, 1906-12-19
PRESIDENT ON PUBLIC LANDS.

business and points a remedy for fraud
which, If adopted n followed, Will
prevent the practice of gaining title
to public lands through false swearing
Under the present system entrymen
make their final proofs before register
and receivers OF land offices, clerks oil
district courts or United States com
missioners. 1t has not been the gener-
al practice to have the government rep
resented in any way at those hearings
except at the United States land offices
and then the evidence offered is only
on behalf of the claimant. There is
nothing to c%ontroyert the statements
made by the entryulsn and his wit
nesses. The hearing is purely eX parte.
During the past two years the instruc-
lions TO special agents have provided
for an examination of entries, but the
number of agents has been so SINAI
that Il has been impossible to follow
the instructions, hence they have been
a LEAD letter. In this state, Tor Illus
tration. there has been but one agent,
and there has been more than enough
business to keep him busy. AT the
present time the agent in charge Is
making an effort to more fully investi-
gate entries before they are finally
passed to hnal proof, and in all proba-
bility none will get a patent till 1t has
been shown that the law has been com
piled with. This will involve an I'M
mense amount of work, but II VIII
certainly be profitable to the govern
,o.. a., oIf,,ipafa oil f-nud
Under the system advocated by the
president an agent would make COM
plete examination of every entry before
the issuance of final receipt and thus
the government would have its side oil
the case properly presented at the final
consideration of the proof. Claimants
who knew hat such an examination
would be made before rece pit would
issue, would hesitate t. swear falsely,
and their witnesses, having no interest
In the claims under consideration,
would be inclined to stick squarely to
the truth. Perjury, ii followed to IT'S
proper conclusion. means a term in the
penitentiary, and witnesses would hard
ly dare take the chanc If they knew
their statements were to be thoroughly
put to proof.
President Roosevelt advocates the
repeal of the timber and stone act,
saying that 1t has done enormous
harm, is no longer needed and that it
should be repealed. Under this act
an immense amount of land has been
disposed of during the past few years.
1t was the agency through which the
timber men of Oregon, Washington
and Montana secured title to large
areas of timber land. Hundreds OF
people from Missouri, Iowa, Kansas
and Nebraska were taken to those
states for the sole purpose of filing up
on timber land, title to which was
thereafter transferred to the timber
companies. In the eyes of the law,
this is fraud. In Wyoming the LAY has
been the means of transferring to
many stockmen title to land that has
no value for timber or stone, although
there may be stone uIon the land.
The proof required is the present h a
acter and value of the land and at
time of proof the claimant must show
hat the land is more valuable Tor
timber or stone than for any other
purpose and that he is not taking the
land for the use of another. Recently
a gentleman well versed in all matters
pertaining to the disposal of the gov
eminent domain in northern Wyoming,
gave it as his opinion that very few
not more than two per cent-of the
entries made under the timber and
stone act were made for the purposes
of the act. If this is true. then it is
time that something should drop. 1t
is no answer to say that the govern
ment is getting all the land is worth
when u man pays $3.50 per acre for
it. That is not the question involv'
ed. The point is, does the land for
which title is sought come within the
provisions of the act of congress?
The president is of the opinion that
there should be residence upon desert
land entries or that the law should be
repealed. He advises two years resi-
dence. If this additional burden is
placed upon desert land entrymen,
mighty little land would be taken UNI
der the desert act. The law is now u.s.
ed very largely to augment the num-
Der of acres that may be taken by
stockmen. The homestead entry is not
enough and by adding thereto 100 acres
under the desert act $50 acres is Sc.
cured. which makes 4 place quite re
spectacle in size. But if residence on
the desert land entry were required.
hen it would be impossible 10 take
the homestead At all. unless the entry
men should wait till after final proof
on the desert entry.
In his message the president says
he has directed the secretary of the
interior to allow no patent TO be is
sued on public lands under n law un
til by examination on the ground
actual compliance with the law has
been found to exist. This applies to
mineral, coal and agricultural entries,
and unquestionably the department
will at once take steps to carry out the
presidents order. This will end prac.
tically all of the fraud.
The presidents order restoring the
townships recently withdrawn to al
forms of entry save coal will meet
with the approval of the entire people
OF the west, as it would be a, great