The border vidette., 1912-06-15
THE SHORT HOMESTEAD ACT.
Text of the New Bill Made Law Last
 Week by Taft.

law which become a law last
 week after it had been signed
 by President Taft:
 In the house of representa-
 tives U. s. March P, 1912. Re
 solved that tho bill in the senate
 3367 entitled, An act to amend
 section 20 to 191 and 20 to 197 of
 the revised statutes of the Unit
 ed States rela ting to hOmesteadS
 do pass with e following
 amendments: Srile out all after
 the enacting clause and insert:
 That section 2291 and section
 2297 be amended to read as fol
 lows: No certificate, however,
 shall be given or patent issued
 therefor until the expiration of
 three years from the date of
 such entry; and if at the eXpi-
 ration of said time or at any
 time within two years thereafter
 or if he be dead, his widow, or
 in case of her death, his heirs
 or deviSee, or in case of widow
 making such entry her heirs, or
 deviSees, in case of her death
 proved by himself and by two
 creditable witnesses, that he,
 she or they, have habitable
 house upon and cultivated the
 same for the term of three years
 succeeding the time Of filing the
 affidavit, and makes affidavit
 that no part of such land has
 been alienated except as prOvi
 ded by law in section 228S, and
 that he. she or they will bear
 true allegiance to the govern
 ment of the United States, then
 in such case he, she or they, if
 at that time citizens of the
 United States, shall be entitled
 to a patent as in other cases
 provided by law; that upon fil
 ing in the case land office notice
 of the beginning of such act. the
 entryman shall be entitled to a
 continuous leave of absence
 from the land for a period not
 exceeding five months in each
 year after establishing residence
 and upon the termination of such absence the entryman shall file a notice of termination in
 the local land office, but in case of communication L II fourteen months actual residence as now required by law must be shown, and the person committing must be at the time a citizen of the United States, provided that when the person making entry dies before the offer of tine final | proof. those succeeding to the | entry must show that the entry | man had complied with the law | in all respects to the date of his | death and that they have since complied with the law in res poets as would have been re- quired of the entryman. had he | lived, excepting that they are relieved from any requirement l of residence upon the land, pro- vided further that the entryman shall in order to comply with | the requirements of cultivation l herein provided for, cultivate no less then one sixteenth of the area of his entry, beginning with the second year of the l e ry and not less than one eighth beginning with the third year of the entryman, had he lived, except that in case of 1 entry under section six of the homestead laws, double the area of cultivation herein provided shall be required, but the secretary of the interior may upon satisfactory showing. under rules an d regulations prescribed by him, reduce the required area o f cultivation; provided that the above provi- sion as to cultivation shall apply to entries commonly known as the Kinciad act, or entry under the act of June 17, 1902, a recla nation act, and that the provi- sions of this section, relative to the homestead period shall ap ply to all unprotected entries as well as entries hereafter made, upon which residence is required: provided that the secretary of the interior shall. within 60 days after the passage of this act, send a copy of the same to each entryman of record, who may be affected thereby. oy ordinary mail to his last known address, and any such may, by giving notice within 12O days, after the pas sage sf this act, by registered