The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-01-19
GETTING AROUND IT.
Attempt Being Made in Congress to
Leave Desert Land Law Alone.

washington, Jan. B.-An enOrt is De-
ing made in congress to divert attention
from the necessity for the repeal of the
Desert Land Law and other land laws
through this introduction of numerous
bills amending and modifying these acts
instead of striking them from the statute
books was recommended by the senate
public lands committee of last congress.
One of these measures which has been
! hearalded as a cure for all the fraud and
| land absorption under the Desert Land
act is bill recently INTRODUCED by Sena-
tor Hansbrough of North Dakota amend
ing this act.
This Hansbrough bill limits a desert
land entry TO 100 acres instead of go acres
as at present IT also repeats The assign
ment clause to the Desert Act, when
clause was added to the act in the early
nineties. While appearing to be import
ant concessions TO the advocates Of land
law repeal these proposed changes in
reality amount to practically nothing and
when studied in their probable effect.
show the real attitude. of the interests
which are bending every effort to prevent
or modify legislative action that would
cut on opportunities for the requirement.
OF government land in large tracts and
without settlement or residence.
PROPOSED CHANGES NOT WORRY
ING SToCKMEN.
The cutting down Of the acreage from
go to 100 acres simply means that stock
men and spectators desiring to secure
land under this act would have to employ
double the number of entrymen or dunn
mics to file on timber claims or home
stead claims under the communication
clause. each of which is limited to $50
acres and enormous tracts, in many cases
as great as under the desert land act
with it's 32o-acre limit. have under each
of these laws passed into speculative or
corporate ownership with no sign OF per-
manent residence 1t must be presumed
that this proposed reduced desert land
acreage desert land acreage would oper-
ate likewise.
The repeal of the assignment clause"
can also be regarded with complacency
by tho land erabbers The enactment Of
this clause, as stated. was comparatively
recent. and the desert land law had be-
fore this fourished for years like a green
bay tree, building up dozens and scores
of great feudsl estates in the west. with
out settlement and without homes. just
as il will continue 10 do even with its
assignment clause removed and its acre
age reduced by one-half
INCrRABLE DEFECT IN DESERT
LAW
The vital defect OF the desert land law
act and one which cannot he remelied
except by repeal. lies in the fact that no
residence and TO home-making is re
quired on the land. The land can be
given little water and made to produce
a crop of the wild grass growing there
on. without ploughing or cultivation or
other Improvement and this is held 10 be
compliance with the lew emitting the en-
is required. and no homes are built. and
no people live on the land
The friends of the national irrigation.
and western home making and commun-
ity-huilding viii oppose any attempt to
weakly modify the desert or other exist
ing land laws which allow corporations
and syndicstes to monopolize public land
which might otherwise be irrigated and
settled in small farms. II Senator Hans
brough will introduce ar amendment 20
the Desert Land law. cutting II down
To i6e acres and providing for an actual
five years residence before title passes
from the government 10 the settler. then
the National Irrigation association and
the other friends Of the national irriga-
ton movement wiz accord II their hearty
support. Such an amendment would spell
repeal