The Greeley tribune., 1905-02-16
G0BBLE LAND
SAID TO BE OBJECT OF NEW
HOMESTEAD LAW
Claims That All Government
Lands will Ultimately Fall
Into the Hands of
Corporations

The overthrow of the old home
stead law and the substitution OF a
$40 acre homestead is being rapidly
consumated, so far as the change can
be pushed along by the Public Lands
committee of the House. That body
voted the other day to recommend
the passage of square mile home
stead bill as applied to eight or ten
million acres of land in western
South Dakota, although minority
of the committee, consisting OF
Chairman Lacey and Representatives
Mendell of Wyoming, Miller Of Kan
sas and Needham of California will,
it is understood, bring in separate
report against the bill. The COM
mittee will take up succeeding bills
applying the square mile homestead
to other states. This report OF the
committee was made in the face Of a
strong adverse recommendation from
the commissioner of the general land
office and the Secretary OF the Inter
ior. The commissioners pointed
to the fact that similar bill was
enacted last year for western Ne
braska, ''as an experiment, and he
stated that sufficient time had not
eIasped to warrant any conclusion
whatever favorable to the Nebraska
or Kincaid law.
Under the South Dakota bill the
government is given four months IN
which, to make complete survey
OF the state and withdraw any lands
suitable for irrigation. There Is no
provision in the bill, however, by
which the government could with
draw lands which it might find to
be suitable for agriculture without
irrigation.
Unless strong sentiment is devel-
oped in opposition to this bill, it Is
likely to quietly slip through con-
gress, so Slight is the interest mani
tested by eastern members in the ques-
tion of the development and admins
tration of the great agricultural do
main of the country. There seems
to be a disposition to let the public
lands take care of themselves, no
matter what amount OF fraud and
speculation in them is shown to ex-
ist, to pass by the problem and even
as in this instance to enact further
laws allowing their more rapid dis
posal.
mo more dangerous nor insidiOus
measure than this square mile home
stead scheme,' said a prominent
member of congress-, has Of late
come before congress. 1t is unqes-
tionably an attractive. idea and will
meet with enthusiastic support by
those who desire to secure large
tracts of our agricultural lands. L
regard it as most dangerous piece
of legislation
In speaking of this action of the
House public lands Committee, Sen-
ator Gibson, a member of the public
lands committee of the senate, said:
The absorption of our public lands
into great private holdings is going
on under our present laws at rail
road speed, but this plan to permit
IA man to take up square mile Of
land is to my mind little short of
iniquitous. 1t would condemn much
of our finest agricultural lands in
the northwest, capable of growing
crops and supporting families on
small tracts, to perpetual stock graz
ing. Nor would it result in $40 acre
is too much land for man to farm
and too little for him to successfully
raise stock on. The result would
be that in one way or another, the
land would be concentrated into big
holdings, very effectively preventing
settlement. There is great future
in agriculture for my state and ad-
joining states but such law as
this would do much to shatter our
hopes for the development OF real
farming
1t Is admitted at the capitol that
to secure the enactment of general
law allowing homestead entries Of
square mile would be impossible but
is is expected to take up the question
state by state, one state having al
ready been granted the right, and to
secure the legislation piecemeal.