Omaha daily bee., 1906-11-26
JLD LEASE ARID LANDS
Cornell Of Valentine Advocates Plan
Before Bankers Meeting.
,lL cArTLtMm FAVORED LESSEE
= scheme would solve Fencing
troubles ana Wake waste Land
source Of Revenue 20 state
"A and Nation.

H, leasing of grazing land by the gov
mcnt was advocated by G. H. Cornell.
Bstdent OF the First National bank az VAL
ltine in an address before tho Nebraska
nkers' association in omaha last week.
the address he called attention to the
As4t that probably 10 per cent OF the lands
cqhsidered arid now can be brought under
cultivation under present plans Of the re-
clamation bureau, Some Of the rest he
says, can be cultivated under the so-callod
Campbell system, hut stan very large part
of the western territory must remain which
viii be good for grazing purposes only. He
points out that under the present system
20 revenue is derived from the lands ana
they are left open subject TO conflicts among
tattle and sheep men and settlers Con-
4nuing, he says:
Nev Legislation Needed.
] My position is that congress should enact
Jaws Vesting in some branch or the govern
Fnent, preferably the Interior department
me right OF absolute control over the same
1.-THE arid lands) 10 the extent Of deriving
anyone Of the use or a ay pars Of the gov
ernment domain II found necessary. but
since it Is better for the land Itself that
someone should occupy ana conttol IT, said
department should be authorized TO sell.
lease or otherwise dispose OF the same.
since conditions differ so materially in the
seversA states, 1 shall not attempt to deal
with the manner Of disposition Of the lands
hills counties OF Nebraska, and for nlustrd-
lion, take Cherry county.
Cherry county is sixty-three by ninety
SIX miles, comprising 3,6S4,00O acres, divided
as follows.
sections ie and ss; state school lands. 2l4.657
school Indemnity ................,..... 21,S2l
Total school lands 2n.g .gSs
Fort Niobrara military reservation. 60.50l
Patented to individuals and taxable. 722,lsl
" aer homestead filings. ,.........1. l67, $50
vacant or unappropriated.. d............1,5l4,32 30
Total .........s.... ......a...... .3.6s4,O ,Oc
"See report Of commissioner general land
zee fiscal year ending June 90 1906.
1t must not be inferred from the above
Jhat Cherry county comprises all poor land
fince the decided (taxable) land covers al
kPea a little larger than the combined area
Pierce and Madison counties. and some oi
=. .9bese acres are producing us good farm
troducts as the most favored spots OF Ne
braska. However, surveys were made IL
the latter seventies, since which time in.
vitations have been out to the homesteadei
TO avail himself OF $50 acres free THAI
offer, not appearing sufficiently attractive
congress on April q. 1904 or nearly thirty
years after the. lands Were surveyed for
settlement, under the "IIinkaid act" multi
piled the area by four, granting an actua
homestead settler $40 acres That attracted
.tl.TJutlOn 70 the, FelualnAnB vacant lands ~
= nothing else had and brought about exam
ination by persons dcsirOus Of establishing
ctual bona fdehomcs and in some casei
resumption OF filings, some OF them II
Rood faith, but many not. However, Oh,
records show that at present there ar,
approximately ll6I.S69 acres held undel
Homestead entry. II would require ont
iliamilisr with the country to be very opti
|lmistic TO predict that more than 20 pc
Icent or a little more than 10000 acres o
What now under homestead entry woul,
aeVer pass to patent The remaining one
Nhaf OF course, would finally revert bacl
: NO the government as ''unappropriated.' >
ftSsslt, added to the 1,Sl4,32 acres no on
: 41tVsfits sufficiently to pay S14 for opportunit,
Of trying TO acquire title by five years
residence would make at least 10000
acres In Cherry county alone to be dis
posed Of ana this Is the land i'm question
How shall II be disposed Of?
should Not he sold. but Leased.
II cannot be sold, since congress right,
thinks that as eonditiouGr charge due. 1,
settlement, little by little these lands Will
become subjugated sufficiently for settle
ment and that every acre OF the remaining
public domain should be withheld for tn
actual settler. IL therefore would appea
that leases, say for twenty years, some
what similar to the leases OF state schOo
lands, subject TO homestead settlement o
other necessary appropriation. would b
Ag the most practicable. II cannot be lease
y TO the highest bidder per acre. since the op
portunities would be too 81 cat for the owne
Of large outfits to acquire, all the rang
After having spent SIX weeks at Washing
ton last winter I'm ,ae interest of a bi
1 had drawn looking TO leasing, I hav
concluded that the land might be appor
toned, at say ] cent per acre per annur