The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1909-03-27
Prominent Land Man Tells Read
ers of the Pres, Why New Land
District Should Be Created
and What it Will Represent.


slowing their reasons for desiring the
ehanse. The plan is to take parts Of the
Dickinson. Lennon and Miles City
districts and make one big new district.
H. l. Kelly, the Marmarth land man.,
10 one of tho principal local boomers
Of the plan and while in the city this
week. he gave the PRESS an extensive
interview on the subject. explaining in
detail just what they hoped to do and
why they are doing it. He feels conf
dent that the plan will be favorably
handled at Washington for he says that
they have enlisted National Committee
man James Kennedy of Fargo on their
side and he is now in Washington,
laying the case before Fred S. bennett.
the general u. S. land commissioner,
whose influence for on against any such
aproposition counts great deal.
The new district would have total
Of 2, 020. 1852 acres, of unappropriated
lands located in Montana and North
Dakota, including in its limits the new
Dakota National forest reserve in Bill
lings county. which is now in the Dick
inson district. This would make the
Marmarth district double the size of the
Dickinson district in the amount of
lands not yet taken up. The plan is
to take from the Dickinson district about
one-third of Billings county, or a stretch
extending six townships east Of the
Montana line and four townships north
Of the south county line. This includes
about one-seventh of the total unappro-
priated land in the Dickinson district,
which has about 1.21S. .016 acres of such
territory or III, $50 acres more than all
the other five districts in the state put
together.
From the Lennon district they would
take all of Bowman county, one-seventh
of the unsettled lands in that district.
In Montana a strip of Custer county,
equal in size to about one-third of the
county, averaging six tiers Of townships
in width and extending II townships
north of tho Wyoming line would add
almost I. 600. 600 acres to the new dis
trict. :"
This, then shows what territory the
Marmarth district would include in its
borders. 1t is claimed that Marmarth is
within radius of 40 miles Of practi-
cally all Of the district and easy of ac-
cess The prospects are that there will
be great rush Of settlers in what would
be the new district. Most Of it lies
in Montana where the new homestead
entry law is in effect This new law pro-
vides that a qualified ennyman can take
up 800 acres of non-ariable, untimbered
land He must have one-eighth of it
under cultivation the second season.
Only five year proof may be made and
at the time Of proving up. u of the land
must be under cultivation. This means
that as soon as the land Office instruc-
tions are issued there will be q grand
rush for Montana land, which will make
q new land Office necessity, either at
Marmarth or at Beach, Ekalaka or Glen
dive, all of which are supposed to have
such aspirations.
Mr.. Kelly advances quite good
many reasons for the new district.
Marmarth is located in the Dickinson
district and less than three miles from
the northern boundary of the Lennon
district. This makes it necessary for
homesteaders there to come away around
via Terry to Dickinson to do land Office
business.
He also advances the overwhelming
amount of work, particularly at the Lem
mon Office, as another reason. He states
that they are seven months behind in
their work and homesteaders have had
their proofs delayed for months, COM
pelling them to remain on their Claims
this winter, suffering great hardships,
when they planned to work in town. or
else by leaving their claims they have
made themselves liable to loss of lands
or to contests.
The selection Of Marmarth as the seat
of the lend office is advocated because
it is so centrally located to all parts of
the proposed district, is division point
on the Milwaukee and is only six miles
from the Montana line. Although only
less than year old it is an incorpor-
ated village of 900 inhabitants, located
135 miles west of Mcintosh and 124
miles east of Miles City. The Milwau-
kee maintains railroad shops there.
the water supply is good in quality and
quantity and a lot of building is in
sight for the summer:
Mr.. Kelly is a well known land man
at Marmarth. He owns the north Mar
marth townsite, the residential section
Of the town. He is very enthusiastic
over the prospects and thinks the plan
will be q sure 60. S.. s5 < e g