The Parker post., 1912-05-11
NEW HOMESTEAD
BILL FOR ARIZONA
Senator Ashurst's Bill Providing for
Enlarged Homestead Reported Fav-
orabiy BY Committee on Public
Lands.
Lands.

Arizona people will watch with in
terest the progress in the senate of
Senator Ashurst's bill providing for
am enlarged homestead in this state,
where sufficient water suitable for
domestic purposes is not obtainabie
upon the lands.
Ashurst introduced the bill on April
10, and after being twice read lit Was
referred to the committee on public
lands, of which Senator Smith of
Arizona is a member. Smith on May
2 made a favorable report for the
committee.
Ashursts bill is as follows:
''Be it enacted by the senate and
house of representatives of the Uni
ted States of America in congress as
sembled, That whenever the secreta-
ry of the interior shall find that any
tracts of land in the state of Arizona
subject to entry under the act ito pro-
vide for an enlarged homestead, ap-
proved February 10, 1909, do not
have upon them such a 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 exceed i'm tho
aggregate 100000 acres, and there
after they shall be subject to entry
under this act without the necessity
of residence Provided, That i'm such
event the entryman ON amy such en-
| try shall i'm good faith cultivate not
| less than one-eighth of the entire
area of the entry during the second
year, one fourth during the third
year and one-haf during the fourth
and fifth years after the date OF
such entry, and that after entry and
until final proof the entryman shall
reside within such distance of said
land as will enable him successfully
to farm the same
Senator Smith made the following
report for the public lands com
mittee.
''The Committee On Public Lands,
to which was referred the bill (S.
6245) 10 provide for an enlarged
homestead entry in Arizona where
sufficient water suitable for domestic
purposes is not obtainable upon the
lands, having given the same care
full consideration, beg leave to re-
port the bill back to the senate
with the recommendation that it do
pass.
''The bill proposes to extend Sec
tion 6, or the non-residence section,
of the enlarged homestead act to not
exceeding 100000 acres of land in
the state of Arizona which do not
have upon them such a sufficient SUP
ply of water suitable for domestic
purposes as will make continuous
residence thereon possible. Some
what more than 27000,00O acres of
land in the state of Arizona have
been designated for entry under the
provisions of sections | to 5 of said
enlarged homestead act, but compar-
atively few entries have been made
hereunder this fact apparently being
due TO the extreme aridity of some of
the areas so designated 1t is the
opinion of the committee that sllcii
a modification of the enlarged home
stead act as is contemplated 10y this
bill will tend to materially increase
the number of homesteads in the
state of Arizona, and thus aid i'm the
agricultural development of that
state Two acts similar to this bill
have been passed by congress, one
for the state of Utah, and one for
Idaho. Since the passage of
the act for Utah, the agricultural
products of that state have increased
yearly, and the total area devoted to
agriculture i'm that state lis much
greater than it was prior to thc
passage of the act"