Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1905-12-23

| OCSTER, so. OAK. Dec. 3, 1908.
| To the Honorable Senators and Repre-
Sentatives of thu State of South Dakota,
Washington, ID G.
GENTLEMEN Numerous meetings of
the citizens of that portion of Custer
county, South Dakota, included within
the Black Hills Forest Reserve, have
been held with view of determining
what means might be employed to
change the uncertain condition with
which we are confronted by reason of
the proclamation creating the forest re
serve, and the subsequent rulings of the
Department under existing law, or in
the absence of proper law.
There Is large amount of purely Rg-
ricultural land in that portion Of Custer
county referred to, most of which is not
available under the present law for ag-
rlcultural purposes. Some of this land
is unclaimed, but most of it is held un-
der placer locations A small percent
age of these placer claims have been re.
located by the owners who had home
stead rights which they were able to use
under the homestead privilege granted
them for limited time. Some of these
settlers have made proof, others may do
| so. Now, this is the only class of people
who are able to get title TO their home
This is the only portion of this till
able land that can be made subject to
taxation, and this, with the population
which it sustains, is not sufficient to
maintain the county and town organiza.
tions with their schools and churches to
support large portion of our present
! revenue comes from settlers who have
no title to their claims and who are
without means of securing title thereto.
Under the Interpretation by the Depart.
ment of existing laws, those taxpayers
are .rsspassers and those who can, with
out too much sacrifice, are planning to
| move away, and none of them are in
creasing their holdings or improving
| their property because of the uncsrtain-
! ty which exists with reference to the at
! titude of the Government toward them,
and its final disposition of their homes.
Now, We not only wantto keep our pres
ent population but We want TO double it.
We have the capacity for this increase
ii every acre of purely agricultural land
were titled and made productive. This
can be done without INJURY to the min
| ing interests which we are all interested
in promoting and encouraging and il
can be done with positive advantage
TO the forest reserve which we are all
desirious of protecting. What we want
is legislation of character which will
have tendency to encourage and pro-
mote the various interests in Custer
county with the result that the county
and the various interests represented in
it may be fostered, protected and bar.
monionsly developed to their highest
degree of productiveness. These inter-
ests consist principally of the forest res
ervation, the mining interests and the
agricultural interests. Owing to the
general character Of this country each
Of these interests will be ofadvantage TO
the other in the gradual and general de-
yelopment Of all.
At present the agricultural interests
upon which the life of the community
SO largely depends. is suffering. II
seems to be an established fact that the
lands now under cultivation, and that
capable of being cultivated profitable is
more valuable for agricultural than min.
ing purposes; proof therefore can not be
made upon placer filings. There are
three classes of our citizens seriously
affected by this fact and under the pres.
Snt law are without any means Of relief
| Those with homestead rights who failed
to make homestead filings upon thei,
holdings within the time limit. Those
without homestead rights who could