Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1913-11-15
ENLARGED-HOMESTEAD LAW
Procedure for Homestead Entrymen. For
NAL Legal Statements and Services
of Attorneys not Necessary.

The 320-acre homestead law, or as it is
often called, the enlarged homestead
law, made possible the entry of many
million acres of dry land in the Western
States in tracts double the size allowed
under the original homestead law.
Only land which has been designated"
by the Secretary of the Interior as
"nonirrigable" can be entered under
this act. More than 200, 100000 acres
have been thus designated, but petitions
and sworn statements requesting further
designations are constantly being re-
ceived.
In an interview just given out, Secre-
tary Lane calls attention to the fact that
there appears to be considerable mis-
understanding among western home
steaders as to the procedure necessary
in order that enlarged desig-
nations may be made. The Secretary
states that only the simplest and most
direct action by the settler is required
and that it is wholly unnecessary for
| y
attorneys who draw up formal petitions
that are in fact no more effective than
the homesteader's own letter would be.
On this account brief statement of the
essential facts relative to the enlarged
homestead law is timely.
The first enlarged-homestead act was
approved February 10, 1909, and as
later amended provides that in the
States of Arizona, California, Colorado,
Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico,
North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Washing
ton, ard Wyoming any person who is
qualified to make entry under the home.
stead laws may enter as much as 800
acres of public land which is in reason
ably compact body and is nonmineral,
nonirrigable, unreserved, and unappro-
priated and does not contain merchant
able timber. Before such entry can be
made, however, the land must be
designated by the Secretary of the In.
terror as not being, in his opinion,
susceptible of successful irrigation at a
reasonable cost from any known source
of water supply.
| Land Must Be Nonirrigable.
| The work of classifying the lands
and determining what areas may be
considered nonirrigable has been as
signed by Secretary Lane to the United
States Geological Survey. Although,
under the present ruling of the Secretary,
large areas may be designated as nom
irrigable without raising the question
whether the land is in other respects
subject to homestead entry, the work
of examining and classifying these
large areas necessarily proceeds rather
slowly. In addition to these so-called
"blankep designations, therefore, desig-
nations of smaller areas are made
as rapidly as their nonirrigable character
is determined, including areas whose
designation has been requested by in
dividual settlers for enlarged-homestead
entry or for additional entry on tracts
adjacent to their present unprotected
homestead entries.
Formal Legal Statement Not Necessary.
No definite form of petition is re-
quired, but each application should be
limited as far as possible to the specific
tract desired for entry and should con-
tain a description, by section, township,
and range, of the applicants original
homestead entry and the date of this
entry, as well as description, also by
legal subdivisions, of the land desired
for additional entry. Information as to
the possibility of irrigating the land
should also be furnished and should
include the distance and direction of
the nearest stream or existing or pro-
posed irrigation canal, the elevation of
the lowest point of the land above such
source of water supply, the depth at
which water can be reached by wells
sunk on the land, and all available in
formation concerning attempts to obtain
water by this method. The general
character of the land, both of the home
steader's original entry (if he has made
one) and of the land desired for ad
ditional entry, should also be described,
to aid the Survey in reaching decision
as to its nonirrigabiliiy.
This information should be embodied
in letter sent to the Director U. S.
Geological Survey, Washington, D. G.
A formal petition drawn up by notary
or an attorney is not at all necessary,
and will not result in any earlier con-
sideration of the matter than will be
given If the applicant wri tes personally.
Action will be taken on every request
as promptly as is consistent with a
proper regard to other requests that are
pending, and the applicant will be
promptly notified when final decision
has been reached.
In conversation with H. L. Graham
who is quite heavily interested in real
estate and stock in the Eeighborhood
of rdnora raooptlv ha ototaI that