New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1917-01-26
THE STOCK RAISING HOMESTEAD LAW.
prepared for the use of the Senate Committee on Public
Lands)
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT.

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$40 acres of nonirrigable, nontimbered land chiefly
valuable for grazing and raising forage crops by any
qualified e%ntrynan. The bill docs rot apply to- all public
lands, but only to such areas as are suited largely
for stock-raising purposes, The Interior Department
will later designate the areas that may be entered
under this act.
2. At the present time it is impossible to give
specific information as to the location of the areas
that will subsequently be designated for entry, In
general, it may be stated that designations will be
made in the Rocky Mountain States and westward.
A personal inspection OF the lands sought to be entered
is the only satisfactory manner in which a prospec-
tive %entrynan can fully inform himself as to the rela-
tive worth of the land.
2. To acquire title to a homestead under this act
an entry1nan must reside upon the land not less than
three years and make permanent improvements there
on tending to increase its value Tor stockralsing pur-
poses, of the value of not less than $I.25 per acre,
one-half of which must be placed on the land within
three years after the date Of entry. Cultivation of
the land is not required. Communication of entry is
not allowed.
a. If a homestead cntrvn1an has heretofore ex-
hausted his homestead right BY securing title to 100
acres of land in the humid regions, this 64o-acre
homestead act does not restore his rights nor permit
him to enter an additional homestead The theory
Of the law is that ONLY one homestead may be taken by
an individual entrvnan OF course. if the homestead
was lost because of matters beyond the control of
%entryman, he can apply to make a second entry under
the act of September s, 1914 (3S Stat, 7I2), or if
the land heretofore entered was stock-raising land,
and shall be designated as such by the Secretary of the
Interior then and in that event an additional entry
can be made Uittin 20 miles Of the original entry,
but not elsewhere. Legislation known as "the Fer
lris bill' (H. r. S4O2) is now pending looking to the
restoration of the homestead rights of those who have
heretofore bought Indian land. This bill has already
passed the House and is now pending in the United
States Senate.
s. Previous to the time the Interior Department
d~esignates the areas that may be entered under this
law a prospective entrvnan may file affidavit show
ing thar the land he desires to enter is land of the
character described in the act. and make application
to tie local land office to be allowed entry if the land
is designated. The application may then be suspended
until the land land is designated, at which time, if
the land has been designated, the application to actual
~ make the entry will be allowed. OF course, if the
should hold that the particular tract of
land sought to be entered under this procedure is not
stOck-raisin9 land, no rights would accrue to the pros
pective ertryman, and his application will be reject
no improvements should he made on the land
until after it has been designated and the entry allowed.
E. AS each applicant is required to swear that he
is well acquainted with the character of the land des-
in his application, and as all entries are made
tDJNN " tN llSHtS VI IHOl NtliNi tN dPpINdll
can not make the affidavit that he is acquainted with
he character of tie land or be sure that the land is not
,lreadv appropriated by a settler until after he has &C
ually inspected it.
7. All proceedings connected with the entering and
filing on a homestead are conducted by the officials
If the local land offices in the States where the land
S located. The General Land Office at Washington
not issue maps showing the location of vacant
,,1hlic land subject to entry. This information can be
eliably obtained only from the records of the various
United States district land offices, which are located
IS follows:
New Mexico-Clayton, Fort Sumner, Las Cruces, Ros-
Santa Fe, and Tucumcari.
s. Persons who desire to make homestead entry
hould first decide where they wish to locate, then
o or write to the local land office of the district in
ghich the lands are situated and obtain from the rec
rds diagrams of vacant lands.
Q. A personal inspection of the lands should be
1ade to ascertain if they are suitable, and, when salts
on this point, application to enter can be made
the local land office in the manner prescribed by
he law. under the direction of the local land officers,
rho will give the applicant full information. Should
person desire to obtain information in regard to
acant lands in any district before going there for
ersonal inspection, he should address the register and
eceiver of the particular local land office, who will
i've such information as is available.
10. Persons desiring to make homestead entries
lould first fully inform themselves as to the charac-
r and u1alify of the lands they desire to enter and |