Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1917-01-05
64O-ACRE
HOMESTEADS
Bill Granting 64O-Acre Home
steadS in Grazing Land Sec
tions Becomes a Law---Will
Mean Much to Idaho.

An announcement of far-reach-
ing Importance in a development
way to Idaho was made yesterday
through receipt by the officials of
the Lewiston land office of a tele-
gram from Washington announc-
ing that the stock-raising home
stead law is in force-this enact
ment being another step in the
policy of the Wilson administra-
tion to encourage the appropria-
ton by the people of western
lands and the placing of the uses
of mankind.
This act, which supplements
the 320-acre act, allows for the
entry of $40 acres of land where
the same is not adapted to agri-
culture or horticulture and not
subject to irrigation and where
not principally valuable for it's
timber-in other words lands
principally adaptable for grazing.
The telegram received yester-
day by Register Heitfeld and Re-
ceiver Hoar from United States
- Commissioner Clay Tallman an
/ nounced that applications for en-
try, with petitions for designa-
ton, would now be received, but
would be suspended, this suspen-
sion evidently to allow a period
for the department to adopt some
rule for classification.
Register Heitfeld estimates
that land available for entry un-
der this act in the Lewiston land
office district will reach $4,000 to
100000 acres and possibly 120,-
600 acres. In this district such
lands are located principally in
the Salmon river section of Idaho
county, with some in Nez Perce
and Lewis county. Due to the
timber stand, little of such land
is located in Clearwater county
and practically none in Latah.
View is expressed that through
out Idaho the act will result in
the settlement of hundreds of
thousands of acres of land.
The act provides that lands en-
tered must be in compact body,
but where a person has entered
32O acres under the old act, he
shall be privileged to enter ad-
ditional ground up to GAO acres if
such land is located within a
radius of twenty miles of the Or
iginal entry. However, he must
y first utilize such lands as are con-
= tiguous to this original entry.
The entryman instead of cultiva-
ton must put improvements on
the land reaching $1.25 an acre
and at least one-half of such i'm
provements must be provided
within three years. If a home,
steader has not completed proof
on an existing entry, he car
make additional entry and resi-
dence on the original entry will
be allowed, but on the additlona
entry he must make improve
ment reaching $1.25 an acre.
In case where an entrymar
has made entry on lands under
previous acts, and where he hal
placed no encumbrances on th'
land or has not sold the same
and there is no land contiguou
or within a radius of twent!
miles for additional entry, h
may relinquish his original entr.
and make a new entry for "a
acres.
The communication provisions o
the homestead laws will not ap
ply to this act.
Any person having enterel
lands will have ninety-day pref
erence on contigons lands for a.
additional entry. Where sue
contiguous lands apply to two 0
more entrymen, the secretary Q
the interior will make an equit
able division of the lands be