Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1904-04-08
Speech By
HansbrO ugh
Continued from page ~


object has man in paying 5000 for
100 acres OF land if he can get land
for nothing2 Why would he go in
debit Why would he borrow money !
HE purpose is, Mr.. President, not
only to borrow the 5000 to pay the
government, but to borrow four or
Eve OF six hundred dollars additional
with which to improve his farm ard
start in business. This is his pur-
pose. He does not commute his land
in order to defraud the governments;
he commutes it because he wants to
build up his home, and he pays a
premium of 5000 to the government
for that privilege, and the receipts in
the general land flee here from the
sale of land will show to what extent
the communication law has been awaited
Of.
'sM1. President, one would suppose
in listening t. the senator from Mon
tana when he gave US those large
volumes of figures, in block of humid
reds of millions, that all the public
domain had been taken under the
communication clause of the homestead
law, the desert land act, and the tim
Der and stone act. 1t seems to me
that the senate ought to be advised as
to what amount of lands have been
fled upon or have been proved up IN
der these several laws. have before
me here table, complied in the
general land Office at my special re-
quest some time ago and from that
table / find that in the last twenty
two years over 200, 600, 600 acres of
public domain have passed to private
ownership; that is, up to June 30,
1908. l have the figures here before
ME and will later ask to insert them
in my remarks. a
"Of that 200, 600, coo acres only
80, 900. 600 acres have passed to private
ownership under the three laws
which the senator from Montana
would repeal. It seems to me that
this is very important matter to
be considered.
s.About 200, 900, 600 acres of land
have passed into private ownership
under all the land laws. Now, let
us see. The total amount under the
timber and stone act in twenty. two
years was about 8, 600, 600 acres; under
the desert land act in twenty-five
years, under the Communication clause
of the homestead law, about 10, 600, 600
acres; under the final or FIVE year
homestead law, where the settler re-
sides on his land for five years and
secures title without paying anything
to the government. about 1000, 600
acres in twenty-five years. These are
the principal land laws that are un-
der consideration here end that are
involved in this CONTROVERSY.
Mr.. President. during the same
period patents have been issued to the
se1 eral states under the laws plovid-
ing for state selections and providing
for educational and public purposes
about 10, 900, 900 acres in twenty two
years, and in the same period
81, 900. 900 acles have been patented to
land grant railroads.; wagon road
grants patented, about one and one
Z half million acres, and under the
swamp land Improvement act about
IA, 600, 600. Ha. sfg.,
so We have almost as much public
land passing into private hands and
passing to the state under the swamp
land act as we have under the com
mutation law, but we hear nothing
about frauds under the swamp land
act.
sit is true as the senator says, that
the several secretaries of the interior
and several commissioners of the gen.
eral land Office have in the annual
reports, made recommendations in the
direction Of the repeal of some of
these laws. There is no doubt about
that. But here is the important point
in. that connection. If we except the
senior senator from Colorado (Mr.
Teller), who was once secretary Of the
interior, we have not had man in
that Office for a great many years
covering the entire period to which
tsat senator from Montana referred
who knew anything about the public
land system from practical exper-
ienee.- ma! . exception Of the sena-
toE1fem Colorado because we all
kn0Where that he does understand the
pubfEland question. He has lived
in ublic land state fol many years.
"Mr. President, referring briefly,
If may be allowed, to this propa-
ganda, if may call it such, which
has been inaugurated here within the
Last few years for the repeal Of these
land laws, on Investigation it seems
to me have found that the motive
Of the men behind the movement is
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