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

MOQlneu homestead Law.
The attention of Oak otan readers is
called to the letter in this issue from
Geo. b, Mcpherson of Hereford, Meade
county, s. d., concerning the GAO acre
homestead bill. The merit of the pro-
posed $40 acre homestead law cannot be
fully understood until we consider the
fact that millions of acres of land in the
western part of the state are Of an eX-
tremely rough, hilly and mountainous
character. These lands will not be ta-
ken under the terms of the present 100
acre law. A $40 acre tract applying to
these rough lands alone would promote
immigration, state development, and
help out the state treasury by bringing
these large bodies of rough lands onto
the tax rolls.
mainly by the immense bodies of land
west of the Missouri that are not yet on
the tax rolls, resulting in the burden of
taxation being dumped onto the decided
lands in the eastern half of the state.
1t would be better to give these rough
lands to the settlers gratis and get them
onto the state tax rolls, rather than to
have them remain indefinitely a dead
weight in the hands of the federal gov
ernment. Government lands pay no
taxes, decided lands do. The only hon.
est and practicable thing for the gov
eminent to do is to put through law
classifying the lands into 100 acre
homestead tracts and $40 acre home
stead tracts, according to quality, which
can easily be done from existing gov
ernment pats. Let the present l60
acre enactment apply to the general run
of lands, but amend ii to classify the
rough lands into $40 acre plats at terms
to invite the settlement that has been
too long delayed Pierre Dakotan.
Following is the letter Of Geo. B. Nc
Pherson of Meade county referred to
above:
Hereford, S. d., Dec. 2, 1905.
Editor Dakotan -
Dear Sir Il have read Dr. Todd's trip
in the Dakotan. | think he has it down
about right in his description Of the
country. | think now Hon. Eben w.
Martins $40 acre homestead bill covered
too large a scope Of the country at pres.
ent, but the time is coming when that
bill will be needed for all of South Da-
kota west Of the Missouri river; but at
the present time we ought to have the
$40 acre homestead law in Fall River,
Custer, and all of Pennington counties
west of the Cheyenne River, all Of
Meade county west Of the Cheyenne
river and south of the Belle Fourche
river, and all of Butte county, south Of
the Belle Fourche river, and all of Law
renee county. This is the land first
given up by the Sioux and all the 100
acre homesteads have been taken that a
man could make a living on, but we
have lots of breaks and rough land that
could be homesteaded in 6i0 acre home.
steads and man would stand some
show to make a living on GAO acre
homestead, where as it is, it is a disad-
vantage to the country. In those coun-
ties the choice unimproved land belongs
to the state, and that has kept back the
selling of this part of the state. If the
land bad been in alternate sections il
would have been much better for those
counties, and also better for the state
institutions, as it will be a long time un-
der existing circumstances, before this
endowment land will be bought up at
prices; hnt with it surrounded by actual
settlers with $40 acre homesteads, it
would come into market sooner and not
be SO enticing to the Texas cattle raiser.
Last spring, one year ago, We had IL coo
head Of Texas cattle shipped in, turned
loose within 10 miles Of US, and the most
OF them shipped back as estray this fall,
the owners and their men all going
home as soon as the cattle were turned
loose, not TO show up here since The
cattle shipped to market here by our
ranchmen here, there is no chance for
our assessors to get them on the assess
ment roll, but this rough land put in
$40 acre homesteads would prevent that
use of the public domain and it would
be occupied by actual settlers, and in
time the same law would be applied to
all this northwest territory outside OF
the irrigated district, and this rough
land would soon become taxable prop.
erty; and such law would also en-
hance the value of our endowment
lands. The state has fine lot of land
in this county, but no water on il, so
that but little Of it can be leased and
used.
Yours truly,
GEO. b. McPnERsoN.