The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1915-02-01
NO LOTTERY PLAN
STANDING ROCK LAND OPENING
NEXT SPRING TO OCCUR UN-
DER OPEN FILING RIGHTS.

Timber Lake, Feb. 1.-The next
big land opening in the west viii take
place in April or May, when an i'm
mense area of that part of the Stand
ing Rock Indian reservation which
extends into the north central sec
ton of South Dakota will be opened
for white settlement. Thousands of
homesteaders thus will have an op-
portunity to secure farms of 100
acres each at the minimum govern
ment price.
Information received here from
Washington is to the effect hat
either April Is or May /. next, will
be fixed as the time for the opening.
therefore, public lands usually have
been declared open to white settle
ment at midnight, but under a new
Arrangement the Standing Rock res
ervation lands will be opened for set
Element at 9 O'Clock on the morning
they are declared a part of the pub
lie domain and subject to homestead
entry. The opening will be under
the supervision of John McPhall, the
new government superintendent OF
public land opening, who succeeded
Judge Witten, under whose direction
millions of acres of land In the north
west had been opened to settlement
during the past ten years.
In the case of the Standing Rock
lands there will be no registration
and drawing as heretofore and In its
place either one of two plans under
consideration will be adopted. The
first plan Is simply that of having the
applicants for land present them
selves at the district United States
land office Immediately after .
o'clock on the day of the opening and
present their applications for filing.
/ There are serious objections to this
plan, however, because where there
is any great demand for land such as
there has been at a great many open
ings in the past, people stand in line
for two or three days in order to be
among the first to have the right OF
making homestead entry. This nat
urally results i'm considerable disor.
der and no small hardship.
The second plan under c~onsidera-
ton is the one adopted by Superin'
tendent McPhall for use at the open
ing of the Grow reservation in Mon
tana last summer, and probably vii
be adopted for the opening of the
Standing Rock lands. This plan is tC
give any person capable of making
homestead entry the right, say ffteer
DAYS before the date fixed for the
opening, to go to the district United
States land office where such appli'
cation will be given suspended i'll
ing on the particular tract Of 16(
acres which he or she wants. ANY
number of persons can secure sus'
pended filing on the same tract OF
land, but of course an applicant cal
have but one such filing. Then at the
end of the fifteen day period all per.
sons who have SUSPENDED filing on
the same tract of land will have
little drawing of their own, under the
supervision of the superintendent
and the person whose name Is tht
first to be drawn from the box vii
have the right to make a regular
homestead entry covering the land II
question.
1t is understood, however, tina
neither of these plans VIII proven
any person from 'sauatting" on thu
land Immediately after the hour o.
opening, and in a contest between
one who has squatted and a person
who has filed at the district Unitef
States land office on the same trac'
of land and at the same time, prefer
ence, ii is believed, would, as in tn
past, be given the squatter.
The prices which the government
will charge for the Standing Rocl
lands which are to be opened to whit
settlement are as follows: Thos'
making entry during the first three
months will be required to pay s.
per acre, one-fifth of which must h
naid in cash, which. together witt
the entry fee of s14, will make al
initial payment of STA. Those max
ing entry within the next thre'
months will be required to pay s3.5'
per acre and the entry fees, makin'
a total of 1926 as the initial paw
ment. All lands remaining unenter
ed after the expiration of the ST.
-.--4m. $500 L. rnnprad nj GO E0 M