The Arizona sentinel., 1906-03-21
Defeating the Homestead Idea.
FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION

For more than forty years the phrase Homestead Law" has been pleasantly familiar to Am erican ears. It opened a way for millions of people to get 6 foothOld upon the land. The idea was that as long as there was any portion of the public domain fit for agriculture and not otherwise appropriated, any citizen, or even an alien who had declared his intention to be come a citizen, might obtain 16( acres of it by filing his claim and paying certain nominal fees and settling upon it to make his home in good faith.
 It was beautiful act of pater nalism-Uncle Sam, the rich and loving father, dividing his estate among all his children, natural and adopted. And the plan worked as beautifully as it sound ed, so long as there were farms to be had in that part of the pub lie domain which receives a good natural rainfall. Practically the last of such land has now passed away from the government. There is vast empire yet left an empire in which tens of mill ions will some time dwell but every acre of it must be irrigat- ed before it will be fit for homes. When this is done one acre will be equal in productive capacity to I acres depending upon rair- fall.
 The central thought in the homestead law, as the name i'm plies, is that a family should set tie down to the enjoyment of an independence from the perma- nent tilling of the soil. When it is used for any other purpose it becomes a miSnOmer and g dis grace.
 The law sought to make sure of the permanence of the settler $ home by providing that he should live upon and cultivate his home stead entry for five years before getting final title. If family could remain that length of time on a quarter section it would cer- tainly become established and attached to the soil. In the view of the lawmakers neither less nor more could be asked as a demonstration of good faith.
 But the cOmmutafion clause goes very far to nullify this wise provision of the law in regard to a five years continuous residence and cultivation. Under this clause, title may pass to the set tier at the end of fourteen months on payment of S1.25 per acre.
 The communication clause is en- tirely unnecessary to the settler who intends to comply Tn perfect good faith with the letter and spirit of the homestead law. While it would be going too far to say that no one has ever availed himself of this means of shortening his residence upon the land for a worthy purpose, is fact that the method is chief ly used by those who wish to evade the real intent of the law.
 Five years residence would give title for a nominal price, but the claimant would rather commute after fourteen months and pay S1.25 per acre. Having obtained title, the entryman can immediately sell his land to any one he chooses, which is ire quently the individual or corpo- ration for whose benefit the fil- ing was really made. In such cases the money has been ad- vanced Ly the interested parties, while the man who has loaned his rights of citizenship receives a modest stipend for the accom- modation. Considered as a home making proposition the whole proceeding is a farce.
 The homestead law is all right but the commutation clause is all wrong. Tire honest settler does not need it and the country does not need the other kind of Sott IprH