The daily sentinel., 1912-02-06
NOT FORCED TO REMAIN ON
LAND BEFORE WATER COMES
lContlnued from Page /. D

Continued from Page u
not actually upon the said land prior
to the date of the notice aforesaid,
and no application for the entry of
said lands shall be received until
after the expiration OF the ninety
days after the issuance of notice with
in which the entryman is hereby re
quired to reestablish his residence
and apply for water right.
The report dated January 30th,
made by the Committee on Public
Lands, recommending the passage of
the Taylor bill, gives the correspon-
dence that passed between the Public
Lands Committee ana Secretary OF
/ Interior Fisher concerning the pro-
posed relief for the Grand valley
high line canal entrymen and the
Uncompahgre entrymen, also corre-
sPondence with the General Land Of
flee. In conclusion after receiving a
report from Secretary Fisher recon-
mending that the act be made TO EN-
brace all projects, the committee
says in its report:
After the receipt of that report
the Committee on Public Lands again
took up the consideration of the sub
| ject at two different sittings and CO.
| incided with the Secretary in the rec
ommendation that the law should be
made general and applicable to all
the reclamation projects in the United
States; and for the purpose of carry
ing out that determination and max
| ing the proposed law sufficiently
! specific to fully and unquestionably
/ protect the legal rights of all bona
fide entrymen under all the 32 recla-
nation projects, until such time as
water is available for the irrigation
I of their lands. the committee unan-
| imously agreed upon the appropriate
/ amendments. and in the amended
/ form of the bill was reintroduced and
/ Is the present IL. Il. 1892, which is
| indorsed by the entire committee in
/ its present form and without further
amendment. 1t is fully recognized
/ by the Government officials and ev-
eryone else that it would be not only
utterly useless, but almost inhuman
to try to compel settlers to remain
upon barren desert lands for many
I years before there is any water to ir-
rigate them. improvements would be
worthless and the raising of crops i'm
d
been compelled to haul many miles
water for domestic purposes. Many
of the settlers have been reduced to
| desttution, besides enduring untold
hardships and depriving their child
rem of schooling facilities their ef-
forts to hold on to their claims.
THE effect of the passage of this
bill will be that no qualified entry
I ttFtA rarfs.
made bona fide entry upon lands pro-
posed to be irrigated under recla-
| nation project, and who established
residence in good faith upon the land
entered by him, shall be subject to
contest for failure to maintain resi-
dence or make improvements upon
his land prior to the time when wat
er is available for the irrigation of
the lands embraced in his entry But
no such entryman shall be entitled
to have counted as part of the requir-
ed five years period of residence any
period of time during which he was
not actually upon his land
1.-The Secretary of the Interior ex-
pressly decides in these matters that
residence and cultivation upon the
land before water is obtainable is not
only useless but impossible. Neither
the law nor common sense requires
anyone to do an utterly useless thing
Practically all of these homestead set
tiers are poor people. They can not
conduct litigation with the Govern
ment. And in the opinion of your
/ committee every person who was
qualified entryman and made bona
Z fide filing upon land under reclama-
( ton projects, and thereafter in good
/ faith established his residence upon
the land. should not be compelled to
I litigate either with the Government
or private individuals TO maintain
/ his rights, or to prove residence or
cultivation at any period prior to the
/ time when waite is available for the
( land. The passage of this bill will
relieve thousands of worthy settlers
] from harassing, vexatious, and utter
ly unwarranted contests and litiga-
ton. and will tend to the orderly
/ development of the country under
each of the numerous reclamation
projects throughout the Western
States"