The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-14
WILEY BILL APPROVED
MEASURE WILL PROBABLY SOON
 PASS THE HOUSE.
G2roviaton for ReIfef of Certain Home steaders Commended by Secretary of Interior and Is With
 SpeakeR.

Washington. D. C.. Feb. lss~-tspe- cialls Representative wilexs bill on which he has worked for some time quite assiduously. for the relief oe certain homesteaders. which has rass- ed the Senate, after having been called up yesterday is in a fair way to be- come law. The Secretary of the In- terior has fully approved the bill. which Is now on the speakers table and will likely pass the House next week. The bill concerns about Bev- enty-five persons who are homestead CTS in Crenshaw, Covington, Escambia and Baldwin counties. They are men who have paid entrance fees and com piled with the land laws, and in some instances have erected valuable im- provements on the lands. These set- tiers entered lands under invitation from the Secretary of the Interior, but recently their entries were contested by Hampton D. Ewing and others mem toned in the bill, and after litigation in the General Land once was finally decided against the homesteaders. The purpose of the bill is to relieve them as innocent settlers.
 The context of the bill Is substan- tially as follows:
 Where any homestead eetry hereto fore allowed under ruling of the Land Department for lands within the limits of the grant made by act of Congress to the State of Alabama, in aid of tho construction of the railroad known as the Mobile and Girard Railroad. has been cancelled, because of superior claim to the land through purchase from the railroad company, which claim has been held to have been. con- firmed, and a confirmatory patent is- sued for the land under the provisions of section four of the act of March 8, 1887 CA Stats, p. 556). such home steader is hereby accorded the privi- lege of transferring his claim thus in- itiated under the homestead laws to any unappropriated public land subject to homestead entry, with full credit for the period of residence and for the improvements made upon his home- stead herein before first described prior to the order of it's cancellation. provided he has not forfeited or volun- tariIy abandoned his homestead claim. and that his application for transfeP Is presented within one year from the date of the passage of this act. Should he elect. however. to retain the tract tofore cancelled, the holder of the pat L0IOEG CdHCElGuB hOAaSA OA LuS pat ented title through the railroad grant shall thereupon be invited to relin- 1uish, or reconvey the land included In such former homestead entry, and up- on fling such relinquishment or rec conveyance. such holder of the pat ented title shall be entitled to select. and receive patent for. an equal quant- fly of non -timbered. non-mineral, un- appropriated public land subject to homestead entry. and upon the filing of such relinquishment or reconvey- ance all right. title and interest under and through the railroad grant. and the conhrmatory patent hereinbefore referred to, shall revert to the United States, and the tract thus relinquished or rsconvcyed. shall be treated and disposed of as other public lands of the United states: Provided. however. that such previous homesteader shall be reinstated in his rights and per- nitted to complete title to the land previously entered as though no can celIation of his homestead entry had been made.
 The Secretary of the Interior is to prescribe rules and regulations for the administration of this act
 R. II. watkIna