The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-11-12
IT is GOING FAST.
Public Land in Kansas Soon 3
Thing Of Past.
Register Fisher Says It Nay
Last Five Years.
IN THE SOUTH WEST.
Government Land Nearly Con-
fined to That Section.
Topeka Office Has 1000 Patents
UncalIed For.

When E. 3. LINEN, inspector OF
United States land offices, was in Fope-
ka some time ago he said that there
are still about 400. 200 acres OF land n
Kansas open to homestcaders.
His figure was not official, because
the regular annual report has not yee
been issued from the department. But
his estimate is in all probability right
The Official figures on June go, 1908,
showed that 51,314,T0S acres OF lana
was claimed and settled in Kansas
The total area of the state IS $685.
720 acres. The difference would
leave. after subtracting 120,57s acres
in the reservations for Indian and milf
| tary purposes. & net. Of 947,642 acres
of land still open to homesteaders.
But that, remember, was on June
30, 1904. The land Office agents here
in Topeka say that land in this state
is taken up at the rate of about AGO.
| OB0 or 100000 acres every years It IS
sixteen months since the report was
made from the department That IS
almost one year and a half. With
! only $1,000 acres unsettled and IN
claimed left in Kansas that length Of
| time ago, compromised by the fact
that it is being gobbled up at the rate
of about 100000 or 500, 600 acres each
I
right, and if anything little too large
However, the government officials
| ALWAYS allow for some land to come
| back In fact they expect at least
| one-tenth of the land filed, on to be
returned because either the titles are
not perfected or because the entries
may be held for fraud.
Chow long do you think that it viii
| Fisher yesterday at the Topeka land
Office" before all of the open land IN
Kansas is hOmesteaded.
81 think it Will be less than i've
years. he replied, land that is con-
sentative guess
The lands in Kansas are divided up
into three districts, known as the To-
peka Colby and Dodge City districts
1t might be said that all of the land
in the Topeka district is taken up,
though there are about $50 acres in
isolated 4O-acre tracts left. But these
are very rough, forbidding and prac-
tically untenantable. The Colby dis
trict is made up of fifteen counties,
or the northwest corner or the state.
The Dodge City district has IS coun-
ties. and consequently the larger share
of the open land
| To homestead a tract of land in
i Kansas a person must be p years
of age or the head of a family, and
he must not have exhausted prior
homesteading rights He must main
tain a residence on the place he pre-
empts for five years and must culu-
vate and improve it. One person can
have not more than $50 acres. The
place of abode which he must build
must be habitable at all seasons of
the year, and not simply a bluff
Incidentally it might be mentioned
that there are over 5000 land patents
on tracts that are homesteaded, on
| file in the land offices, which are not
yet claimed. They go way back TO
! President Buchanan's time and COM
| prise homestead patents, presumption
patents, military bounty patents and
warrant patents. These are the orig
inaI titles to the land. Of course du-
picates for them all are on the de-
partment records at Washington. But
it is always best for a man to have
| possession of the patent himself. BY
. sending to the land offices in the state
| these can be obtained
! Relative to the matter, Receiver and
Disbursing Agent J. G.WOod of the To-
peka Office said yesterday: "Any person
owning land in Kansas knowing that
the patent on the land is not on rec
. ord in the county where the land is
located can obtain the patent by ap-
! plication to the local land Office in
his district, sending Herewith the final
receipt. If he does not have the re-
ceipt or if it cannot be obtained he
should make out an affidavit alleging
ownership, describing the land and ac-
counting so far as he Is concerned
for the loss of the final receipt"