The Elk Mountain pilot., 1913-12-18
new LAND MEASURES
AFFECT settlement OF Gov
EMINENT LANDS.
Many coloradoans Are Interested in
Bills Introduced in Congress by
Representative Taylor.
western Newspaper Union News Service.

| western Newspaper Union News Service
ashington.-Several bills affect
ing the settlement of government
lands in Colorado have been intro
duced in Congress by Representative
E. T. Taylor, and referred to commit
tees where they will be the subjects
of investigation during the next few
weeks. Roughly listed they include:
A proposed law authorizing summer
homestead entries.
Designation of arid lands where
continuous residence shall not be re-
quired under the homestead law.
Government camping sites along
public highways.
Reduction of annual payments of en-
trymen under irrigation projects.
Second homestead and desert land
entries.
Probably no more important meas
ures for the benefit of the western
pioneers have been introduced during
the past three years. Representative
Taylor asserts that the bills have all
been carefully drawn and that some OF
them have had the inspection and ap'
proval of the officials of the interior
department; that he intends to push
them vigorously in the public land
and irrigation committees. in which he
is a member.
The project for a summer home
stead is intended for persons desiring
mil. Il rtc fnr
the location of their summer homes.
Any person entitled to the benefits OF
the homestead law may enter not to
exceed forty acres of any public
land within or without the forest re-
serves and acquire title thereto by
making improvements thereon to the
value of $1,000 and maintain residence
of not less then two months during
each Of three successive summers.
On tracts of land where there is
not Z sufficient water supply for do
mestic purposes. as would make con-
tinuous residence impossible, the bill
proposes that acquisition shall be al
lowed under the enlarged homestead
act without the necessity of residence.
The bill provides that entrymen on
any such entry shall in good faith cul-
tivate not less than one-sixteenth of
the entire area of his entry, begin
ming with the second year of the en-
try, and not less than one-eighth, be
ginning with the third year of the en-
try and lntil final proof, and that af-
ter entry and until final proof the en-
tryman shall reside within such dis
to successfully farm the same.
The bill for the relief of irrigation
project settlers provides that on such
projects as the Grand Valley system.
about to be constructed, no annual
payment shall be required during the
first five years after the water is fur
nished to settlers under the project.
During the next five years the annual
charge per acre shall be 81 and dur
ing the succeeding five years the an
nual charge shall be SO per acre.
Thereafter the annual charge shall be
$4 an acre until the entire amount
due the government is paid. 1t is
provided that no interest charges
shall be collected. The bill, Taylor
asserts. will give the relief settlers
under these projects long have been
seeking.
In order to preserve in the govern
ment the title to convenient spots for
campers along the public highways.
Representative Taylor proposes that
tracts not to exceed forty acres shall
be set aside and maintained by the
government solely for the use of way
farers who annually in the summer
time travel over the western states
with their outing equipments.
1t has been the ambition OF west
ern congressman. for several years
to evolve a law that will compensate,
by allowing additional homesteads.
those persons who have taken up
homesteads but who have forfeited
them through no fault of their own.
From no less than four separate re-
ports on as many bills made by the
secretary Of the interior, Represents
tive Taylor has made up a measure
which it is believed will stand the
test of legislation. Persons of the
disappointed class, through this pro-
posed law. are given the full bene-
fits of the homestead and desert land
acts as though there former entries
have never been made. The appli-
cants must demonstrate to the secre-
tary of the interior that their prior
entries were made in good faith and
were lost or forfeited because of mat
ters beyond their control, and that
there has been no speculation or
fraud.