Arizona state miner., 1924-01-19
SECOND HOMESTEAD ENTRIES

Section 2289 of the Revised Sta I
tutes Of the United States grants to
certain qualified persons the right to
make a homestead entry, and it has
been held that this right is exhaust
ed whenever a person makes an en- 4,
try which is allowed. Merely filing
an application for entry which is not
allowed by the register and receiver
does not exhaust the right. for an en-
try is not made until it is allowed by
the local officers.
There have been a number of laws
passed at different times granting
the right to make a second home
stead entry to all who have lost, for
feited, or abandoned a homestead en-
try. On September 5, 1914, Congress
passed a law granting the right to
make a second homestead entry to all
who have lost, forfeited or abandoned
a former entry, provided they can
show to the satisfaction of the Com
missioner of the general land office
that they lost. forfeited or abandoned
such former entry through no fault
of their own.
This is a very imperfect piece Of
legislation, and it is hard for the
department to carry MS provisions
into effect without doing an injustice
to many entrymen. Under present
regulations the method of procedure
to obtain a second entry is to select
the land upon which it is desired to
file and make application for it on
the regular form, accompanying the
application with Application for
Second Entry" which is long affi-
davit by the applicant, corroborated
by two witnesses having knowledge
of the facts concerning the former
entry. The approved form (4-007c)
for this application for second entry
former entry by number, section.
township and range; (2) statement
as to what examination entryman
made of the land before filing; (3)
statement as to the residence, cul-
tivation and improvements entrymen
made on such former entry; ca a
complete description of all improve
ments. together with their cost; (5)
date when former entry was aban-
doned, and date of REIMBURSEMENT, if
one was made, together with name of
person to whom delivered; (6) state
ment as to consideration received for
REIMBURSEMENT, abandonment, or i'm
provements, and if improvements
were sold, the relation of such sale
to the REIMBURSEMENT must be shown;
CD a statement of such other facts
as will tend to show whether or not
the applicant lost, forfeited or aban-
doned such former entry through no
fault of his.
This second entry affidavit must
be executed by the applicant before
some qualified prooftaking afficer in
the same land district as the land
which is sought to be entered, but it
may be executed by the corroborat-
ing witnesses at any place and before
any officer who is qualified to adj
minister oaths and who uses a seal.
When the application for second
entry is filed, together with an ap-
plication for the entry of a specific
tract of land, the application is sus-
pended by the register and receiver
of the local land office and the appli-
cation for second entry is sent to
Washington for action by the general
land office. 1t takes all the way from
six months to two or three years for
such an application to be acted upon,
depending largely upon the amount
of work before the general land Of
flee, during which time the land is
held from entry or other disposal,
and if the application for second en-
try is allowed, the entry dates back
to the time it was originally filed.
There is no objection to the appli-
cant going onto the land while this
application for second entry is pend |
ing, but if such application should be
rejected the applicant would lose
whatever time and labor he had put
on the land, as his having settled on
the land prior to allowance of the
entry would not give him any right
to it if his application were rejected
Formerly it was held that a per-
son who had merely filed an appli- |
cation for second entry did not have
an original entry, and therefore
could not made an additional entry, !
but this ruling has been reversed, and
now it is possible for an applicant to
file an application for an additional
entry under the, enlarged or stock
raising homestead law, while his ap- |
plication for second entry is pending. |
In many cases the application for
such additional entry is filed the same |
day as the application for second en-
try.