The Owyhee nugget. ([Silver City], Idaho) 1905-1984, 1910-03-10
800 ACRE HOMESTEAD LAW.
Proposed Law Passed the Senate and
is Now in the House.


l6O as is now the law, has passed the
senate and now rests with the commit
tee Of public lands Of the house. Che
law gives to those entrymen who have
not yet proved up on the land entered
the right to make additional entry upon
land to the total amount Of 32O acres.
provided the land is contiguous to the
former entry and the whole tract SO filed
upon not over one and one-half miles in
length. Another feature Of the new law
is that entrymen is not compelled to re-
side upon the land, but must reside
within reasonable distance nearenough
so that be can cultivate said land TO the
number Of acres set forth in the act.
Following is the text:
AN ACT
To provide for an enlarged homestead.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House
Of Representatives Of the United states
Of America in Congress assembled, That
any person who is qualified entryman
under tile homestead laws Of the United
States may enter, by legal subdivision,
under the provisions OF this act in the
State Of Idaho, three hundred and twen-
ty acres or less of arid non-mineral.
non-irrigahle, unreserved, aud unappro-
priated surveyed public lands which do
not contain merchantable timber Iocat-
ed in reasonably compact body and
not over one.a and ne-half miles in ex-
treme length: Provided That no land
shall be subject to entry under the pro-
visions Of this act until the lands shall
have been designated by the Secretary
OF the Interior as not being, iii his opin-
ion, susceptible Of successful irrigation,
at reasonable cost, from any known
source Of water supply.
Sec. That any person applying to
enter land under the provisions Of this
act shalt make and subscribe before tile
proper officer an affidavit as required by
section twenty two hundred and ninety
OF the Revised Statutes, and in addition
thereto shall make affidavit that tile
land sought to be entered is Of the char
acter described in section one Of this
act, and shall pay the fees now required
to be paid under the homestead laws.
Sec. 3.-That any homestead entry
man Of lands Of the character herein de-
scrbed, npon which final proof has not
been made, shall have the right to enter
public lands, subject to the provisions
OF this act, contiguous to his former en-
try, which shall not, together with the
original entry, exceed three hundred
and twenty acres, and residence upon
and cultivation Of the original entry
shall be deemed as residence upon aud
cultivation OF the additional entry.
Sec. That at the time Of making
final proofs as provided in section TWEEN
ty two hundred and ninety-one o. the
Revised Statutes. the entryman under
this act shall, in addition to the proofs
and aflidavits required under said action,
prove by two credible witnesses that at
least one-eighth OF the area embraced in
his entry was continuously cultivated to
agricultural crops other than native
grasses beginning with the second year
OF the entry, and that at least one-fourth
OF the area embraced in the entry vas
50 continuously cultivated beginning
with the third year Of the entry.
Sec. 5-That nothing herein contained
shall be held to affect the right OF a
qualified entryman to make homestead
entry in the State OF Idaho under the
provision of section twenty-five hundred
and eighty-nine of the Revised Statutes,
but no person who has made entry un
der this act shall be entitled to make
homestead entry under the provisions Of
said section, and no entry made under
this act shall be COMMITTED.
Sec. 6.-rhat whenever the Secretary
of the Interior shall find that any tracts
Of land in the State OF Idaho subject to
entry under this act do not have upon
them such sufficient supply OF water
suitable for domestic purposes as would
make continuous residence upon the
lands possible, he may, in his discretion,
designate such tracts OF land, not to ex-
ceed in the aggregate one million acres,
and thereafter they shall be subject to
entry under this act without the neces-
sity of residence: Provided, That in
such event the entryman on any such
entry shall be bona fde resident Of tile
State of Idaho and shall in good faith