The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-04-14

IN EVERGLADES
REPRESENTATIVE DoRMAN IN.
PRODUCES MEASURE ALLOW.
ING FLoRIDIANs FORTY ACRES
OF LAND IN EVERGLADES
TEXT OF BILL,
BY J. n. Reese.

Tallahassee, April 13,-One of the
most important bills introduced in the
legislature, the full text of which is
given herewith, was introduced by
Representative Dorman and deals
with the question Of opening the
state lands in the Everglades for
homesteads to residents of Florida.
The measure follows:
A bill to be entitled an act to Pro-
vide for Homestead Settlements on
State Lands in the Drainage Section
of Florida.
Be it enacted by the legislature of
the state of Florida:
Section 1. That of the lands grant
ed to the state Of Florida by the
United States, under the act of con-
gress of Sept. 28th, 1850, known as the
swamp and overlooked land grant act
now owned by the state of Florida or
the trustees of the Internal Improve
ment Fund of said state, in the Ever
glades and the vicinity of Lake Okee-
chobee known as the drainage Sec
ton, there be set apart by the trus-
tees of the Internal Improvement
Fund of said state every alternate
forty or one sixteenth of a section for
the purpose of homestead settlement
by citizens Of this state. And as soon
as plats or maps of said drainage
section are prepared, the said trus-
tees of the Inter ~ improvement Fund
shall direct and require the commits
sioner of agriculture to designate
thereon the forties that shall be sub
ject to homestead settlement under
this act, and to withdraw the same
from sale or other application except
as provided in this act.
Section 2. That on and after De-
cember 1st, 1912, any citizen of this
state, over twenty-one years of age,
may file with the commissioner OF ag-
ricuIture an aspiration to be allotted a
forty acre tract for homestead settle
ment under the terms of this act. and
there shall be allotted by the commits
sioner of agriculture to each appli-
cant in the order of their applications
a forty acre tract of those set apart
by him, as provided in the preceding
section, as the homestead of such ap-
plicant, but no such homestead shall
be allotted prior to January 1st 1913.
Should there be more applications filed
by that date than there are forty acres
tracts to be allotted, then the commits
sioner Of agriculture shall determine
by lot, under rules to be prescribed
by him and approved by the trustees
of the Internal Improvement Fund.
who of said applicants shall be en-
titled to allottments.
Section 3. Each citizen, as afore-
said, making application for a home
stead under this act, shall file with
the commissioner Of agriculture at the
time of making his application an af-
fidavit that it is his bona f1de inten-
ton to make a homestead settlement
upon the forty acre tract that may
be allotted to him. At the end of four
years from the time of having an al
lotment made. the applicant shall have
a deed for the forty acre allotted to
him from the trustees of the Internal
Fund. upon making sat
isfactory proof that he has resided
continuously upon the said forty acre
tract for four years and has made
thereon Of not less than
three hundred dollars in value.
Section 4. That this act shall take
effect Immediately upon its passage
and approval by the governor, or it's
becoming a law without his approval.