gates of land law repeal, these pro-
posed changes in reality amount to
practically nothing, and when studied
in their probable effect show the real
attitude of the interests Whlcha are bend
ing everv effort to prevent or modify
legislative action that would cut Off OPP
portunities for the requirement of gov
eminent land in large tracts and with
ont settlement or residence.
The cutting down of the acreage from
go to 100 acres. simply means the stock
men and spectators desiring to secure
land under this act would have to en-
noy double the rambler of entrymen
or dummies. There has never been any
difficulty experienced in securing an
unlimited number of dummies to file on
Timber claims or homestead claims un-
der the communication clause, each OF
which is limited to 100 acres, and enof-
ipaus unbrollen tracts, i'll many cases
As great as under the desert land act
With is 800 acre limit, have under each
OF these laws passed into speculative
or gorpolate ownership with no sign OF
nsrnaneut residence. 1t must be pre-
stunned that this proposed reduced desert
land acreage would operate likewise.
The repeal Of the assignment clause
can also }e regarded with complacency
iv ire land grabbeTs. The enactment
ut t.fS clause, as stated, was compare
rivplv rpeeut. and the desert land law
mad before this iourished for years like
q sleeu Uay tree building up dozens
ana scores OF great feudal estates IN the
west without settlement and without
names iust as it Will continue to do
even with its assignment clause re-
nioved and its acreage reduced by one
half
The vital defect of the desert land
act and one which cannot be remealed
except hy repeal, lies i'll the tact that
mo- residence and 10 home-making is re
1uirpd on the land. The land can be
ojveu little water and made to pro
dnee a crop of the wild grass growing
thereon. without ploughing or cuItlva-
ton OF other improvement, and this is
held to be in compliance with the law
emitting the entrymen to a patent for
his and No residence is required, and
10 homes ale built, and no people live
Ola the land.
Tle friends of the national irrigation,
aud western home-making and com
muIity building will oppose any at
tempt to weakly modify the desert or
other existing land laws which allow
coIporatious and syndicates to monopo-
lie public and which might otherwise
0e irrigated and settled i'll small farms.
If Senator Hansbrough will introduce
an amendment to the Desert Land law,
cutting II Gown to 100 acres and pro-
-.Il1lg for an actual fire gears residence
before title passes from the government
10 the settler, then the National Irriga
<Ion Association and the other friends
of the national irrigation movement
will accord it their hearty support.
such ali amendment would spell repeal.
The recent arrest of John A. Benson
If California for land stealing and
frauds against the government on a
!arge scale, promises to be but the first
of series of developments Of this
character which for magnitude will
surpass anything that has been brought
TO light for many years. 1t seems that
N this case there has been clear case
Of fraud against the government. and
bribery, under which valuable national
property vas acquired for nothing. The
more sinister fact, however, which the
people of the country do not yet fully
tealiZe, is that legal steals have been
perpetrated for some years in Western
states along side which even these
frauds OF the Benson class appear but
small.
There is 10 question but the nation
has been presenting the great land and
i've stock companies and syndicates
with millions of acres of land, worth to
the nation hundreds of millions of dol
ars. under set of land laws, which, if
they could be seen in operation By the
average citizen, would incite him to in