Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1910-07-12
SETTLERS STILL HOPE
WILL ENDEAvOR TO FoREsTALI.
CANCELLATIONS UNTIL WINTER.
Congressman Hawley VIII Renew
Fight for Rights of Men Who Are
Victims of Cruel Injustice.

original entrymen on the former ST.
: letz Indian reservation still have ray
of hope. according to Representative
Willis c. Hawley, who says that as
President Taft did not directly veto
the Hawley bill. nor in any other way
express an unfavorable opinion con-
cerning it, the entrymens salvation
seems to be in keeping his entry alive
until remedial legislation can be pass
ed.
The failure of the President to affix
his signature to the bill has caused no
end of concern among the entrymen
as to the ultimate fate of their entries.
With no hope of favorable action by
the Department of the Interior, with
| the recent adverse action of the Su-
preme Court of the District of Column
bia in refusing to longer restrain the
Secretary of the Interior from cam
ceiling the entries and with scant hope
of holding on in the courts until Con-
gross convenes next December, ac-
cording to the entrymen themselves,
their case seems an extremely dubious
one.
Objections Met Before Committee.
There are many who believe, how
ever, thet remedial legislation may be
passed. Although the Department of
the Interior, according to Represen-
tative Hawley, as been adverse to such
legislation from the outset, neverthe-
less, he called for supplemental re-
n ersx 81. ,Y,1x thal
facts and without recommendation as
to whether the passage of the bill was
favored or not favored in the Depart
men, and upon this report alone went
before the committee on public lands
of the House of Representatives and
by persistent effort and argument con-
vinced the committee that the legisla-
ton was right and it was unanimously
recommended and passed the House
without a dissenting vote June 6, 1910
The Senate committee on public lands
reported the Hawley bill without
amendment two days later, and just
the day before adjournment of the
session and IS days after it passed the
House. 1t passed in the Senate with
out opposition.
Under these circumstances the en-
trymen think that although the Inter-
ior Department may still not be in
favor of the measure, which is indicat-
ed in that it filed an adverse report
against the bill after Congress had
that President Taft would sign such a
bill if it were presented to him for his
approval in time to allow friends of
the measure to appear and refute the
objections of the Department of the
Interior, as was done in the House.
Hawley VIII Keep Up Fight.
Representative Hawley expressed
the following opinion when asked If
lie would again take up the cause of
the entrymen:
"As in the past, l will do everything
possible for these men when return
to Washington in December. Should
any of the entries be uncancelled at /,
that time, and it is thought that leg
lslative action of Congress would af-
ford them relief, 1 will again take up
the matter and do all 1 can for them. ,
These particular cases have appealed !
TO my sense of justice, and as native
son of Oregon and of pioneer parent {
age, know something of the hard
ships and difficulties that beset these
in the Siletz country,
where there were no public roads or
bridges, and but a few rough trails &
lntil the settlers now in danger of a
being dispossessed made them. {
"A lot of these men were our best /
ype of the hardy pioneer settlers and !
intend to do what I can to uphold v
heir right and to secure justice for t
hem If possible. Because of the ma @
ure of the land and it's inaccessibility, r
t should not have been opened to en- I
ry under the homestead law only, as {
t was densely timbered and much of 4
I rough. and practically impossible to h
literally comply with the homestead v
aw. am with these men as long as z
can be of service to them"