Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1906-01-05

last year the repeal of the assign
ment clause. This provision has
Deen made the convenient vehicle for
eyading the spirit of the law and for
facilitating the acquisition of lands in
large holdings. The law limits the
amount which one person or associa
ton Of persons may hold, by assign
ment or otherwise, prior to patent to
320 acres Of such arid or desert
lands. The most common form of at
tempted evasion of this requirement
Is for two or three individuals to
form themselves into corporation,
each individual member of the corpo-
ration securing, by entry or assign
ment, 800 acres of such lands and
the corporation as such 800 acres.
These same individuals then form an
other corporation under an entirely
different name and procure an as
signment of another 800 acres, and
this process is continued indefinitely.
The General Land Office has within
the past year endeavored to put a
stop to this practice by holding that
a corporation or association of uer-
sons Is not qualified to receive a des-
ert-land entry by assignment where
its individual members either singly
or In the aggregate are holding 800
acres Of such arid or desert lands.
This ruling, if enforced, will tend to
lessen the evils resulting from large
holdings prior to patent, but it Is not
deemed possible to secure adequate
control Of this question unless the
law prohibits assignments of desert
land entries. BY repeating that pro-
vision Of the law and requiring the
claimant to show that he has made
the entry for his own use and benefit
and not for the benefit OF any other
person or corporation and that he
has made no agreement by which the
title shall inure to any other person
or corporation the evils Incident to
large holdings of such lands under
the sanction Of law will be materially
| lessened
1t is striking fact that these large
holdings Of desert land are not re-
claimed and devoted to their best
use. Three hundred and twenty acres
of irrigable land is entirely too much
for economical handling by one per.
son. On the other hand, inspection
shows that in the same locality and
under the same climatic conditions the
homestead entries, where not com.
muted, are reclaimed and utilized.
The desert-land act as 1t stands up
on the statute books appears to have
many features which commend 1t
as before stated, the practices gov
erning it have largely nullifed Its
good features, and the resulting
evils cannot be fully overcome with
out Legislation.
The area Of the desert entry
should be cut down from 800 acres tt
not exceeding 100 acres, and discre-
ton should be given to the Secretary
of the Interior to cut it down still
further where it is apparent that in.
tensive cultivation is practicable. A
farm Of 800 acres, If irrigated, Is en-.
tirely too large for a single family,
and its possession simply prevents
other settlers from coming into the
country. Furthermore, it makes LAND
monopoly easy and induces specula
ton.
Actual living at home on the land
4 for not less than two years should
be required before patent. You
Commission can not understand why
any settler should be given both 9
homestead and desert entry, either
of which without the other should suf
fee, under the law, to furnish him 9
home. The desert-land law should
} be means of settlement, aud aetna
bona fide residence should be rigidl!
required.
the actual production Of a valuabl,
coop should bc required on not les
, than one-fourth the area of the en-
try. At present, as rule, the great
err part of the desert entries ar
never actually watered. Hundred
of desert entries were examined b,
members of the Commission in tn
last year, and the great majority 0
them were found to be uninhabited
unirrigated, uncultivated, and wit
: no improvements other than fence
E This applies both to desert entries uI
{ on which q final proof Is now bein
{ offered and to other entries to .whic
/ title has been given.
Q 1t Is a fact that very small pre-
q portion of the land disposed of unde
the terms of the law has actual
10 been reclaimed and irrigated, an
70 scrutiny of many hundreds Of diesel