East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1912-03-27
URGING
DESERT LAND BILL
SENATOR CHAMBERLAIN SAYS
FISHER BLOCKED PASSAGE
Amendment Prepared and Oregon So
Ion Is Now Making Effort to Have
1t Enacted That settlers May He
ccive Patent to Lands.
Especial correspondence

Hermiston, Ore, March 27.-Word
has been received from Senator
Chamberlain in regard to Senate Bill
No. 4206, relative to the issuance of
patents to desert claims under the
project Mr. Chamberlain states
that the secretary of the interior has
reported against the bill and it is
doubtful if the bill can be passed as
it now stands, therefore an amend
ment has been prepared and Mr..
Chamberlain will make an effort to
have the bill passed as amended. Mr..
W. II. Skinner has written a letter to
Senator Chamberlain in regard to the
| passage of this bill as amended, which
in part is as follows:
1--WE are very anxious to have the
| bill providing for the issuance of pat
ents to desert land entrymen passed
| and become a law. 1t is only justice
and right that these entrymen, who
gave up valuable water rights and
abandoned private bitches on which
they had expended large sums of
| money, in order to take water from
the United States government, should
now, after waiting six or seven years
! have patents issued for their lands.
! No one can show why they should not
! have patents inasmuch as the rec
! lamation attorneys, engineers and
agents who induced these entrymen to
! sign contracts with the government,
assured them that these lands should
be treated as land in private owner
ship and by giving the lien for wa
|
and when the act of June 81. 1906,
was before congress section there
of was intended to embody that idea,
the words Upon compliance with the
terms of payment in the reclamation
act and not otherwise were under
stood to mean that signing the regu-
lar contract and giving a lien on the
land to secure the payment of all
charges for water was in fact all
that was to be required of them, but
the honorable secretary of the inter-
| ior has construed this clause other
wise, not taking into account the
promises and representations of the
government agents above mentioned.
I'VE are willing to have the pat
ents issued for these desert claims
contain a reservation of lien to the
| government for all assessments due
for building charge or operation and
maintenance, and we would not OBJ
ject to a provision that proof should
be submitted showing that one-half of
the irrigable area of the entry had
been cultivated and irrigated, but we
do want these patents without any
further requirements or further de-
| lay.
! "We do hope that you can get this
through at once, as it has been prov
en- that the land cannot be sold out
in small holdings and improved by
! planting an orchard without patents.
| Raising an orchard means the ex-
! penditure of large sums of money
and takes about five years time and
the people who have the money and
the inclination to buy land and plant
an orchard demand perfect title to
the land, subject to the lien for wa
ter.
THE bill before congress, being
House Bill No. 20490, contains a pro-
vision in section 10 thereof intended
| to help these entrymen, but this does
not give the relief these entrymen are
entitled to, but the provisions of sec
ton 10 make the entrymen subject
to still greater hardships and burdens
and complications, and the bill as a
whole should not pass, as it seeks to
add s per cent interest on overdue
| payments. enables the honorable sec
retary of the interior to require en-
! tymen to pay more than the original
contract calls for, and under its pro-
visions providing any one holding a
reclamation homestead could not
hold by purchase any other farm
unit, or any one holding by deed would
be disqualified to take a homestead,
or holding any other land with water
on the project and would operate to
keep these projects a desert for many
years"