The Ordway new era., 1906-12-21
ORDER MODIFIED
WITHDRAWAL OF lAMpe PRoM
ENTRY LESS srRIMoeNT.
WANTS LAND LAWS CHANGED

President ursss Repeal Of TImbss -
Stone Aet-AIso Changes In ~ Rs-
peal Of Desert Land Act ana csss-
mutation Clause Of Homssesa1
Law.
Washington.-The President Mon
day issued an order to the Interior Do
partmcnt to modify Its order With
drawing from all forms Of entry large
areas Of public lands in the West ro-
ported by the Geological Survey TO be
underlaid with coal. so that In futuro
entries upon these lands may be made
under all forms OF entry excepting -
coal land filings.
ViliGance will be exercised n &C
cepting proofs to determine whether
lands sought to be acquired are nsosO
posits than for agriculture.
Declaring that the public domain b
fast being gobbled by great corpora
lions and spectators under existing
laws. the President on Monday scat
message to Congress urging the repeal
of the timber and stone act, repeal OF
revision of the desert land act and TA6-
cal revision. II not repeal. OF the CON-
mutation clause Of the homestead oct.
The Presidents message on the sub
lect Of the public lands as read 70 Coz
gress. follows:
"The developments Of the past year
emphasize with increasing force tho
need OF vigorous and immediate nctjoa
10 recast the public land laws anA
adapt them to the actual situation. Tho
thinker and MT ha9 dAnNAU1R0HA3
conclusively that its effect 10 to turn
over the public timber lands TO great
corporations. II has done en0Tm00o
harm, II IL NO longer needed, and Z
should be repealed.
1.-THE desert land act results % fro.
auently In fraud and SO comparatively
seldom in making homes on the RaA6
that It demands radical amendnaent
That provision which permits assign
nent before patent should be repealed
and the entryman should be requires
to live for not less than two years ae
home on the land before patent issoeA
Otherwise the desert land law viii cor
tinue to assist spectators and other
large holders to get control Of land ana
water on the public domain by indefea-
sible means.
The Communication clause Of thD
homestead act serves. in majority q
cases, to cefeat the purpose OF th0
homestead act itself, which IL to facili-
tate settlement and create homes. IN
theory the Communication clause should
assist the honest settler, and doubtless
In some cases 1t does SO. Far moro
often II supplies the means by which
spectators and loan ana mortgase
companies secure possession Of tho
land. Actual-not constructfve-living
at home on the land for three yearD
should be required before commuta-
sion, unless 1t should appear wiser -
repeal the commutation clause abto-
gether.
These matters are more fully dIs-
cussed in the report OF the public laAdD
commission, to which again call yuur
attention.
81 am gravely concerned at the a.
ltremely unsatisfactory condition Of IL
public land laws and at the prev11eoce
Of fraud under their present provisScns.
For much Of this fraud the preseae
laws are chiefly responsible. There =
but one way by which the frandaSs.e
acquisition Of these lands can be dc1-
aitely slapped. and therefore LhaSe -
lrected the secretary OF the interior to
allow no patent to be issued to pabsto
LANDS under any law until by an exaM-
llnatiou on the ground actual compsh
lance with that law has been found -
exist.
"For this purpose an Increase OF spe-
cial agents in the general land once b
urgently required: unless It 10 gtve1.
bona fide would.be settlers will b -
to grave Inconvenience, or else u
fraud will in large part go on. FurtAR.
the secretary Of the interior enoulo'H -
Ienabled to employ enough mining n
perts to examine the validity Of ~
mineral land claims and to undertake
the supervision and control Of the -
Of the mineral fuels still belonging TO
the United States. The present coaf
law, limiting the individual entry to
100 acres, puts premium on fraud ~
making 1t impossible to develop CERTAIN
TYPES OF coal fields and yet comply with
the law. It Is a scandal to maintain
laws which sound well, but which make
fraud the key without which great MT
aral resources must remain closed. Tho
law should give individuals and co9poG.
atoms under proper government rog1-
lation and control (the details OF which
shall not at present dfscussl, ~
fright to work bodies OF coal land 1nRHD
enough for profitable development NJ
own belief Is that there should ~ ~
vision for leasing coal, OH and enD
Irights under proper regtr1ct1nn1 ne
the additional force Of apecaa1 agsaeo
and mining experts recomsneHf -
lprovided and well used. the resu1t ~
be not only to stop the land ffauGA ~
to prevent delays In patenttng ~
claims, and to conserve the 1n4toDn.
table fuel resources Of the nAttun.s
Denver PestesIes ssls.