Arizona republican., 1914-07-25
DAYS FUN AT
 LAND OFFICE
Crazy Man Writes Sane
 Letter, Bringing Up Odd
 Land Law Question - Harness Bill Charged to Uncle Sam Doesn't "Go"

A crazy mans sane communication a sane mans un- understandable bills, and some fine points of law fit to make idiots or inebriates out of the best mentalities in the attorney business provided three fairly gooG tales at the United States land office yesterday. In order:
 Cornelius A. Ebets, now quartered at the state asylum for the insane, yes terday wrote the sanest, and best word ed letter ever received by Receiver John J, BirdnO from anyone out of jail, trouble or luck Ebets, it seems, took up 320 acres of good soil, fenced 25 of them, plOWed r more and put 15 in orChard-all of which is fully described in the missive. Ebets then proceeded to get himself suspected of insanity, and arrested. His inquiry related to the land for which he slaved a whole year. He asks for the filing numbers of his applications, so he can preserve
 his rights to a reputedly valuable sec
 ton of farm land
 Receiver Birdno and Register Weedin cOOaborated on reply, assuring Ebets that the land might be held in trust by a guardian, until such time as the | homestead might mature. and that then, patent would be issued This fact brought out peculiar point in the land laws, chasing idiots with widows. Like this:
 If a man is put in an asylum before his homestead proof is made he is con- sidered to have done all he could, and provided his actual residence record is good, he is considered to still reside on l his land, the time he's in the asylum
 A widow receives title to her husbands | homestead as soon as it natures, with out the necessity of continuing resi- dence or improvement
 The bill collector left a slip charging the United States land office with hay 1 ing had dozen sets of harness washed and repaired. Birdno took the bill to Weedin and asked:
 Have you been setting some of your constituents up to little free harness , repairing" "No," replied Weedin, q haven't. It must be some county poli- 1 tician trying to get Uncle Sam to
 pay his political debts"
 The R. A. R. happened in right then
 and offered the suggestion that the harness service might have been for i the Identification of the accessories of |, the equines who haul the democratic 1 band wagon. Which idea was instantly
 and violently flouted
 | Frank D. Thayer pitted his ideas of what is right and proper in land usage,
 against all the knowledge that the | books have, and lot that isn't neces- sary to print. He attempted to file on sundry stretches of rich valley land, 1 and the mere fact that the powers that
 be in office at Washington had not vet decreed that land open to settlement. deterred him not a bit. Thayer per sisted in settling on that land. and when baked at the local office did write some interesting persiflage con- | corning the total lack of useful knoWl- | edge among the office holders. Finally | the letters grew so warmly personal
 and interesting. that the Phoenix office i thought the Washington office might
 be entertained, so some of them were | transmitted herewith
 Thayer received a large and legal i looking book the three hundred and | seventyfifth page of which was dec orated with great red pencil marks. Here is his simple, direct, and typically American answer
 Looking up the law, I find you are right. Please return my money to-"