The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1912-10-31
THREE YEAR HOMESTEAD LAW:
ITS FRIENDS AND ENEMIES
Facts as to Who Worked Against the Interests of the Home
steader and Who Worked for Him, as Shown
by the Records

by Mr.. Borah and passed by that
body.
After the democratic house had mu-
tilated the Borah bill, by inserting
the clause requiring the cultivation
OF ~ and 20 acres, and making this
apply to all homesteaders. as shown
below, Mr.. Borah by dint of hard
work and diplomacy, got an amendment
attached to the civil appropriations
bill, counteracting as far as possible
the detrimental effects of the house
amendment by making provision that
the homesteader should have the
right to prove up either under the
old or new law.
In all sections but the heavily tim
bered districts the three-year law
Is a great boon to the homesteader,
the greatest in fact that has been
given him since the republican party
! fist enacted the homestead law in
the early sixties; and In the timber
~ oSOAoho tAO hOAO6ICdQ6T lS klt0u
the privilege through the last amend
ment to the law, secured at the last
moment by the alertness and diligence
of Senator Borah, to continue under
the old law and prove up just as he
did before the new law was enacted.
So 1t Is absolutely untrue, as charged.
that the homesteader who now holds
a claim in the timbered section TAX
EN- under the old law will be COMPEL.
ed to prove up under the new law,
and Is therefore worked an irrepara-
BILE injury. and In many instances
will be compelled to abandon his
claim. This would have been true
had not Borah succeeded In heading
off the democratic house by getting
through the final amendment to the
bill by attaching the same to the sun
dry civil appropriation bill, after the
new homestead law had been signed
by the president, allowing the home
steader to prove up under either of
the two laws.
Since that time Mr.. Borah has
drawn up a bill with the special pur-
pose of affording relief to the tim
ber homesteaders from the iniquitous
democratic amendment to the three
year law. The new bill provides that
the timber homesteader shall only
be required to build his residence
and give other like evidence of his
good faith In order to entitle him to
a patent after having resided upon
his claim for three years.
1t must be evident to all fairmind-
ed persons that Messrs. French and
Borah have done all that two men
could do in the interest of the home
steader, and democratic editors and
speakers should blush with shame to
publicly criticise the work of those
two gentlemen in tightening the bur-
dens of the homesteader; especially
in consideration of the scurvy trick
the democratic national legislative
body attempted to play on the hard
working men who are doing so much
for the development of the great west
ern country. Why do not these demo
cratic editors and speakers tell the
whole truth about the three-year
homestead law? Why do they sup
press the main points in the history
of this important law? The reason
Is that the truth would put them and
their party in bad light before the
voter, and they cannot afford to do
so Following is published the Borah
three-year bill as 1t passed the repub-
lican senate; also the democratic
house amendment that hit the home
steader such a hard jolt, and also the
final Borah amendment which soften
ed to some extent the harsh features
of the house amendment Read these
carefully, Mr.. and Mrs. Voter, and
then act in accordance with the facts
in the case. and all will be well: